mikes@sir-alan.UUCP (Mike Squires) (07/04/87)
I have received the following information from a reliable source about XENIX 3.2
for the 16/16b/6000 and hardware mods that would support XENIX 3.2.
First, the announcement made at the Tangent conference concerning XENIX 3.2
had the following information:
1. 3.2 will run on 6000's and 16/16B's.
2. 3.2 will support graphics on the 26-4104 graphics card.
3. There are two hardware mods for the CPU. There is a new CPU card running
that can support 7MB (using a 68000, apparently); there is also a mod for
the old CPU card that will support up to 4MB. There are also speed mods
for the Z80 (to 6MHz) and the 68000 (to 12MHz).
The problem is that the 6000 eats the 3000 for lunch with the speed mods; Tandy
wants to standardize as an IBM clone house and wants users to move from the
16/6000 to the 3000. The release of all of these things would make that
unlikely. I note that the IBM PS/2 models 50/60 are only 10% faster in
Dhrystones than a 6000; the PS/2 is a 10MHz no wait-state 80286 system and
the 3000 must be slower than that. Also, IBM carefully engineered the AT
to make multi-user operation difficult (lack of interrupts for more than
two ports) and systems that emulate it will also have problems. XENIX 3.2
on even a 1MB system outperforms XENIX on the 3000, by the way.
4. No 6000's have been made for a year; the latest sale includes a "internal
drive installation kit" which appears to be Tandy flushing the production
buffers for the 6000HD. There is a nonzero chance that the 6000 will be
dropped over the summer and blown out the door in the fall.
If anyone wants to write to Tandy, write Kent Roberts (Tandy 6000 Buyer);
Graham Beachum (VP, Business Products) at 1500 Tower 1 Tandy Center FW TX
76102 or John Roach (CEO) 1900 Tower 1 Tandy Center FX TX 76102
If anyone out there in Tandyland is listening they should know that they have
been steadily losing their user base not to AT clones but to 68010/68020 UNIX
boxes, such as the Tower. Personally I suspect that my next system will be
a 80386 "clone" (how do you clone a nonexistent machine?) running Microport
UNIX 386 (currently shipping, $800 for whole system). What other company
would throw away a user base of 200,000 machines?
By the way, if you want copies of notes on (a) modifying 256K DRAM cards to
1MB dram (b) installing non-Tandy ST506 or SA1000 drives in 16/6000's (c) 68K
XENIX versions of JOVE (EMACS - also alleged to compile and run under SCO
XENIX V) or other things, drop me a line.
Michael L. Squires Office: 814-724-3360
Department of Political Science Home: 814-337-5528
Allegheny College ubbs: 814-333-6728 300/1200/2400
Meadville, PA 16335
uucp: ..!decvax!cwruecmp!ncoast!{mikes,peng!sir-alan!mikes}
..!pitt!sir-alan!mikes
BITNET: mikes%sir-alan@pitt.UUCP
MIKES AT SIR-ALAN!PITT.UUCP (IBM BITNET Mailer)marc@mfbbs.UUCP (Marc Randolph) (07/10/87)
[I tried to make this as short as possible, but it just kept growing.] In article <287@sir-alan.UUCP> mikes@sir-alan.UUCP (Mike Squires) writes: >I have received the following information from a reliable source about XENIX >3.2 for the 16/16b/6000 and hardware mods that would support XENIX 3.2. If you can, get the August copy of Unix/World. Pages 93-95 have info about it. Some features: 1. up to 6MB of memory may be used by /xenix itself 2. Support high res graphics, as you stated 3. Ability to format media in multi-user mode 4. Auto reboot capability 5. Auto screen dim on console after 20 minutes of non-use 6. Correct handling of the new DST 7. Newer and better version of mail (could it get worse?) 8. New version of csh. [...] > There are also speed mods > for the Z80 (to 6MHz) and the 68000 (to 12MHz). What? You mean you never noticed that three way jumper on the 68000 board next to the 24MHz crystal? :-) It switches between 6 - 8 - 12 MHz modes. Just need all of the support chips to handle the high speed (I tried it... it wouldn't work on mine, but then again, I have the *old* board; 8MHz doesn't even work [and yes, I still have those stupid memory boards that take 64kbit chips]). I've always thought that the Z80 should be faster than it is, but whoever is doing the speed mod for the Z80 should take it up to 8MHz, if at all possible. **** If you find out how and/or where to get the high speed mods, please either post it or e-mail it to me, thanks. **** > [...] I note that the IBM PS/2 models 50/60 are only 10% faster in >Dhrystones than a 6000; the PS/2 is a 10MHz no wait-state 80286 system and >the 3000 must be slower than that. I have a 10MHz AT with 1 wait state that beats the PS/2-60. I don't think it's that hard to be faster than the PS/2-60... but like everyone claims, the compiler probably made the difference. >4. No 6000's have been made for a year; the latest sale includes a "internal > drive installation kit" which appears to be Tandy flushing the production > buffers for the 6000HD. There is a nonzero chance that the 6000 will be > dropped over the summer and blown out the door in the fall. According to the Unix/World article, the "6000 will continue to be offered in the 1988 computer catalog." Your guess is as good as mine. >By the way, if you want copies of notes on (a) modifying 256K DRAM cards to >1MB dram [...] a) What about 64k DRAM cards to 1MB DRAM? :-) > >Michael L. Squires Office: 814-724-3360 >Department of Political Science Home: 814-337-5528 >Allegheny College ubbs: 814-333-6728 300/1200/2400 >Meadville, PA 16335 > >uucp: ..!decvax!cwruecmp!ncoast!{mikes,peng!sir-alan!mikes} > ..!pitt!sir-alan!mikes I'll have to call. --- Marc Randolph UUCP:...!{seismo,rutgers,ihnp4}!okstate!svo!mfbbs!marc Home: 918-838-1430 Cheaters: mfbbs!marc@svo Blame Saint Andreas - it's all his fault.
