Re: MISC-d Digest V00 #12

["Wayne Morellini" <waynemm@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Eugene Leitl <eugene.leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de>
Wayne Morellini writes:
 > ---
 > I guess it's just a promotion (half price), but right now there's a
 > $99 internet box that looks like the real deal...

-It's $99, plus very stiff $40 shipping (it's sold out at circuit city,
-but you can preorder there or from the company directly). Also you

Ahhm, this was from somebodies previouse message.  I have to paste in 
Hotmail and didn't catch it.
---
 >
 > Why would they want to put Linux on it, QNX is a far superior OS (Ask the

 > Speaking of Transmedia Cruoso chip, I was trying to find out what 
happened
 > to the Amiga thing (apart from Linux being dropped for the vastly 
superior
 > Toas based OS)it appears that the new Amiga was to use the chip.  
Somebody

-Why would one want to know anything about zombie vapourware? I lost my

Toas' OS is not vapor ware and still has features that Linux people could 
--- themselves for.  Amiga though working on some nifty stuff keeps getting 
interference, court challenges, and take overs that has held it up for 6-8 
years, thanks a lot Guys.

-proprietary) system whatsoever. Then why not BeOS (which has no point
either, but be my guest).
BEOS has been a shipping product for a long time too.  Is the Palm OS vapor 
ware? what abour Linux, doesn't make sense.

From: Eugene Leitl <eugene.leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de>
To: "Samuel A. Falvo II" <kc5tja@armored.net>

Samuel A. Falvo II writes:

 > are designed primarily to be turn-key operating systems, you don't
 > generally "just get"  a root shell with nothing else on it.

-Well, check out the IOpener list archives. This is kernel, a couple of
-binaries, GUI and apps. Nothing else. So why bother?

Well Windows doesn't ship with much either, you have to get the developement 
systems (at QNX even).

 > The singular problem with QNX is the cost of licensing its use.

-Which pretty much kills it. QNX is sure some hot shit, but as long as
-they don't OpenSource it it will always remain a niche, however
-healthy. Linux needs not to be always monolithic, check out L3/L4 and
-Fiasco plus wrappers. The reason this stuff still languishes -indicates
-there is real reason for it. As soon as you've got trend towards much
-finer grains, as artefacted by parallel hardware constraints, the
-nanokernel is going to enter the Linux distro mainstream with a
-vengeance.

Funny how does that apply to Palm over Windows CE.  Apart from that QNX is 
one of the most licensed embedded OS systems in the world.  Maybe your IBM 
bank teller machine still uses it.

It is fairly hot, some pretty neat and fast features at small size and 
pattened graphic software concepts.  Plus they were allready doing it for 
the multimedia thing when the Plug was pulled on by PC people in preference 
for Linux (which then lead to the cancellation of the Amiga, sell off and 
change over to Toas's OS etc).

>The point to BeOS is its technical superiority over all other available PC
 > operating systems.  However, it was a project that was doomed to fail --
Only in some areas, if you stacked it up against QNX you would find some 
areas matched some superior some not.  Match it against Toas's OS, even 
worse again (all that distributed patrrallel processing stuff and speeded 
compiled virtual code accross different processors architechures they have 
been using and homing for years, ohh and built with drivers for the game 
market etc as well).

-Technical superiority doesn't matter anymore. Availability of source
-and distribution copyright decides everything these days, because on
-the long run it also ensures technical superiority. Linux is highly

Yes in the long run, patents run out and Linux can catch up, that is 
correct.  But on the matter of superiority, I am very frustrated -with my 
PC, performance and quality suffers (not mentioning my recent problem with 
registering unmade mouse clicks while I'm scanning menues).  The software 
and the architecher of the PC, a problem.  Custom hardware (below good until 
PC and software redesigned.

 > with the exception of Windows and QNX, no one in their right mind would
 > release a new operating system under closed source.  Windows can do it

Palm

 > time.  It's a combination of the Commodore effect with the right product
 > being at the wrong place/time.

Well Commodore could have kept investing in the Amiga, they had it over 
Apple, but Apple invested.


 > Furthermore, the new Amigas being designed are going to be based on open
 > standards.  While a proprietary motherboard will likely be used (after
 > all, how many people do YOU know of who are raking in the cash selling
 > CHRP PowerPC motherboards or Crusoe borads that fit the ATX
 > specification?), they will use industry standard expansion slots, such as
 > PCI, Firewire, and USB.

Funny the new Amiga was going to be available in a Crusoe ATX motherboard 
with standard pc parts too (including new generation ATI chipset).

 > The operating system that is going to be used will almost certainly be
 > POSIX compliant, so porting applications to it will be trivial.  An X
 > server is likely to be a given as well.  Even device drivers.  And yes,

-So what's the difference to a vanilla Linux box, just a realtime
-nanokernel? They've got no chance at all, even if they were entering
-the market now.
Great Object oriented real time Kernal with great efficencies.

- I'm a bozo, so I stick with Linux. It has kept me very happy all these
years.

In case other people haven't realised, QNX and the Toas OS (too some extent) 
have a very Misc flavour about them.  They are practically minimial and 
scallable, OO, fast efficent etc.  Maybe Linux will change direction to this 
one day.  Ohh Be-OS is available as a free download from their site.  You 
only need good drivers for good hardware, you can get Dev sys at cheap price 
and develope better drivers.  As far as changing the OS code, well it's 
pretty good as it is why change it, their on top of it.  Linux has not quiet 
caught up yet.

Thanks.

Wayne.

What happened to the other messages, Samuel had good points.

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