wfd00828@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (03/02/90)
I've got a whole pile of questions related to multi-user applications of a '386 based machine, as well as just general selection of such a machine. 1. What OS is this easiest in? (I'm talking about hooking up 3-6 dumb terminals) Which is most reliable? Crashes least? Needs a guru the least? Basically, I just want to run one application, allowing access to a common data base from all the terminals. Actually, I want people who are computer illiterate to do this, without me having to maintain the system for them. I want to be able to go away after it's set up, leaving the users with little more than a "this must be done every . . ." list and instructions for essential hardware maintenance. 2. Any brand names (hardware) to choose/avoid? I know right now I can't afford IBM. I can't even afford to SAY IBM. I know better than to buy a no-name clone, but past that, I just dunno. 3. Another problem is a large amount of air-borne dust. We're talking about enought to get thick black (carbon, I think) dust on anything that isn't cleaned > once a month. (The dust comes from the acetlyne (sp?) torches.) Not to mention the ever-present cigarette smoke. My concern here is (I guess) primarily effect on the disk drives. I know it's not good for the rest of it either, but such is life. Any other relevent comments will be appreciated. I would also appreciate responses being emailed as I don't read this group regularly enough; I'll summarize and post/distribute if I get any/sufficient requests for it. Many thanks, Walt Dexter w-dexter@uiuc.edu University of Illinois
kaleb@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Kaleb Keithley) (03/03/90)
In article <46500063@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> wfd00828@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu writes: >3. Another problem is a large amount of air-borne dust. We're talking about > enought to get thick black (carbon, I think) dust on anything that isn't > cleaned > once a month. (The dust comes from the acetlyne (sp?) torches.) > Not to mention the ever-present cigarette smoke. My concern here is (I > guess) primarily effect on the disk drives. I know it's not good for the > rest of it either, but such is life. I worked on a system that had five AT class pcs installed near the loading ramp on an Air Force base. Heavy exhaust dust accumulated inside (and outside) all the pcs. (The first time I saw one, I thought that it had caught on fire.) In two years of non-stop usage, I never saw a drive failure in these units. Other stuff failed, cards burned out, monitors failed, power supplies died, but the drives ran on. kaleb@mars.jpl.nasa.gov Jet Propeller Labs Kaleb Keithley spelling and grammar flames > /dev/null