tbetz@dasys1.UUCP (Tom Betz) (02/28/89)
MIPS Magazine I just received the premiere issue of a new magazine, and I'd like to recommend it to all those who miss the old Byte and it's focus on small, state-of-the-art computing. MIPS was created 'to help readers evaluate new alternatives in high-performance personal systems, principally 80386 systems and their challengers, including engineering workstations and the Macintosh II.' It seems as though it might do a pretty good job of this. I particularly like their approach to benchmarking tests, which can be very revealing in simulation of real-world-type situations. The premiere issue features a look at the Everex Step/33 (a 33 MHz 80386 machine), Silicon Graphics' Personal IRIS, the Definicon SP-ARC1 AT SPARC board, the Macintosh SE/30, and a comparison of the various Unixen available for the 80386. Columnists include David Betz (no relation, author of XLISP) on programming; A.G.W. Cameron on Engineering and Scientific applications (with a first column discussing the Sun 386i); Peter Varhol on business applications; and David L. Peltz on graphics. It's a slim volume, but full of good information... IMHO, it's worth a look. I plan to subscribe. Next month: a hands-on evaluation of the NeXT, comparative reviews of >100MB hard disks and high-throughput interfaces, and a comparison of multitasking features in Unix, OS/2, extended DOS, Multifinder and VMS. Available from MIPS Publishing, PO Box 54024, Boulder, CO 80322-4204 - Subscriptions are $19.94/year. -- "Still I sing bonny boys, bonny mad boys, | Tom Betz, 114 Woodworth Bedlam boys are bonny, | Yonkers, NY 10701-2509 For they all go bare, and they live by the air, | (914) 375-1510 And they want nor drink nor money." - Steeleye Span | tbetz@dasys1.UUCP