steved@hrshcx.csd.harris.com (Steve Daukas) (04/29/91)
Note: Followup-To has been changed...
Also, the following group was deleted as it was not recognized
by my mailer: "comp.os.ms.dos.misc"
In article <1991Apr26.211100.7830@thyme.jpl.nasa.gov> kaleb@thyme.jpl.nasa.gov (Kaleb Keithley) writes:
>
>Now, I'm not trying to compare UNIX to OS/2, or PM/Windows to X Window
>System. But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, is it a duck?.
>From ten feet back, they all kinda look the same. And with UNIX, you can
>have more than one user. Try that on OS/2, or DOS.
Most who have a PC don't need to support more than one user (at a time),
but rather want to support many applications at one time. Its for this
reason (IMO) that people are interested in OS/2. (Unix has a PR problem
- perception is reality when it comes to marketing and sales! Besides,
If you arn't going to use Unix for Unix, why would the great unwashed masses
buy it?)
Windows begins to address this issue, but not fully. I have been using
Windows 3.0 for a while now, and it is not the same as multiple X sessions
(sigh). OS/2 2.0 is supposedly more like true multitasking with windowed
sessions. I am actually thinking of getting a copy to see if it does what
I want (without crashing every 20 minutes).
Unix is great (I use it at work and have various knock-offs for my PC),
but it doesn't run DOS applications. So what you ask? The *vast* majority
of small system owners rely on DOS applications for things like reports,
spreadsheets, et. al.. If you had a Unix-based OS that could run DOS
applications in a MOTIF/X11R4 window, great - I'll buy one. The point is,
not many would.
From what little I know of OS/2 2.0, you do have a multitasking OS which can
run DOS applications in a window (even different versions of DOS itself).
This appeals to my DOS side. The only question I have is - is it still easy
to bootstrap a Unix from another partition with OS/2 like I can with DOS?
Is it possible to run one of the Unix knock-offs in a window (not MKS)?
The other question is what does OS/2 get me? I mean aside from doing what
windows 3.0 can't do - multitask (or for that matter run for more than 30
minutes before crashing)? What runs on OS/2? What would I do with it other
that treat it as an environment for running windows et. al.?
Life would be simpler if there was a Unix that could run DOS applications under
a (any duck) window environment (X11R4, MOTIF, Windows, Program Manager, etc.).
Then again, I'd be happy with a real multitasking windowed environment that
would allow me to run DOS apps - so long as I can still boot Unix from another
partition (or, do I dare dream, run Unix in yet another window).
So, whats your idea of a perfect combination of parts from Unix, DOS, OS/2, ...?
Steve
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| Stephen C. Daukas || sdaukas@csd.harris.com |
| (617) 221-1834 || uunet!hcx1!misg!sdaukas |
`-------------------'`-------------------------'
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| Stephen C. Daukas || sdaukas@csd.harris.com |
| (617) 221-1834 || uunet!hcx1!misg!sdaukas |
`-------------------'`-------------------------'billr@saab.CNA.TEK.COM (Bill Randle) (05/11/91)
In article <7450007@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> yoshida@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Stuart Yoshida) writes: >steved@hrshcx.csd.harris.com (Steve Daukas) writes: >> Unix is great (I use it at work and have various knock-offs for my PC), >> but it doesn't run DOS applications. > > How about an HP9000 series 700? Under HP-UX running MOTIF/X11R4 > there's a program called SoftPC that allows you to use any DOS-based > program in a PC window. The performance of the low-end machine in > this RISC-based workstation line (the model 720) runs DOS applications > at about the speed of a 25MHz 386 machine. I've seen it work, and > it's *very* impressive. System prices start at $12K plus about $500 > for SoftPC. And, yes, my opinion is quite biased :-) ;-) This must be a different (newer?) version of SoftPC than what is being sold for Sun Workstations. According to the literature I have, SoftPC only supports EGA, CGA and Hercules (i.e. no VGA, SVGA). Performance wise, it says using SoftPC on a Sun SparcStation 1+ (16 MIPS) is about the same as a 6MHz PC/AT! We are looking into an add-on 386 board that fits into a Sbus slot on a Sparc and runs DOS applications (including support for VGA) in a window. -Bill Randle Tektronix, Inc. billr@saab.CNA.TEK.COM