Subj : Re: unixs on a 386 To : Charles Angelich From : David Drummond Date : Sat Nov 24 2001 11:50 pm Charles 23 Nov 01 12:36, Charles Angelich wrote to David Drummond: CA>>> No, no limits. Find an AT&T WGS and install on that. DD>> That isn't a limit? I don't believe I've ever seen an AT&T DD>> computer in this country. CA> I'm sorry it was a poor attempt at levity. The AT&T WGS line CA> was built to operate on SCO UNIX and came with a minimum of CA> 32meg at a time when that was considered impressive. Ah - great, if I'm allowed to use up to 32Mb RAM this should be a piece of cake. How about harddrive size - any limit there? DD>> One will be able to perform workstation tasks on it - text DD>> processing spreadsheet - web browsing - dialup - DD>> controlling the garden sprinklers, (all in text mode of DD>> course). CA> As I mentioned before, it is my impression that to adapt LINUX CA> monolithic kernel to any unusual hardware you must recompile CA> the kernel. Without that capability you can't adapt LINUX to CA> your own personal requirements. Modules! Have you not heard of Linux modules? They're a bit like device drivers in config.sys. If they're not included, you obtain and compile just those. What unusual harware do you have in mind? (BTW my garden sprinklers are controlled by very standard hardware - the parallel printer port). CA> --8<--cut DD>>>> I don't know what Oberon is. CA>>> Then this would be a huge opportunity to expand your CA>>> knowledgebase. It's a multitasking OS and language written CA>>> by Nicolas Wirth and friends. DD>> Ah - heard of him. DD>> What will it do for me that I cannot currently do with DD>> those OSs I currently have access to? DD>> What application software is available for it? CA> I don't recall the full list of applications. I recall a GUI CA> browser, and networking software. I think there is more than CA> one graphics application and others but you would have to go CA> their website for specific listings of available software. CA> What it is purported to `do' is allow an experienced programmer CA> in the OBERON language to re-create many applications in just a CA> few minutes at the console. The language is modular in a way CA> that it apparently co-exists with the OS itself. All of my CA> information is from interpreting what they say it can do. I CA> would compare it to *NIX using pipes and redirection to link CA> multiple binaries to complete a task but in OBERON it is said CA> to be capable of even database functions created in a similar CA> fashion at the console. Ah - no thanks, I am not a programmer. I'm limited to the occasional batch file/shell script/PERL script. I haven't written anything like an application in a very long time, and I'm not about to start doing that again. I'm happy to let others who get off on that sort of thing do it. CA> --8<--cut DD>>>> They sent each other mail over the TCP/IP based LAN they DD>>>> installed, learned basic *nix commands, wrote basic shell DD>>>> scripts etc. All in real time. CA>>> I can assume that the hardware and software weren't CA>>> pretested to be compatible with each other? DD>> HUH? Even the Linux kernel claims to be 386 compatible. THe DD>> hardware in the machines was standard issue IDE/VGA/NE2000 DD>> stuff. CA> When the 80386's first entered the market IDE was very new. All CA> 386s didn't have IDE drives. My first one was ESDI with EISA CA> slots. Neither of which was supported by LINUX if my memory CA> isn't playing tricks on me (again). Dunno - I've not had access to that either. You seem to have been plagued by unusual hardware over the years. Virtually all of the 386s I had access to were very standard clone machines. The oddest thing I've installed Linux on was an old IBM MCA based server box. I think it may have had an ESDI drive - whatever, I got it working with the drivers included, even the Token Ring network card. That was quite some time ago too, the machine has long ago been dumped (so I cannot give you a snapshot of it). CA> --8<--cut DD>> (The PC card NIC in my old notebook is an SMC - Slackware 4 DD>> worked on that straight out of the packet) CA> This seems to confuse people when I tell them but if you don't CA> have _one_ network card that you know is working properly to CA> cable to but instead have two `unknown' cards to work with you CA> have no way of knowing if #1 the card is damaged, #2 your setup CA> on the client is wrong, #3 your setup on the server is wrong, CA> #4 both are wrong, #5 both cards are damaged. True, one does need at least one card to be known to be working. One advantage of working in the IT dept at work is I have plenty of methods of testing same. CA> 100% of all of the people who say getting an unknown card and CA> drivers to function is not a problem have had access to a known CA> working machine to test with. I do not have such a machine to CA> test with. Quite a few have said to put the card in a W9x CA> machine and let plug-n-play figure it out then write that down CA> and do it on mine (after I've told them I want to use it with CA> 16 bit DOS). No manufacturer's testing software for the NIC? CA> People in my universe must be different than in parallel CA> universes. Here if you want to attach any cable of any kind to CA> a person's computer they think you're plugging in 110 volts and CA> the whole thing will go up in smoke instantly. Not easy to CA> laugh off that level of ignorance but that's what I run into CA> here. What sort of environment are you in, are you in the hills of Arkansas or something? CA> Tell them to replace a winmodem and they say "But I would have CA> to remove the side panel on the tower to do that". Like if air CA> rushes in there will be a chemical reaction that will kill the CA> computer's brain. Honest, am not exaggerating at all. Yes, I must admit, we have users like that at work. They keep us in employment :-) Regards, David --- Msged/LNX TE 06 (pre) * Origin: Blessed are the geek for they shall inherit the earth. (3:640/305) .