*BSD News Article 67075


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From: joshuam@cc.gatech.edu (Joshy)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: Historic Opportunity facing Free Unix (was Re: The Lai/Baker paper, benchmarks, and the world of free UNIX)
Date: 26 Apr 1996 15:48:37 -0400
Organization: The Zany Adventures Of Max And His Python Crimp
Lines: 39
Message-ID: <4lr9al$jea@felix.cc.gatech.edu>
References: <NELSON.96Apr15010553@ns.crynwr.com> <yfgbuktfn1w.fsf@time.cdrom.com> <4l89ov$g5i@river.biddeford.com>
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Why Free Unix should be on the desktop:

Free Unix has these features

	A fast filesystem
	A flat memory model with a good virtual memory system
	true 32bit multitasking
	fantastic networking support
	lots of development utilites
	a completely crash proof kernel
	a future on SMP motherboards

except for maybe the development utilites all of these are things that are
needed in a good desktop operating system.  Especially the multitaksing
and memory systems.  All of these features are the basic building blocks
to a good desktop system.  All it needs is a way to tie them together in a
useful and easy to use interface.  This is also the problem with Free
Unix.  No one wants to (or is able to) tie these together.  I've noticed
that most linux geeks are perfectly happy to write a device driver for a
new kind of network card but no one wants to write a good font system for 
using in a wordprocessor.  Until the focus of Free Unix shifts from 
hardware support to software support the taking of the desktop will 
eternally be on the horizon.

Take a look at www.be.com They have all of the features I mentioned above
but they aren't hardware centric.  They have a cool motherboard but they
plan to run the BeOS on whatever hardware people want.  The Be big
advantage is that they are taking all of the technological advances of the
past two decades and re-evaluating how they should be put together under
one common interface.  They've made their system tightly integrated yet
very open for anyone to add to use.  If any unix like derivative will take
over the desktop, it will likely be Be. 


	-joshy
-- 
						Joshy - wide eyed innocent

						 a CS major who can cook