From: gerald@CSOFT.UUCP (Gerald Abshez)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Priorities for Coherent 4.0 development features
Date: 11 Nov 92 09:14:41 GMT
Reply-To: gerald@csoft.UUCP (Gerald Abshez)
Distribution: comp
Organization: CSOFT

In article <SJE.92Nov2182010@xylos.ma30.bull.com> sje@xylos.ma30.bull.com writes:
>First, I have no doubt that nifty newsreader software and the ever
>more sophisticated UUCP upgrades are popular topics.  In fact, they
>seem to be getting the majority of the commentary.  But they are not
>the items that are going to get Coherent more acceptance in its market
>niche (low cost Unix style development and application systems).

Well, as this seems to be the most popular topic, it seems most Users,
on the net anyways, feel that it is important. The pure garbage I went
through with cnews and rn, just to get them _running_, is way too much.
The price is aimed at a hobbyist, IMO, and you have to address these
needs first.

>Second, while having a sophisticated GUI and the like is interesting,
>no one should delude themselves into thinking that they are going to
>get a full blown SCO style X Window environment for either the current
>size or price levels of Coherent 4.0.  Note that I do not doubt that
>MWC could eventually produce an SCO clone, but what would be the
>point?  By the time they got there, their price would probably be
>pretty close to SCO itself while SCO functionality had moved forward
>in the interim.

Well, how about Linux? That is a _free_ *nix, and it does X. And before
COH does. However, it is unsupported, and better suited (IMO) to true
Unix hackers right now, whereas COH is good for an "intro" to Unix.
Some things in SCO, COH will need to survive; however, I don't think
that COH will ever be nearly as big as SCO, or as costly, because it
is aimed at a lower end, cost conscious market. They don't mind dragging
(a little) in functionality, as long as they aren't paying more in
support and upgrades then they are in car payments a month.

>Third, most large vendors today have recognized that it's a
>multiplayer commercial environment and interoperability is the
>watchword of the day. 

I mostly agree with this statement.

>a three node AppleTalk network using TurboNET ST adaptors (US$15 each
>including cabling) that has all kinds of third party software and
>[...] but I can't use it
>from Coherent because Coherent doesn't understand AppleTalk because
>there's no driver for the card or the appropriate run time library
>support.  The only cheaper network for multinode (more than two)
>system is ol' Sneakernet, well known to Coherent users.  I think that
>AppleTalk protocol and LocalTalk hardware support would be a big win
>for Coherent users as it would support the needs for the various
>network software services while also allowing the easy integration of
>third party items (like AppleTalk laser printers).  Even IBM makes
>LocalTalk peripherals!  Yes, 10 Mbps Ethernet is nice, but for those
>with only US$100 budgets for oeprating systems, it's probably out of
>reach.

I have one comment on the above:
If COH only does one kind of network, PLEASE don't let it be LocalTalk.
LocalTalk is fine for sharing a few files or one printer cheaply between
two MACs, But it is horrible as far as a "network" goes. Want to share
exe's? FORGET it. Large Documents? SLOW! SLOW! Even some sort of serial
network (bleh) at a decent speed is comparble. Even Apple has (sort of)
admitted how bad it is. They want you to use ethernet too.

I'd rather have TCP/IP, and some support for writing drivers. Then we
can nag vendors to pitch in, and hook up enterprise wide, rather then
just to MACs. Think... you could even hook up to the Internet with
that support. 

[Comments about needing an ANSI C compiler, which I agree with,
 left out for brevity]

I think you have a point, in some cases; however, after admitting that
COH is only a $100 operating system, you seem to want more out of it
then we do. :-) 
-- 
---
csoft!gerald@r-node.gts.org, gerald@csoft.uucp

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