jrb@petro.UUCP (Jon Boede) (07/29/87)
XENIX 3.2 for the Tandy 6000 is reported due out in mid fall. However, Tandy
is not sure that there will be a demand for the 3.2 development system and may
not, in fact, bring it out.
The 3.2 "core" system is supposed to fix a number of bugs, including the UART
card lockups which are so annoying. Some of the other nice things are an
xmail package; adj_clock which lets you fudge the time-of-day-clock if your
hardware isn't real accurate; autoboot to bring the system back up from all,
some or no types of crashes; cfg to allow changing buffers, files, locks,
Maxmem, etc. without re-linking; graphics for the console and a console screen
saver. The 3.2 development system cc compiler is also supposed to support
FLEXNAMES which will go along way to end the "my compiler truncates after only
seven characters" variable name redundancy blues.
I have heard rumors that the hardware upgrade that will be made available is
supposed to have a 8Mhz Z80, 12+Mhz 68000, an MMU and support for up to 7M
of main memory (our swapper thanks them). This will make the 6000 a pretty
Dandy Tandy.
But! Tandy is under the impression that there won't be a demand for all of
this. Rather than pursue the 6000's path with a 68020 box they'd rather see
the 6000 die and everybody buy 3000's (80286 boxes).
You can help! Drop a line to Tandy's CEO, John Roach or their 6000 buyer,
Kent Roberts (addresses below). Tell them that you LIKE your 6000, thank you
very much. But best of all, vigorously encourage your local R/S manager to
bring such thoughts with him when he goes to Dallas this weekend. Kent Roberts
just resigned, and they'll be replacing him before the conference this weekend,
making this the PERFECT time to sound off.
The addresses are:
Kent Roberts
6000 Computer Buyer
1500 One Tandy Center
Ft. Worth, Texas 76102
or the top dog:
John Roach
CEO, Tandy Corporation
1900 One Tandy Center
Ft. Worth, Texas 76102
Thanks!
Jon
--
Jon Boede ...!{gatech,ihnp4,akgua}!petro!jrb
512/599-1847 2555 N.E. Loop 410, #1403, 78217
"People who are incapable of making decisions are
the ones who hit those barrels at freeway exits."karl@ddsw1.UUCP (Karl Denninger) (07/31/87)
In article <312@petro.UUCP>, jrb@petro.UUCP (Jon Boede) writes: >(Description of Xenix software deleted) > I have heard rumors that the hardware upgrade that will be made available is > supposed to have a 8Mhz Z80, 12+Mhz 68000, an MMU and support for up to 7M > of main memory (our swapper thanks them). This will make the 6000 a pretty > Dandy Tandy. > > But! Tandy is under the impression that there won't be a demand for all of > this. Rather than pursue the 6000's path with a 68020 box they'd rather see > the 6000 die and everybody buy 3000's (80286 boxes). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > Ah, but Tandy will announce an 80386 system -- we got the little pamphlet early. Current customers can expect to see this 8/5 -- 8/7, but here is a sneak preview. The Tandy 4000, the '80386 machine', is not a real full-blooded '386. From what I can see in the brochure, there are no 32-bit memory slots (ugh!), and no 80387 (80287 is supported). Price is $2,599. And yes, it uses 3-1/2" disk drives (1.44M). There is also a 12 Mhz 3000, which uses the 1.2M 5-1/4" diskettes, and a 3000 HL change (very slight from what I can see). These are priced at $1,999 & $1,499, respectively. All three of these have a keyswitch, and a single indicator light on the front of the unit. The units are bare as described, requiring addition of a monitor and card, a reasonable hard disk (and probably controller, it's not mentioned in the specification) and MS-DOS. All three come with Tandy's enhanced keyboard as well (which is real nice if you get a good one, we have several people we work with who have had problems with theirs!) At the bottom of the line, we find a 1000 TX, basically a XT/286 in a Tandy box (and with the T1K keyboard), and a 1000 HX, with MS-DOS in ROM (but get this -- the specification says it's version 2.11!) Both systems have 720K 3-1/2" disk drives as standard equipment. There are also two printers shown -- one which is a laser unit. This is a 6 ppm unit with only a centronics port. This unit is priced at $2,199. The other unit is a 240 CPS dot printer with an LCD display on the front, 24 pin printhead, is priced at $1,599. And on the back cover -- don't forget the 1400LT, a lap-top MS-DOS machine for $1,599 with dual 3-1/2" floppys, V20 processor at 7.16Mhz, and a backlit LQ supertwist display (MSDOS 3.2 is included). The brochure says this system will be available 10/31/87. Not mentioned is the battery life, or whether they are included. -- Karl Denninger UUCP : ...ihnp4!ddsw1!karl Macro Computer Solutions Dial : +1 (312) 566-8909 (300-1200) "Quality solutions at a fair price" Voice: +1 (312) 566-8910 (24 hrs)
