templon@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (jeffrey templon) (04/20/91)
THis is a copy of an article I posted to comp.sys.atari.st.tech, they suggested I post here too. Feel free to ignore the atari-specific questions if you so choose. jt -------------------------------------------------- Hope this is the right place to post. The upper-level group (atari.st) seemed to be reserved for the fervent discussion of 'demos'. I am thinking about getting an ST machine. The reasons are 1) wanting to stay away from Intel architecture, 2) the ST runs Minix and 3) these things seem to be unbelievably cheap. I am asking for opinions about the machine, running Minix on it, things you like / dislike, etc. Some particulars: - I have minix running on the Mac at the moment - how does ST minix compare with Macminix? I would think it would be faster, since mac minix has to run as an application rather than an OS. - what is the native ST interface like (not minix, but this GEM thingy) compared to the Mac? - what is the minimum configuration I'll likely be able to get away with? I am eyeing starting out with a 520 - 512k and a monochrome monitor, with some sort of HD. I am used to having 2.5 Meg of RAM and 60 Meg HD on my Mac. It seems like Atari stuff should need less space from what I have heard. For anyone wanting to ask, 'why not stick with your mac?', i'll just say that the Mac and I have to part for technical reasons! i have thought about getting one of the new macs (the LC, say) but this seems a little dumb when there are these ST's selling for well under $1000, especially the used ones. Thanks for any email you might send. Jeff Templon
muts@fysak.fys.ruu.nl (Peter Mutsaers) (04/21/91)
templon@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (jeffrey templon) writes: >- I have minix running on the Mac at the moment - how does ST minix >compare with Macminix? I would think it would be faster, since mac >minix has to run as an application rather than an OS. Don't know enough about the mac to tell. >- what is the native ST interface like (not minix, but this GEM thingy) >compared to the Mac? A simple copy of it. But because of its simplicity I prefer it personally. It is good enough to work with. The only thing lacking it the quality of the application installation (it exists, but is worthless). >- what is the minimum configuration I'll likely be able to get away with? >I am eyeing starting out with a 520 - 512k and a monochrome monitor, >with some sort of HD. I am used to having 2.5 Meg of RAM and 60 Meg >HD on my Mac. It seems like Atari stuff should need less space from >what I have heard. Maybe, for HD space 10 meg seems enough. But as there is no virtual memory you'll want at least 1 mb ram, better even more. 512 k is absolutely not enough! -- Peter Mutsaers email: muts@fysap.fys.ruu.nl Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht muts@fys.ruu.nl Princetonplein 5 tel: (+31)-(0)30-533880 3584 CG Utrecht, Netherlands
jerry@talos.npri.com (Jerry Gitomer) (04/25/91)
templon@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (jeffrey templon) writes: |- I have minix running on the Mac at the moment - how does ST minix |compare with Macminix? I would think it would be faster, since mac |minix has to run as an application rather than an OS. Looking at the bare hardware (forgetting the GUI) the ST has a slightly faster clock and a co-processor to handle some of the stuff the MAC does in the 68K. As a result the ST is faster. Even when running an ST with GCR (the MAC emulation cartridge from Gadgets by Small) the ST will outperform a MAC running the same programs! I have no minix specific experience with the MAC, but I am sure it will run faster since on the ST minix takes over the whole machine. |- what is the native ST interface like (not minix, but this GEM thingy) |compared to the Mac? GEM on the ST looks a lot like MS Windows on the PC. (In fact Microsoft sued Digital Research [the developers of GEM] and made them change the interface away from that used on the ST and the early PC versions of GEM. Of course you don't have to use GEM if you don't like it. It is possible to get command line interfaces. (The one most often recommended is GULAM -- which is shareware). |- what is the minimum configuration I'll likely be able to get away with? |I am eyeing starting out with a 520 - 512k and a monochrome monitor, |with some sort of HD. I am used to having 2.5 Meg of RAM and 60 Meg |HD on my Mac. It seems like Atari stuff should need less space from |what I have heard. Well, you *can* load minix in a 512KB ST, but you can't run very much -- including some of the more commands such as ls. I did some checking and since I plan to use GCC rather than the ACK "C" compiler I expanded memory to 2.5MB. I definitely would go with 2.5MB or more. |say that the Mac and I have to part for technical reasons! i have |thought about getting one of the new macs (the LC, say) but this |seems a little dumb when there are these ST's selling for well under |$1000, especially the used ones. If I were buying a used ST I would buy a 1040 and I would make sure that the memory chips were socketed. The 1040 because you can easily expand memory to 4MB as compared to 2.5 for most 520s. Socketed memory because soldering irons and I are mutually exclusive. |Thanks for any email you might send. I tried to send you email, but it bounced. Jerry Gitomer -- Jerry Gitomer at National Political Resources Inc, Alexandria, VA USA I am apolitical, have no resources, and speak only for myself. Ma Bell (703)683-9090 (UUCP: ...uunet!uupsi!npri6!jerry )