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Date:      Sun, 27 Jul 1997 00:09:09 -0700 (PDT)
From:      Simon Shapiro <Shimon@i-Connect.Net>
To:        Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org>
Cc:        hackers@FreeBSD.ORG, stesin@gu.net
Subject:   Re: SVR4.2MP source code has become available recently?
Message-ID:  <XFMail.970727000909.Shimon@i-Connect.Net>
In-Reply-To: <199707261958.MAA02939@phaeton.artisoft.com>

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I basically agree with the below comments.  The SMP code was derived
(according to legend) from Sequent work and therfore should be interesting.

The only thing I liked about the desktop was the desktop itself (the class
of functionality comparable to xfm).  The rest of it was, well...  Let it
rest in peace indeed.

I worked mostly on I/O, boot and other such messes and was endlessly amused
at the number of lines of code everything took.

I honestly (as a newcomer to FreeBSD), think we have here a superior O/S.
Much lower level of pompousness, in any case...  Much lower.

Simon

Hi Terry Lambert;  On 26-Jul-97 you wrote: 
> [ ... UnixWare ... ]
> 
> > It has a descent SMP implementation (Better than Solaris).
> > The SCSI layer may be interesting.
> > Used to have a nice desktop for X11
> 
> Ugh.
> 
> The SMP implementation *is* "better"... quoted because it is more
> x86 dependent tha the Solaris stuff.  Personally, I'd use the
> Solaris model, if only for hardware compatability, if I had the
> choice to make, and if doing so would not infringe trade secrets
> and copyrights, and risk contamination.  Remember that both these
> source bases are *licensed*, not freely usable.
> 
> 
> The UnixWare SCSI layer probably excludes the HIM-derived code for
> the Adaptec controllers, which is about the only thing that I found
> interesting about the code.  Honestly, Julian's code was better
> than UnixWare's at the time.
> 
> 
> The X11 desktop was only nice in that it was an OpenLook with hacks
> to let it have a Motif "look and feel", and let you switch between
> them.  Like all compromise soloutions, it was vastly disliked.
> 
> The major reason the desktop was shipped was "Not Invented Here"
> for CDE and Visix Looking Glass.
> 
> This type of crap is why UnixWare never succeeded in the desktop
> market.
> 
> Most of the driving forces behind the UnixWare developement, which
> mainly occurred at Univel, a partnership between AT&T and Novell,
> before Novell bought USL and owned it all themselves, were people
> like Gary Tomlinson and Brian Sparks.
> 
> If that second name is familiar, it should be: Brian Sparks was
> the person behind the original NetWare for UNIX product, and
> through it, the genesis of the Platform Independent NetWare
> code (a derivitive of his idea, not something he personally did;
> it was, IMO, inferior to the NetWare for UNIX code in many ways,
> and ended up being pulled into the mainline NetWare -- an unfortunate
> occurance).
> 
> Brian Sparks is also the guy behind the Novell project to build
> a desktop OS based on Linux (internally, they were called "Linivel"),
> and eventually went on to be the principle founder of Caldera
> when the internal project was killed for fear of it damaging
> UnixWare sales (UnixWare has a rather large footprint).
> 
> The shitty UnixWare desktop that could not be replaced because
> it was USL technology was IMO, one of the straws that broke the
> camels back; I would not recommend getting the code... let it die
> in peace.
> 
> 
>                                       Regards,
>                                       Terry Lambert
>                                       terry@lambert.org
> ---
> Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present
> or previous employers.



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