From: peter@ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: PC-clone UNIX Software Buyer's Guide
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 17:47:59 GMT

In article <1hQSr7#4j0mn690sxx39LFgDX47gPx5=esr@snark.thyrsus.com> esr@snark.thyrsus.com (Eric S. Raymond) writes:
> You say you want cutting-edge hacking tools without having to mortgage the
> wife'n'kids?

Nope.

Other people have flamed enough about the presentation of this information.
I'd like to gripe about the information itself. Eric's the sort of guy who,
were he a car nut, would be buying a new car every other year and customize
it to death.

I'd like to put in a word for the people who, if they were car nuts, would be
working on keeping their old car running well. Or who aren't car nuts at all,
but just want reliable transportation. That, after all, is where the money is.

Where's SCO Xenix? Sure, Xenix is trailing-edge, but after several years SCO
is still supporting it. Sure, the upgrades are pricy, but you don't have to
buy all new applications and convert your databases when you upgrade. If you
bought V.3.2 a couple of years ago, you know what I'm talking about. If you
but 4.3.2 or Solaris 2.0 now, will Dell or Esix or Sun support you in 5 years
when your business depends on it? SCO will. What do you do when your 486/50
with 32 MB on the motherboard is too slow to run Renderman-Windows VR system,
and you can't get X11 or character cell applications for your old 4.3.2 UNIX
because the vendors don't support it?

Where's ISC? No, it's not cutting edge. It's also the only USG product that will
still run on the systems that *were* cutting edge in '87 or '88: 386/16 with
maybe 4MB max. Don't ignore it... it's a real option for people with older
hardware (yep, you can still get replacement arts for your '88 mustang).

Where's the up-to-date dope on Coherent? The 386 version still only requires 
a dozen or so MB of disk space.

Yes, systems become obsolete, but it seems they're doing it faster then ever
on the "open systems" that are supposed to prevent that very thing.

So here's my free advice to vendors: either guarantee support for at least
five years, or put your code in escrow so customers can buy it and support
it themselves when you drop it. AT&T: you need to do the same thing, because
Mirosoft has demonstrated they're willing to screw the future to keep their
old customers and they'll eat your lunch. This is more important than your
USL versus BSDI suit. You need to promote your competition in the *IX market
or there won't be one in a few years.

And here's my request for Eric: more older systems listed in the Guide. You
say you can be a powerful advocate for the net... well let's see you be a
powerful advocate for the little guys on it as well. If support for folks
with '87 chevys as well as people with '92 vettes gets rewarded with good
publicity, maybe your vette will still be drivable in '97.
-- 
Peter da Silva                                               `-_-'
$ EDIT/TECO LOVE                                              'U` 
%TECO-W-OLDJOKE Not war?                        Have you hugged your wolf today?
Ferranti Intl. Ctls. Corp.      Sugar Land, TX  77487-5012       +1 713 274 5180
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386