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From: davidsen@steinmetz.UUCP (Davidsen)
Newsgroups: net.micro.68k
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Info on OS9 Operating System
Message-ID: <286@steinmetz.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 22-Oct-85 19:38:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: steinmet.286
Posted: Tue Oct 22 19:38:33 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 26-Oct-85 04:46:36 EDT
References: <347@wlbr.UUCP> <9500001@datacube.UUCP> <126@mcrware.UUCP> <275@graffiti.UUCP> <837@lsuc.UUCP> <299@graffiti.UUCP>
Reply-To: davidsen@kbsvax.UUCP (Davidsen)
Organization: GE CRD, Schenectady, NY
Lines: 31


People who assume that UNIX must have huge quantities of {disk, memory, cpu
cycles, etc} are simply repeating the misinformation they have heard
elsewhere. I recently helped someone set up a small office system with the
following confiuration: 1 640k IBM PC clone ($2200), two terminals ($800),
one copy of PC/IX ($720). This included enough word processing, editors,
etc to run an office which does lots of word processing. At some time in
the future some additional software will be installed, but the system
including printer was < $5k, and runs in 640k for three users. The nroff
processor is set up as a queue to keep too many jobs from killing the
machine.

I think I could do this for < $10k using an AT&T 7300 (or 3b1) which
would give me more memory, 68k processor, virtual memory, and access to
many packages in the future. Even that package would be only 20Mb (or at
most 40) and 1 Mb of memory. UNIX is not always a hog of anything in
particular, although the use of processors with verbose instruction sets
(like the 68k) can increase the memory and disk somewhat. 8086 programs
run 30-50% smaller, since many instructions are only 1 byte.

Note that the software includes all packages, including uucp, accounting,
and even games! This takes about 6Mb of disk. The clone they got runs a
20Mb, so there was no need to pare it. When the load increases they will
buy a second machine and link with uucp (no need for shared databases in
this case).

Let a few hard facts shine on the matter.

Bill Davidsen

"It seemed like a good idea at the time..."