[comp.os.os9] OS9 books

dj@dorsai.cognet.ucla.edu (David J. Wells) (08/30/88)

I would like to know more about OS9.  What good, technical literature is
available?  Specifically, I want information on OS9 ports to in the 68XXX
family or other 32 bit processors.  Topics of interest include memory
management, devices, new machine ports, and windowing environments.

Also, where can I get a list of OS9 products on the market (i.e. good
magazines to browse for ads, or an OS9 product summary)?


					thanks,
					  dj
								David J Wells
							       dj@cs.ucla.edu
								w213/206-3960
								David J Wells
							       dj@cs.ucla.edu
								w213/206-3960

jejones@mcrware.UUCP (James Jones) (08/30/88)

In article <15602@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>, dj@dorsai.cognet.ucla.edu (David J. Wells) writes:
> I would like to know more about OS9.  What good, technical literature is
> available?
>
> Also, where can I get a list of OS9 products on the market (i.e. good
> magazines to browse for ads, or an OS9 product summary)?

I'd better bracket this with disclaimers...the following is purely my very
own opinions, up close and personal, with no correlation with any organization
other than those cells that comprise (or is it "constitute?") my body.

The books I've seen out so far on OS-9 have tended to be on OS-9/6809.  In
fact, there may well be more books on OS-9 in French or Japanese than in
English!  There is always the route of buying a copy of the manuals, though.

Microware also has a hardware and software vendor directory.  You should give
them a call for details.

Magazines?  Well...a few years back I'd have recommended *68 Micro Journal*
strongly.  I can't recommend it strongly any more; though it does have an
OS-9 column, nowadays the magazine is largely a catalog for Southeast Media,
which sells software for OS-9/6809, OS-9/68000, and FLEX and its clone
SK*DOS.  The only other English-language magazine I know of that regularly
covers OS-9 is *Rainbow*, a Tandy Color Computer magazine (so that the cover-
age is essentially all OS-9/6809), but even for 6809 users, one has to decide
whether it's worth buying a magazine mostly filled with illegible spaghetti
BASIC listings of games for the amount of OS-9 coverage therein (not to mention
putting up with occasional ignorant OS-9-bashing).  There may well be others,
though, outside the US.

There is the OS-9 User Group newsletter, of course.  You should consider
joining the UG.  For information, 

	OS-9 User Group
	Suite R-237
	1715 East Fowler Avenue
	Tampa FL 33612 USA

The main mention of OS-9 in the US you'll see aside from the above is in
such magazines as *Electronic Design*; there has recently been a burst of
articles on "UniBridge," a package for cross-development and C source-level
debugging across Ethernet from Unix to OS-9/68000 systems (and on the OS-9
system directly, of course), and you'll see a fair number of references to
VME systems (or Gespac's G-64 bus systems--Gespac, BTW, has a glossy magazine
that has a certain amount of OS-9 coverage; I'm not sure how one goes about
subscribing, though) as running OS-9.

Once one gets out of the US and at least somewhat out from under the IBM
religion, it's easier to find publications that mention OS-9.  The Japanese
OS-9 User Group has a professional-looking (though short) magazine on glossy
paper (though I should not slight the aforementioned User Group newsletter,
*MOTD*, which is looking *very* good thanks to its editor Bill Brady).
Japanese magazines such as *My Computer* and *Interface* evidently refer to
OS-9 a fair amount.

Despite the length of this message, I've certainly not done a thorough search
myself, and I hope that others will fill in gaps I've left, particularly the
active group of OS-9 users in Europe.

(Just a reminder--any opinions here are mine, all mine.)

		James Jones

anderss@uplog.se (Anders Sjolund) (08/31/88)

David, I tried to mail, but couldn't reach the recipient, so this goes to the
net:

In article <15602@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> dj@dorsai.cognet.ucla.edu.UUCP (David J. Wells) writes:
>
>I would like to know more about OS9.  What good, technical literature is
>available?  Specifically, I want information on OS9 ports to in the 68XXX
>family or other 32 bit processors.  Topics of interest include memory
>management, devices, new machine ports, and windowing environments.
>
>Also, where can I get a list of OS9 products on the market (i.e. good
>magazines to browse for ads, or an OS9 product summary)?

I'm also interested in this kind of info on OS9/68k. Do you think you could 
post a summary of your responses to the net (or mail it to me) ?

AdvThanksance /anderss@uplog.se




-- 
Real life:      Anders Sjolund                  Email:  anderss@uplog.se
Snail mail:     TeleLOGIC Uppsala AB            Phone:  +46 18 189409
                POB 1218
                S - 751 42 Uppsala, Sweden

rick@gtisqr.UUCP (Rick Groeneveld) (09/02/88)

In article <733@mcrware.UUCP>, jejones@mcrware.UUCP (James Jones) writes:
> Magazines?  Well...a few years back I'd have recommended *68 Micro Journal*
> strongly.  I can't recommend it strongly any more; though it does have an
> OS-9 column, nowadays the magazine is largely a catalog for Southeast Media,
> which sells software for OS-9/6809, OS-9/68000, and FLEX and its clone
> SK*DOS.  The only other English-language magazine I know of that regularly

I used to subscribe to 68 Micro Journal. The last time I moved,
I sent them a change of address notice. They ignored it. I sent
another. They ignored that one too. I sent them my new address
every month for the next eight months and they never once sent
my magazines to the right address! They did manage to send the
renewal notices to the right place, but the magazines kept going
to the old address.

