draper@tallis.dec.com (it's only pro/venix, but i *like* it, *like* it, yes i do) (09/22/86)
i was at a computer show saturday ---- mostly ms/dos and apple stuff, but one vendor had an at&t 7300. hardware: mc68010 running at 10Mhz 1 Mbyte memory (expandable to 8 Mbytes) 10 Mbyte hard disk 5 1/4" floppy drive parallel(?) and serial port internal 300/1200 baud modem 10 (?) inch green monitor 3-button mouse software: system v release 2 unix (upgrade to release 3 available at no additional cost) several "desktop" utilities (telephone manager, clipboard, etc.) for running in separate windows microsoft word processing microsoft multiplan dbase III this all for $2500. the people at the table were not too knowledgable. for example, they didn't know whether this was a source or binary-only license. this was also a "base" system without the utilities package (available for another $250) and they didn't know what functionality the package included. unix documentation was also another $250, and they didn't know what that included either. this seems to me to be a pretty decent buy. i realize the disk is *too* small, but that can always be upgraded (probably with a little pre-sale dickering and some more $$). i'm thinking of a system for one or two person software-developement and a little text formatting thrown in on the side. (and *of course* news and mail :-) has anyone used the 7300 in such an environment, or for that matter in any environment, and wish to comment? i'd appreciate any and all information. thanks. bruce ...!decwrl!tallis.dec!draper
peter@catuc.UUCP (Peter Collins) (09/26/86)
In article <5466@decwrl.DEC.COM>, draper@tallis.dec.com writes: > > i was at a computer show saturday ---- vendor had an at&t 7300. > > system v release 2 unix (upgrade to release 3 available at no > additional cost) Beware, what att calls release 3 for the 7300 is still SysV.2, just upgraded to fix some earlier bugs. So don't expect rfs, streams, etc. There are a lot of Berkleyism such as shared libraries (not SysV.3 version) and tcp/ip support that you do get. > this all for $2500. the people at the table were not too knowledgable. > for example, they didn't know whether this was a source or binary-only > license. this was also a "base" system without the utilities package > (available for another $250) and they didn't know what functionality > the package included. unix documentation was also another $250, and they > didn't know what that included either. Its a binary license. The base system does NOT include vi, nroff or a c compiler. To get vi you'll need the advanced editor package, for nroff the document preparation package, for c the development package. Each is $300-$500, so the nickel and dime you to get a full unix. Expect to pay 3 to 4 times what a complete Xenix package would cost on an AT before you get everything you need. > > i'm thinking of a system for one or two person software-developement and > a little text formatting thrown in on the side. (and *of course* news > and mail :-) has anyone used the 7300 in such an environment, or for that > matter in any environment, and wish to comment? i'd appreciate any and > all information. > We use one 7300 to pick up news and mail from our feed. It also supports one programmer with no problems. Basically we like the machine and wish that ATT would support it more aggressively especially for small OEMS. Otherwise we tend to have one 7300 per programmer. We have had problems shipping the units though. Almost everytime we ship a unit something breaks. We've had two video failures and several disks that simply stopped working (could seek to cyl. 0). We were careful to park the disk heads and pack the units properly to no avail. I am interested in other report of reliability/shipping problems with 7300's and 3b1's. (mail and I'll summarize under net.micro.att) Peter ( ..ucbvax!arizona!catuc!peter )
dpw@rayssd.UUCP (Darryl P. Wagoner) (09/30/86)
> > In article <5466@decwrl.DEC.COM>, draper@tallis.dec.com writes: > > > > i was at a computer show saturday ---- vendor had an at&t 7300. > > > > system v release 2 unix (upgrade to release 3 available at no > > additional cost) > > Beware, what att calls release 3 for the 7300 is still SysV.2, just upgraded > to fix some earlier bugs. So don't expect rfs, streams, etc. There > are a lot of Berkleyism such as shared libraries (not SysV.3 version) > and tcp/ip support that you do get. Worst than that! The Unix PC is SVR1.? version 3 with Berkleyism (thank goodness). Berkley doesn't have shared libraries that I know of. From what AT&T has told me the Unix PC is closer to SVR3 and is move in that direction. Software wise the Unix PC is a fairly sound system, but the hardware is a piece of junk. I had a problem with the monitor, system board and power supply. They never did fixed the monitor! I kept calling and they stalled until it was out of warranty. They even close the ticket twice without me every seeing a tech. Darryl Wagoner Raytheon Co.; Portsmouth RI; (401)-847-8000 x4089 best path {allegra|gatech|mirror|raybed2} ---------\ next best {linus|ihnp4|pyrbos} ---------------------->!rayssd!dpw if all else fails {brunix|cci632} -------------------------/ -- Darryl Wagoner Raytheon Co.; Portsmouth RI; (401)-847-8000 x4089 best path {allegra|gatech|mirror|raybed2} ---------\ next best {linus|ihnp4|pyrbos} ---------------------->!rayssd!dpw if all else fails {brunix|cci632} -------------------------/
brahms@spp5.UUCP (Bradley S. Brahms) (10/01/86)
In article <338@catuc.UUCP> peter@catuc.UUCP (Peter Collins) writes: >In article <5466@decwrl.DEC.COM>, draper@tallis.dec.com writes: >Beware, what att calls release 3 for the 7300 is still SysV.2, just upgraded >to fix some earlier bugs. I was under the impression it was Sys Vr1v????, not Vr2. -- Brad Brahms usenet: {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!trwrb!trwspp!brahms arpa: Brahms@usc-eclc
ccjoan@ucdavis.UUCP (ccjoan) (10/01/86)
> Software wise the Unix PC is a fairly sound system, but the hardware is > a piece of junk. I had a problem with the monitor, system board and > power supply. They never did fixed the monitor! I kept calling and they > stalled until it was out of warranty. They even close the ticket twice > without me every seeing a tech. > > Darryl Wagoner > Raytheon Co.; Portsmouth RI; (401)-847-8000 x4089 I have been very happy with the AT&T 7300 and the service from AT&T. An AT&T 7300 was purchased at my previous place of employment. AT&T connected an AT&T 6300 and an IBM-XT to the 7300, including running the cables, installed our software and tested the system for communications problems. Problems were found with communications between the IBM and 7300 because of an unusual graphics card. AT&T researched the problem and suggested solutions. During this time the warranty ran out. I contacted our AT&T technical representative. He arranged for an extension of the warranty with the main office. For almost a year now there have been no problems with the AT&T system but many with the IBM. We have used the AT&T hotline for many software questions and have been very pleased with the service. MS-DOS/IBM clone systems do not provide a software/hardware interface service at all. With any system, service and satisfaction is dependent upon the company repre- sentative. We originally dealt with a salesperson who could not handle our problems. We requested a technical representative, were assigned one, and were very happy after that. We dealt with one person, maintained followup communi- cations and addressed all problems to him. Darryl Wagoner's system was defective (quality control programs do not detect all defects) and should have been dealt with promptly. But that is a personnel problem not a product problem. Joan Gargano