From: linville@garfield.catt.ncsu.edu (John W. Linville)
Subject: Re: Oh my God! Help my friend not buy an IBM!
Organization: Computer and Technologies Theme Program, NCSU, Raleigh
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 21:48:50 GMT

In article <92323.113145IO92257@MAINE.MAINE.EDU> IO92257@MAINE.MAINE.EDU writes:
>>OS/2 Raytracers never kill my system.

First, let me thank you for your well-reasoned, informed response...You moron!

>-Gee, I thought you had a clue until you said this!
> A ray-tracer takes all the system resources it can
> get it's hands on: It's the nature of the beast.
> Now if your system doesn't allow it to take every-
> thing, then of course it won't kill your system!
> It all depends on the priority you set the process
> to... this is the same on Amiga and I*M.

You're right that a ray-tracer (or any other CPU-bound process) will use as
much CPU time that it can get until it is finished.  The point that I was
making (and that you obviously missed) is that the OS should (and OS/2 does)
keep the system responsive to user requests and should continue to give time
to other running processes.  I know the AmigaDOS has this capability as well,
but to maintain acceptable responsiveness, you usually have to manually lower
the priority of the trace, and this often results in the trace taking FOREVER.

> Actually, as an Amiga user for the past 7 years, I
> really don't want to hear about how someone's crapbox
> I*M multitasks.  Amigas have been doing it for 7 years,
> and they do it better!  Try to play a stereo mod file on IBM
                 ^^^^^^
That is a relative, and subjective, term.  My opinion is that since the Amiga
doesn't protect running tasks from trashing each other, it does not multitask
better than OS/2.

> and do anything else... can't be done, because the
> sound support is so crappy for those Intel Kludge Machines,
> that no one has written a stereo mod player for the
> SoundBlaster Pro!  Besides, an Amiga 500 ($300 bucks, last

The block of text beginning with 'Try to play a stereo...' just shows how 
little you really know.  There already is (at least) one stereo mod player
for OS/2 (and Unix).  As far as not being able to play music and do anything
else, you should have been here yesterday when I was running my infamous '31
tasks' and playing Wing Commander II.  Pausing the game and coming back to
work in my word processor, use my paint program, or use the network didn't
even slow-down the music.  For that matter, OS/2 let's me use two different
DOS programs that play music, and have BOTH songs play at the SAME time.  The
Amiga may be able to do that, but I have never seen it and never heard anyone
brag about it.  At any rate, you are dead wrong about the quality of multi-
tasking available on the 386.

> time I looked) can do this out of the box... a SoundBlaster
> Pro costs at least $150, and most Infernally Big Morons who
> buy an Incrediblly Boring Machine (Sorry! >:) buy just plain
> SoundBlasters, which are Mono, and crap compared to the

Most people today but SBPro's.  The SB's that are out there were mostly sold
before the SBPro existed.

> Amy's double-barreled, pumping, blasting, maxed-out, standard
> dual ADC stereo outputs!!!
> Take your 20 MIP 486, and then put it where it will be most

Actually, I only have a 386/40, so I am probably running no more than 10 MIPS
at best, probably less than that.  If I had a 486, I'd really be able to do
some fancy stuff! :-)

> useful, probably against a door you want to keep open!!!

My machine as a doorstop?  That would be as wasteful as buying an Amiga 500 and
trying to get any work done.

>-Cutter,
>Someone who has used ALL types of machines!

Really?  So did you enjoy the Cray or the DEC Alpha more?

John W. Linville

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|   John W. Linville                 Amateur radio:  KD4KHC                   |
|   #include "std_disclaimer.h"      E-mail:  linville@catt.ncsu.edu          |
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