					H. Groeneveld

bdw@rwing.UUCP (Brian Wright) (09/05/88)

In article <15602@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>, dj@dorsai.cognet.ucla.edu (David J. Wells) writes:
> 
> Also, where can I get a list of OS9 products on the market (i.e. good
> magazines to browse for ads, or an OS9 product summary)?


David, I don't own a 68K system, but rather, a Tandy Color Computer 3
running OS-9 Level 2.  The only reading material out is either
"The Rainbow Guide to OS-9", by Dale Puckett and Peter Dibble.  A lot of
what's explained is very relavent to 68K, since some of the commands
in Level 1/2, are available for 68K OS-9, although with some differences.

The only OS-9 products out are for the Tandy Color Computer, and I don'T
think that there's a heckuva lot available for the 68K world yet.  The
Atari ST is the only low cost micro with a 68K chip that has a version
of OS-9 68K for it.  I've checked Byte magazine, but they don't have
any ads for OS-9 products.  UNIX world might, and I don't think the
Computer Shopper even has ads for ANY OS-9 engines.  Which is a shame,
because I feel that OS-9 is far superior to MS-DOS and OS/2.
Good luck on finding the material you need!


-- 
Brian Wright
UUCP: {backbones}!uw-beaver!tikal!toybox!rwing!bdw
      "                         "!camco!eskimo!bdw
"I'd buy that for a dollar!"  --Robocop

jejones@mcrware.UUCP (James Jones) (09/07/88)

In article <349@rwing.UUCP>, bdw@rwing.UUCP (Brian Wright) writes:
> The only OS-9 products out are for the Tandy Color Computer, and I don'T
> think that there's a heckuva lot available for the 68K world yet.  The
> Atari ST is the only low cost micro with a 68K chip that has a version
> of OS-9 68K for it.  I've checked Byte magazine, but they don't have
> any ads for OS-9 products.  UNIX world might, and I don't think the
> Computer Shopper even has ads for ANY OS-9 engines.

It is most definitely *not* the case that the only OS-9 products out are
for the Tandy Color Computer.  Call Microware and ask for a hardware and
software vendor directory.  "There are more products in heaven and earth,
Horatio, than are dreamt of in BYTE and Computer Shopper..." :-)**3

		James Jones

jec@nesac2.UUCP (John Carter ATLN SADM) (09/09/88)

In article <349@rwing.UUCP>, bdw@rwing.UUCP (Brian Wright) writes:
> In article <15602@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>, dj@dorsai.cognet.ucla.edu (David J. Wells) writes:
] ] 
] ] Also, where can I get a list of OS9 products on the market (i.e. good
] ] magazines to browse for ads, or an OS9 product summary)?
] 
] 
] David, I don't own a 68K system, but rather, a Tandy Color Computer 3
] running OS-9 Level 2.  The only reading material out is either
] "The Rainbow Guide to OS-9", by Dale Puckett and Peter Dibble.  A lot of
] what's explained is very relavent to 68K, since some of the commands
] in Level 1/2, are available for 68K OS-9, although with some differences.
] 
] The only OS-9 products out are for the Tandy Color Computer, and I don'T
] think that there's a heckuva lot available for the 68K world yet.  The
] Atari ST is the only low cost micro with a 68K chip that has a version
] of OS-9 68K for it.  I've checked Byte magazine, but they don't have
] any ads for OS-9 products.  UNIX world might, and I don't think the
] Computer Shopper even has ads for ANY OS-9 engines.  Which is a shame,
] because I feel that OS-9 is far superior to MS-DOS and OS/2.
] Good luck on finding the material you need!
] 
] 
] -- 
] Brian Wright
] UUCP: {backbones}!uw-beaver!tikal!toybox!rwing!bdw
]       "                         "!camco!eskimo!bdw
] "I'd buy that for a dollar!"  --Robocop

Microware publishes (or at least did publish) a list of software available
for OS9 and OS9 68K computers.  There ARE OS9 computers out there, but you 
probably have never heard of the brands.  Frank Hogg Labs sells some very
powerful 68K machines, and OS9 software for both 68xx and 68xxx machines.

Try contacting James Jones at Microware  ...uunet!mcrware!jejones

I live in a world of UNIX and MSDOS, but I LIKE OS9.  I used my CoCo running
OS9 Level 1 to check out a disk drive that couldn't talk to the disk controller
in an MSDOS box.  OS9 let me format and use the drive as 35 track single-sided
up through 80 track double-sided just by changing the device descriptor.
You know about loadable device drivers - it's a marvelous NEW feature in 
version 3 of MSDOS - but OS9 has had it for years...
-- 
USnail: John Carter, AT&T, Atlanta RWC, 3001 Cobb Parkway, Atlanta GA 30339
Video:	...att!nesac2!jec    Voice: 404+951-4642
The machine belongs to the company.  The opinions are mine.

jejones@mcrware.UUCP (James Jones) (09/13/88)

In article <1226@nesac2.UUCP>, jec@nesac2.UUCP (John Carter ATLN SADM) writes:
> Try contacting James Jones at Microware  ...uunet!mcrware!jejones

Not to be a yenta, but...it really is best to *not* contact me, but instead
to contact the folks who know what's what.  (I'm just a humble techie. :-)
The way to do that is to mail to mcrware!mcrware, or to call or write.

		James Jones