From: utzoo!decvax!cca!minnich.EE@UDel-Relay@sri-unix
Newsgroups: net.works
Title: Fortune workstation and the 0K question
Article-I.D.: sri-unix.3125
Posted: Sun Sep  5 17:48:21 1982
Received: Thu Sep  9 07:08:31 1982

From:     Ron Minnich 
   I finally got around  to seeing a Fortune the other day. It is a real 
nice little machine, and appears to be running a fairly straightforward, 
up-to-date version of Unix(there is even a /usr/ucb directory).
The machine I saw had an eight Mb hard disk,
5 1/4" floppy, 1/4 Mb memory, eight unused expansion slots, 
and a price of about $9500. Available options are high-res
display (no numbers on this), 2 or four RS-232 ports per expansion slot-
2/$395 or 4/$495, more memory and of course more hard disk.  
The built-in controller will support up to three more hard disks.
It does not look like they sell different Unix's for single and 
multi-terminal users, so one could buy an RS-232 board, hook up 
a terminal, and run.
All the pieces are connected by phone-company style modular jacks. 
   Does anyone out there know what sort-if any- memory management
this machine provides. Is it possible for a runaway program
to write over the kernel?
   Which brings me to the $10K question:
   Are there other machines that provide more for the money?
The Wicat 150 looks like a pretty good deal. How is the Unix
that runs on it? 
Will the Lisa run Unix? Smalltalk is all well and good, but for 
that price I want Unix as well. 
   Comments, anyone?
ron