jeff@swusrgrp.UUCP ( system admin) (02/14/89)
This sounded so good I just had to put it out on the net. A former distributor of computer products that distributed Interactive Systems 386/ix UNIX products has a blow out deal going. The 386/ix Applications Platform: 386/ix Runtime UNIX V - unlimited user version VP/ix DOS/UNIX envoronment - unlimited version TEN/Plus user interface This package normally lists for $1395.00 They have 47 copies in the shrink wrap for only $200.00 each. Yes, you heard right $200.00 each! The only catch is this: it's version 1.0.5, so if you want to upgrade to version 1.0.6 it will cost $80.00 or alot more to upgrade to version 2.0.0 (which is buggy at this point). You'll still come out way ahead though. FYI: version 1.0.5 was solid, 1.0.6 fixed some serial problems, and version 2.0.0 is the merged UNIX V and XENIX V product. First come first serve. Contact Mark Hilz, Digital Data, (713) 240-7278. -- Jeff Tye @ Copperstate Business Systems VOICE (602) 244-9391 ncar!noao!asuvax!hrc!swusrgrp!jeff southwest!/usr/group (602) 275-2541
grabhorn@marlin.NOSC.MIL (Steven W. Grabhorn) (02/14/89)
Does anybody know anything about this product. I've been thinking of looking at different types of u*ix products to run on an AST 386, hopefully with DOS running underneath it (when I need it). thanks, steve Grabhorn grabhorn@nosc.mil
ron@ron.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) (02/16/89)
Nearly all the System V's for the 386 are Interactive Systems' port anyway. It's just repackaged in various ways for end user sales. It runs DOS applications pretty well under the UNIX (it's really the 80386 that makes this easy, not the UNIX). They've adapted the Phoenix BIOS. -R
mark@gizzmo.UUCP (mark hilliard) (02/16/89)
In article <1127@marlin.NOSC.MIL> grabhorn@marlin.nosc.mil.UUCP (Steven W. Grabhorn) writes: >Does anybody know anything about this product. I've been thinking of >looking at different types of u*ix products to run on an AST 386, >hopefully with DOS running underneath it (when I need it). Yes, I have used the Microport, ATT and Interactive products. In my opinion the Interactive version has the BEST implementation of them all. I have opted to put Interactive on all of my machines at work (10). I have 1.06 and 2.0. The 2.0 is really better, but it does have some minor bugs. The drivers for several 3rd party products have not been completed yet. -- Mark Hilliard {ethos,fthood,u1100a}-----\ N2HHR rutgers!rochester!kodak!pcid!gizzmo!mark \-->gizzmo!mark
rcd@ico.ISC.COM (Dick Dunn) (02/17/89)
ron@ron.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) writes: > Nearly all the System V's for the 386 are Interactive Systems' port > anyway. It's just repackaged in various ways for end user sales. True to a first approximation...each seller (including Interactive) will add some features, but right about the base of the system. > It runs DOS applications pretty well under the UNIX (it's really > the 80386 that makes this easy, not the UNIX). This is not quite fair. The 386 makes it possible, by providing an 8086 mode that can look like a real 8086 to a program, yet be protected and caged in so it doesn't stomp on the rest of the universe. The hardware really provides a LOT of support for doing this. HOWEVER, there's a lot of software work involved in making things work with the UNIX world (so you can share files, the screen, etc.) That is, once you have the hardware mechanism to box in the 8086 program, you have to supply the software to reconnect the beast to reality. Well-behaved programs are easy, but there are various DOS program which are quite popular but quite ill-behaved-- they go around rewriting interrupt vectors, writing directly to device registers, etc....all the things you'd never even contemplate in the UNIX world. They have to run, and that presents some hard problems--particu- larly hard if you want them to run efficiently, since you can't just emulate everything. There's more than one 8086 DOS under UNIX gadget. VP/ix is the one Interactive and Phoenix (see next) did; it also shows up in some other vendors' systems under other names. >...They've adapted the Phoenix BIOS. Por supuesto...but because Phoenix and Interactive were partners in the development of VP/ix, this kind of begs the question. (Would Phoenix use somebody else's BIOS?) Disclaimer: I speak for myself, etc...but I work for Interactive, so I might know what I'm talking about here. -- Dick Dunn UUCP: {ncar,nbires}!ico!rcd (303)449-2870 ...Just say no to mindless dogma.