lynch@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Tim Lynch) (10/23/89)
Does anyone have any experience running softPC on a model 835SRX? I realize that question sounds silly, but we have some molecular modeling software that runs on a PC which we would like to run on an 835 _if_ softPC can make use of some of the 835's graphics capabilities. Our department is setting up a molecular modeling/graphics class to be taught next semester. As it turns out, we would solve many problems regarding space allocation, user training, etc., if we could run everything on the 835. I would like to hear from anyone running softPC to learn more about its limitations. I would guess that applications which bypass the PC's BIOS are not going to work. Is that correct? Are there other limitations? What sort of graphical output can I expect? Thanks in advance for any answers to these questions.
garyq@hpfcdc.HP.COM (Gary Quakenbush) (10/25/89)
> ... > to learn more about its limitations. I would guess that applications > which bypass the PC's BIOS are not going to work. Is that correct? > Are there other limitations? What sort of graphical output can I > expect? I believe SoftPC completely emulates PC devices at all levels, including BIOS and register level. The limitation you will see is the limitation of the PC displays themselves. SoftPC emulates MDA, Hercules monochrome, CGA, and EGA (in SoftPC 2.0 only), in an HP-UX X11 window. Only MDA (no graphics) is emulated in the version of SoftPC that runs on a terminal outside of X11. It wouldn't be impossible for HP to support more powerful PC graphics standards in the future, but I expect to see more emphasis in HP on getting graphics applications ported to run native under HP-UX, rather than enhancing the PC emulation. Native X11 graphics applications will always have much better performance on your 835 than SoftPC graphics applications. Note that I'm not associated with the SoftPC project, and I do not know of, or have any effect on, future plans for SoftPC or native-mode HP-UX applications. My comments on the future are pure speculation. The bottom line is SoftPC does not use the full capabilities of your 835 SRX display, since it's limited to the capabilities of the PC display being emulated. This may be sufficient for your needs, but I recommend trying it before making a commitment. I also recommend waiting for SoftPC 2.0, which is announced but not yet shipping.
belkin@teecs.UUCP (Hershel Belkin) (10/27/89)
> I also recommend waiting for > SoftPC 2.0, which is announced but not yet shipping. We have Soft-PC (early version), which we had planned to use from standard terminals in order to run various MS-DOS compilers (ie. no graphics requirements). But we were very disappointed to find out (after purchasing the product) that almost no HP terminals were supported! That is, save for those which can run in DEC VT-100/220 modes, X-terms, and one model of the the 293x family (I think). Does anyone know if the newer version offers support for HP terminals in "HP mode"? (eg. 262x, 150's, etc.) -- +-----------------------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Hershel Belkin hp9000/825(HP-UX)| ...!{lsuc}!teecs!belkin | | Test Equipment Engineering Computing Services | Phone: 416 246-2647 | | Litton Systems Canada Limited (Toronto) | FAX: 416 246-5233 | +-----------------------------------------------+-------------------------+
dww@math.fu-berlin.de (Debora Weber-Wulff) (04/02/91)
Does anyone out there in HP-land really use the SoftPC?
My professor was told he had to buy a HP, and then he asked
if he could use his PC programs (a LOGO interpreter and some
geometry programs he wrote in it) on the HP. Well, his friendly
salesperson added in SoftPC and delivered the box. The person
who had my job before me left the university after 2 weeks using
the box - drove him crazy. Now I have the box and SoftPC
running (Thanks to the Hotline folks, they really do help!) -
but look at the times:
manyflags on AT at 12 MHz : 0.9 sec
manyflags on HP SoftPC/Hercules emulation : 12.4 sec
That is impossibly slow! Does anyone have
a) a real use for the SoftPC
b) any idea haw to speed it up by an order of magnitude (we
already added a couple of MB of memory)
c) a LOGO compiler that runs directly under HP-UX? I'm scratching
some of the PD stuff together, but none has worked yet.
Thanks!
--
Debora Weber-Wulff
snail: FU Berlin, ZI Fachdidaktiken, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, W-1000 Berlin 33
email: weberwu@inf.fu-berlin.de, dww@math.fu-berlin.de