Text File

Aucbvax.6463 fa.works utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!works Fri Mar 12 11:47:35 1982 Opinions & Biases >From JGOLDBERGER@Usc-Isib Thu Mar 11 20:07:35 1982 In my original message that seems to have touched off this recent debate I was not trying to advocate the development of a portable TOPS-20 for personal computers, nor did I feel the need to point out the continuing annoyance of UNIX command naming practices.

I believe the theory offered by Mike O'Dell is certainly true but of little relevance to my original concerns. Someone here at ISI pointed out that computers are extremely good at re-educating their users to new commands and/or procedures, it only takes a few trys at using file-name completion on UNIX to learn that it doesn't work!

I think the real point is that when standing at the crossroads that many of us are, in terms of changing our present computing environments, it is a serious mistake to be content to trade one traditional operating system for another. In the past this was not the case; It was entirely reasonable to trade TOPS-10 for TENEX/TOPS-20, or RSX/RSTS for UNIX, it is probably still reasonable to trade VMS for UNIX. I don't know the options for 68000 based systems, but you get the idea. It is not reasonable however to trade TOPS-20 for UNIX or vice-versa, each has virtues the other lacks and when faced with a user community that is comfortable in one or the other, the only way to convince them the change is for the better is to offer them something MUCH BETTER. The general feeling seems to be that this means bit-mapped displays, mice, multiple windows, and reasonable tools for the manipulation of these things.

My concern is that UNIX doesn't provide a suitable foundation for building this environment (I don't think TOPS-20 does either!). One way to insure that you build an entirely new environment is to pick some hardware that all the old stuff doesn't work on (SPICE on PERQ's eg) the other way is to use the same old hardware, but with an entirely new operating system (seems like UNIX started this way).

It may well be that it requires an effort on the scale of the STAR to accomplish this, but if that is the case we should admit it, and not pretend that we're entering the new-age of computing with SUN terminals running UNIX.

- Joel Goldberger -

----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen <jgoerzen@complete.org> of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/

This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided:

1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles.

2. The following notice remains appended to each copy:

The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.