From: ivie@cc.usu.edu Subject: Re: X terminals: Suggestion for projects like SLS, MCC, etc. Date: 14 Jun 1993 10:08:16 MDT
The important issue to me is politics. We are running a Novell network here,
and so we have PCs coming out our ears. Most of them are capable of running
Linux or 386BSD; the DOS software that we have been using has slowly been
requiring more and more horsepower. I think that the last 8088 box was retired
last week; we still have a couple of 286 boxes hanging around, but mostly
we have 386sx or 486 boxes.
The Unix stuff that I have going is kind of in the background. It is not
at the moment business-critical stuff. Because of 386BSD and Linux, I can
construct an equivalent to the Novell network for a lot less than it would
cost us to upgrade to a reasonably current rev of Novell. We will be forced
to upgrade Novell perhaps in a year, as more and more software is exercising
the bugs that exist in the version of Novell that I am using.
Since Unix is not mainstream here, I cannot go to my management and convince
him to buy X-terminals. If, however, I have an alternate solution ready when
we are forced to upgrade, the story may be different. Since we already have
the hardware to run Linux- or 386BSD-based Xterminals, that sort of thing
is very interesting to me.
Roger "I never thought that _I_ would become a Unix guy" Ivie
ivie@cc.usu.edu