Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!super!udel!gatech!bloom-beacon!think!ames!oliveb!amiga!jimm
From: jimm@amiga.UUCP (Jim Mackraz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: OS/2 vs. Pournelle
Message-ID: <2971@amiga.UUCP>
Date: 29 Sep 88 20:48:11 GMT
References: <5384@fluke.COM>
Reply-To: jimm@cloyd.UUCP (Jim Mackraz)
Organization: Commodore-Amiga Inc, Los Gatos CA
Lines: 40

In article <5384@fluke.COM> kurt@tc.fluke.COM (Kurt Guntheroth) writes:
)Here's a question I want answered...Do PS/2 (OS/2) machines have memory
)protection?  I don't mean software segments.  I mean hardware protection.
)Otherwise, you know what will happen.  The first OS/2 applications may be
)quite buggy and may have a tendency to wipe out memory, causing system
)alerts (we call them GURUs.) 

As I understand it OS/2 uses the hardware memory protection afforded
by the 80286.  This affords task protection against accidental and
(as I understand it), intentional violations.  They had to add special
stuff to support things like keyboard enhancers (input handler hacks).

)What would Jerry think about GURUs from the
)Gods In Blue?

Sometimes I think if we went into a dead-end loop and just hung the
machine, people would have thought we had a more reliable operating
system.  They'd say: "this program crashed."  As it is, the OS catches
the exceptions, and people say "the system crashed."

Maybe we'll change the Guru message to say:
    "Operating system has intercepted fatal application error.
	     Data has been protected, reboot system."

(By the way, we have more serious plans for the guru, let's not rehash.")

I still think the first products to make money on OS/2 will be debuggers,
but yep, it is a protected multi-tasking OS on a personal computer, stressing
message-based inter-process communication.

)In a year or so, Amiga may have serious revenge on Mr Pournelle.

Why bother?

	jimm
-- 
	Jim Mackraz, I and I Computing	  
	amiga!jimm	BIX:jmackraz
Opinions are my own.  Comments regarding the Amiga operating system, and
all others, are not to be taken as Commodore official policy.