mikeb@ism780b (Mike Bessey) (12/23/87)
INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation reply to complaints about 386/ix:
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>From sdcrdcf!ucla-cs!zen!ucbcad!ames!ptsfa!vixie!paul Fri Dec 18 09:11:53 PST 1987
Article 1355 of comp.unix.xenix:
Path: ism780c!sdcrdcf!ucla-cs!zen!ucbcad!ames!ptsfa!vixie!paul
>From: paul@vixie.UUCP (Paul Vixie Esq)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: COMPLAINTS about ISC UNIX V/386 (386/ix 1.0.4)
Message-ID: <751@vixie.UUCP>
Date: 18 Dec 87 02:16:33 GMT
Reply-To: paul@vixie.UUCP (Paul Vixie Esq)
Organization: Vixie Enterprises, San Francisco
Lines: 138
>First, ISC would not sell to me since I only had one client who wanted it
>and I would not commit to $50K in sales the first year. They sent me to
>CTG/Telemedia in Chicago....
INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation now has 6 domestic distributors of 386/ix
family products. Please contact INTERACTIVE if you feel that your dis-
tributor can't meet your needs.
>The documentation that comes with the system is lousy.
Your comments on 386/ix documentation have been forwarded to ISC's Pub-
lications department. They are appreciated. 386/ix documentation is
designed to assist the naive user; programmers are strongly advised to
purchase the full set of System V, Release 3 documentation. Unfortunately,
ISC cannot sell these.
>...I was asked for a "Select Code" [when calling for AT&T
>documentation].
1-800-432-6600 IS the correct telephone number for ordering System V
Release 3 documentation from AT&T. We were told that we could order
products by title, without the "select code."
>The LP driver prints about 1 CPS.
ISC provided a new LP driver to its 386/ix distributors on December 18,
which fixed some bugs resulting in missed characters while printing.
However, the problem that you are experiencing sounds like you have more
than one device at the same IRQ level, which would result from config-
uring a kernel improperly (e.g. a mouse and a printer sharing the same
IRQ level).
>...bidirectional modem usage
Modems must be set to auto-answer mode with either dip-switch settings
and/or configurations entered into EEPROMS. 'uugetty' does not attempt
to do this. Additionally, the Dialers file must send the proper mode-
setting commands for your modem (eg. Hayes AT commands). Technical support
is available to help you set up several popular modems.
>That's funny, DOS supports four [asynchronous ports]
Standard MS-DOS supports up to two asynchronous serial devices via IRQ 3
and IRQ 4, COM2: and COM1:
>ALT+SHIFT+SYSREQ is the only thing that [pops up the VP/ix menu]
On page 11 of the "VP/ix and MS-DOS Primer", "How to Use the VP/ix Interface
Menu", the correct keystrokes are described. On 101-key keyboards, ALT
must be pressed to make the PRT-SCRN key generate the SYSREQ scan code.
Keyboard BIOSs vary between manufacturers, and your keyboard requires the
letter "m" (menu) to be typed after that. Thus, on your 101-key keyboard
the correct sequence is ALT-SYSREQ followed by m. The ALT-SHIFT-SYSREQ is
not documented and should not be used.
>CONTROL+ALT+SYSREQ
This combination activates the kernel debugger, if present. Since this
debugger is not useful to most users, the standard kernel does not include
it. Use 'kconfig' to add this driver to your kernel.
>...NAME of this [console] Terminfo entry
By default, /etc/profile sets users' TERM variables to AT386. The correct
termtype is therefore already defined for users on the console.
>Is there something special I need to do to make the "~user"
>expansion work in the C-Shell?
Hmmm...although this works correctly on Multibus versions of the 386/ix
C-Shell, on the AT version "ls ~user" fails. Thanks - this will be fixed.
>Crippled. I need 'macasgn'
In your version, 1.0.4, 'macasgn' was replaced by 'netup'. Typing the com-
mand without an argument displays its usage. This is covered on page 5 of
"Release Notes for 386/ix Release 1.0.4", available from your distributor.
>I also needed ESDI support
Glad you like the ESDI support.
We take issue with the writer's conclusion that the product "sucks", as
many of the troubles cited in support of this claim result from a failure
to follow the correct procedures described in the 386/ix and AT&T docu-
mentation. We are very interested in your comments. As this is a new
product, many of your ideas and bug reports will shape the future releases
of 386/ix. Our thanks to Useneters who provide this valuable feedback.
Mike Bessey
INTERACTIVE Technical Support Representative