cagney@chook.ua.oz (Andrew Cagney - aka Noid) (06/11/90)
Sorry, more MINIX trivia. If you are thinking of getting MINIX from PH
then the following background will be be very usefull
From article <7609@ncar.ucar.edu>, by cruff@ncar.ucar.edu (Craig Ruff):
> Is this really necessary? I'm considering getting the 1/2" tape version.
Hmm, a bit if MINIX distribution background is probably required before
you rush out and do this :-)
ibm 1.1 Available on 1/2" tape and 5.25 inch disks. Both for the pc.
Very out of date.
ibm 1.2 Distributed on 5.25 disks with several variations
ibm 1.3 Available as either a) Complete distribution b) Upgrade kit
from 1.2. Rumored to no longer be available pending 1.5
[Fortunatly, by not living in USA I can't confirm this]
st 1.1 Best compared with ibm1.3 but the two have different sources
1.5 Available for the IBM in either 3.5 or 5.25 format. Also
for the Atari ST, Mac, Amega. Sources identical except
1) in the kernel proper (for obivious reasons) and 2)
where the word IBM was replaced by ST/Amega/...
Rumored available Aug/Sept. I don't know if this version will
be distributed on tape. Don't bother asking PH sales they
don't even know if it exists.
If ordering, you should specify the ISBN number so that you can avoid any
confusion over which version you ordered :-). See below.
Also people with old versions will be able to `upgrade' at a cheeper rate
by sending PH their boot disk. This is almost the same as what Bruce is
suggesting. The only difference being PH keep the old disk :-(.
sorry, back to your regular viewing.
Andrew Cagney.
Ordering details [Taken from the minix Information Sheet posted each month in
comp.os.minix]
When ordering it, please specify one of the following versions:
MINIX 1.3 for 640K IBM PC $79.95 (0-13-583444-9)
MINIX 1.3 for 512K IBM PC/AT $79.95 (0-13-583303-5)
MINIX 1.1 sources on mag tape $79.95
MINIX 1.3 code + reference manual (PC) $116 (0-13-584426-6)
MINIX 1.3 code + reference manual (AT) $116 (0-13-584418-5)
MINIX-PC upgrade (1.2 to 1.3) $29.95 (0-13-584723-0)
(Sources *ONLY* -- you will need to already have
a working PC-Minix system to use this)
MINIX 1.1 for the Atari ST $79.95 (0-13-584392-8)
Textbook: Operating Systems: Design and Implementation (0-13-637406-9)
Reference Manual: MINIX for the IBM PC, XT, and AT (0-13-584400-2)
Finally, below are two articles AST posted on 1.5 from PH:
The tentative plan is as follows. P-H will release 5 packages around
August 1, 1990 (if all goes well). They will be:
1. PC/XT/AT/386 version on 5.25 inch disks
2. PC/XT/AT/386 version on 3.5 inch disks
3. Atari ST
4. Amiga
5. Macintosh
They will all contain the same basic files, but will vary slightly in the
sense that there will be no TOSREAD for the Macintosh and no routine to read
the IBM clock on the Atari. Other than that sort of stuff, they will be
pretty much alike. Most files will be identical, in fact. The 3 68000
versions will use the same binaries so you can compile a program on an
Amiga and execute it on an Atari, etc. The 2 IBM versions will differ only
in the layout of the disks. Both IBM packages will contain the PC boot
disk, the AT boot disk, and the BIOS boot disk, and both will require only
512K (but will use whatever is available). This will eliminate a lot of
problems. Tentative price is $140 for first time buyers, with a $40 discount
to people who are upgrading from a previous version (and prove it by sending
in their old P-H boot diskette). P-H is definitely committed to bringing out
1.5 as a product, but the dates and prices are tentative. Don't call them now
since the people who answer the phone know nothing about this and will
vigorously deny all of it.
Andy Tanenbaum (ast@cs.vu.nl)
Oops! I forgot something important in my previous discussion of 1.5.
The $140 or $100 price will include > 700 pages of paper, including over
200 pages of manuals, very detailed installation instructions, and a listing
of the 1.5 kernel, MM, and FS in the same format as the book. The manuals have
all appeared on the net at one time or other. I've just cleaned them up a
little.
It will also come with a couple of shell scripts for installing the whole
thing on a hard disk. The beta testers have been pretty enthusiastic
about the shell scripts. (There is no point in my posting them since they
are very closely tied to the exact format of what is on which diskette.)
Thus the package is comparable to the current IBM slipcase version ($119),
not to the yellow box ($79.95).
They have to raise the price to cover the cost of the additional disks.
Andy Tanenbaum (ast@cs.vu.nl)cruff@ncar.ucar.edu (Craig Ruff) (06/11/90)
In article <1026@sirius.ucs.adelaide.edu.au> cagney@chook.ua.oz (Andrew Cagney - aka Noid) writes: > ibm 1.1 Available on 1/2" tape and 5.25 inch disks. Both for the pc. > Very out of date. I downloaded this from uunet, where Prentice Hall has just placed some of their book catalog online: MINIX 1.3 Sources on 9-Track Magnetic Tape @ 1988 (58438-3) 0-13-584384-7 Not so out of date, and even the right level for the current Minix-PC532. Of course, I don't know yet if I'll have a working pc532 by the time Minix 1.5 sees the light of day, so I may have the latest anyway. By the way, the Prentice Hall stuff is available via anonymous FTP on 'uunet:tmp/prenhall'. -- Craig Ruff NCAR cruff@ncar.ucar.edu (303) 497-1211 P.O. Box 3000 Boulder, CO 80307
emv@math.lsa.umich.edu (Edward Vielmetti) (06/12/90)
In article <7618@ncar.ucar.edu> cruff@ncar.ucar.edu (Craig Ruff) writes:
By the way, the Prentice Hall stuff is available via anonymous FTP
on 'uunet:tmp/prenhall'.
for a while, it's on tmp/prenhall; the permanent home is books/prenhall.
--Ed
Edward Vielmetti, U of Michigan math dept <emv@math.lsa.umich.edu>
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