rmb384@leah.Albany.Edu ( Robert Bownes) (09/23/87)
Does anyone know any of the following: Will Xenix 3.2.x support 2400/1200/300 autoselect on a port? This is kinda important since I just spent $300 on a 2400 baud modem, multi terminal card, and will have users dialing in. (Yes, Rich, in case you didn't get the message, I'll take the card.) When are we gonna get it? The best answer I've been able to get is "Real Soon Now." And on a related subject: Does anyone out ther have news running on a 6000 they could send me? (I have Notes) Bob Bownes Any opinions expressed herein are purely by accident. They are not to represent those of my current or former employers. They may, however be shared by my TR-6 or my houseplants.
rmb384@leah.Albany.Edu ( Robert Bownes) (09/24/87)
I forgot to also ask: Is nroff/troff going to support any other printers besides the DWP II? It's annoying to have to nroff something and then edit the result to get something printable..... Bob
cc1@CS.UCLA.EDU (09/26/87)
You want a 300/1200/2400 auto baud Getty? Why didn't you ask earlier? I had to write one about a year ago (maybe 1.5). I've got it at home, it was working perfectly all this time until my hard disk died two days ago. Tell you what: When my primary gets back from repairs and I can use my system again, I'll send you a copy. Nice and flexible, too. Michael The opinions represented here are a result of being educated at a school that discriminates againts roosters. Only the birds are responsible.
cc1@CS.UCLA.EDU (09/26/87)
Things I'd like to see for 3.2:
1. Distributing the configuration files WITH the core upgrade so those of us
with extra drivers can actually USE them with the new O/S. (this means with
all the core upgrades)
2. A way of auto-booting from a crash with intelligence. By this I mean running
fsck, and if it gives the system a clean bill of health, THEN continue with
the bootup. Do NOT run fsck and just say "yes" to all of its questions--I never
do that because it might make a mistake ("No room in lost+found; remove?")
3. A way of changing/modifying the scheduler/swaper. Guys, it is not well designed
for a small memory machine (step one: if a backgrounded, niced job will not
fit in memory then DO NOT schedule it (thrash city).
4. A way of monitoring serial lines at the console
5. Faster console output.
6. Multiple console screens (a la ibm-pc's. There are two function keys, so
why not two screens?)
Michael
The opinions represented here are a result of being educated at a
school that discriminates againts roosters. Only the birds are responsible.dab@myrias.UUCP (09/28/87)
In article <8342@shemp.UCLA.EDU> cc1@CS.UCLA.EDU (Michael Gersten) writes: >You want a 300/1200/2400 auto baud Getty? > >Why didn't you ask earlier? I had to write one about a year ago (maybe 1.5). >I've got it at home, it was working perfectly all this time until my hard disk >died two days ago. > How about posting it to the net? I've been wishing for one of these for a while now.
bfb@mtund.ATT.COM (Barry Books) (09/29/87)
In article <510@leah.Albany.Edu> rmb384@leah.Albany.Edu ( Robert Bownes) writes: > > Does anyone know any of the following: > > > Will Xenix 3.2.x support 2400/1200/300 autoselect on a port? It's been like 5 years since I worked at Tandy and used Xenix but I seem to remember Xenix has something link Sys V /etc/gettydefs but they call it something else. This lets you select the baud rate the port comes up at and what to do if it gets a BREAK. If you want UUCP thats all you need just stick the right number of \b's in your chat script and UUCP will get on sooner or later. If you come in from a terminal you have to hit BREAK yourself. Like I said its been a while since I played with Xenix so I could be completely wrong. Barry Books mtune!mtund!bfb Better is Bigger