[comp.sys.atari.st] File systems, multitasking, and such stuff

javoskamp@watmum.waterloo.edu (Jeff Voskamp) (01/09/89)

In article <540@stag.math.lsa.umich.edu> hyc@math.lsa.umich.edu (Howard Chu) writes:
>In article <84396@sun.uucp> cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis) writes:
... lots of stuff deleted...
>>try the Amiga Fastfilesystem on a Quantum 80S. Try on a freshly formatted
>>one and one that is 80% full. We'll even let you use 16Meg partitions
>>and the Amiga will smoke your eyes. We're talking 800 - 900K bytes/sec
>>transfer rates bud.
>
>Well, we're talking pretty nice, I guess. I've got a Quantum 80S on my
>machine. I've compared it to an Amiga with the same drive. (At the local
>computer store, of course.) Copying 1 megabyte files around on a freshly
>formatted (yes, 16 MB, oh well...) partition. My ST was faster. (Did I
>say "was?" Still is, too, I think...) 

As he said, try it on one that is 80% full and watch the Atari grind away.
The thing is that the Amiga file system is pretty much capacity independant
as far as speed is concerned, while the Atari slows down as the disk fills
up (a problem in the free block lookup routine - fixed in TOS 1.4 (or so I've
been told)). 

As for multitasking:  I've been exposed to several systems (Atari, Amiga, 
Sun, VAX, Mac, something else at work...) and I feel cramped if I can't get
several editors, browsers and compiles going at once.  It's my biggest
complaint with the Atari.  But I still bought a Mega 2 with SH204. 

I've done some development with the thing and like any other system, once
you know the dangerous areas there's not too much trouble.  

Between myself and some close friends we cover the range of micros - Amigas,
Macs, Atari, PCs, etc.  We all know that our machines have areas in which they
shine (some more than others) and areas about which we tend to mumble.

Well, time to stop before I find a soap box.

Jeff Voskamp
--
Views expressed are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Symbolic Computation Group or those of the University.
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