Re: Minix VS Linux Linux Inside
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Re: Minix VS Linux

 In article <1992Feb4.185547.9585@nmsu.edu> vpaul@nmsu.edu (Vincent J. Paul) writes:
 }In article <odiug.697209386@cip-s08>, odiug@cip-s08.informatik.rwth-aachen.de (Guido Muesch) writes:
 }> 
 }> 
 }> 
 }> >If I were a student with an 8088 and had a choice of buying Minix for
 }> >$169, or spending about $140 for a 16 Mhz 386sx motherboard and get Linux
 }> >for free, I think I'd get the new motherboard.
 }> 
 }> Thats my reason for suggesting NOT to support the old 16-bit architectures.
 }> People who are willing to pay $169 for Minix-PC can also spend another $140
 }> for a new Motherboard. (If not they still have Linux 8-))
 }> 
 }You missed the point completely, Guido.  I'll be generous, though, and
 }assume it was due to language diffulties.  In smaller words, if you
 
 This is totally uncalled for - and I think you owe Guido an apology.
 Geez - and we (Americans) wonder why we have such a bad reputation
 abroad.
 
 }already own an 8088 box (and a lot of people still do) then buying a
 }new box for $800 is MUCH more expensive than buying a $169 OS that is
 }compatible.  
 
 Maybe you are the one who is not understanding. What he is saying is
 that you do not NEED to spend $800 on a new system, just $140 for a
 386sx motherboard.
 
 }Saying "[spend] $140 on a 386 motherboard and get Linux
 }for free..." is like saying to Ethiopians "Just buy a plane ticket to
 }somewhere where there is a food surplus."  
 
 Not even close. IF SOMEONE CAN AFFORD TO BUY MINIX, THEN THEY CAN OBVIOUSLY
 AFFORD TO PUT THAT $169 DOLLARS TOWARDS A 386sx MOTHERBOARD! And *SAVE*
 $29 in the process if you find a 386sx motherboard for $140. So your
 analogy does not hold - considering that a starving Ethiopian is not 
 likely to have the money to buy a plane ticket to anywhere.
 
 }AST made a few good points
 }which have been glossed over:  with limited budgets (like mine), and
 }a fixed set of hardware, Minix is much more affordable than Linux.
 }IF (and only if) that fixed set of hardware jsut HAPPENS to be 386-
 }based, THEN Linux is a great bargain.  Your attitude is much like that
 }attributed to Marie Antoinette\--"Let them eat cake!"  Atari and Mac
 }owners have the wrong hardware. Let them get the proper one! (Note:
 }not the proper "ones"--portability, bud, is a GOOD thing.)
 
 Portability is both good and bad - the unfortunate thing about portability
 is that it does not allow you to take advantage of many hardware-specific
 features.
 
 }	Just for your information (and the world at large) I bought
 }Minix 1-1/2 years ago, and my XT-clone 5 years ago for $400.  Since
 }then, I've been going to school, not getting rich.  I can hardly
 }afford eating regularly, much less keeping up with Intel's CPU-chip
 }fashions.  If you want a 32-bit Intel-dedicated OS, go get Linux,
 }and get the hell off this newsgroup.  Don't go toasting anyone for
 }providing, as Andy Tanenbaum REALLY has, a public service.  Even
 }if he doesn't cater to you.
 
 Mr. Tanenbaum, though undoubtedly a gifted professor, and undoubtedly
 a gifted programmer, is not providing a "PUBLIC SERVICE". MINIX was
 written for his students, and AST had the fortune that MINIX caught
 on, and has now sold many copies. AST makes money off the deal I am
 sure - and if he does not, then I cannot understand why he does not
 free the code of copyright, so it can be distributed. 
    And you might remember that the person who started this thread was
 not Guido, nor anyone else in the "Linux camp".
 
 }  And if anyone was going to convert, they already
 }would have by now, don't you think? (Really. DON'T you?)
 }
 It really has nothing to do with conversion. Don't get me wrong - I 
 think MINIX is a brilliant piece of work, and it is certainly well
 thought of by some (likely large) segment of the OS-knowledgable 
 population. But AST attacked Linux for no reason whatsoever. Linus
 has created a brilliant piece of work as well - one that incorperates
 many of the features that people want which are not readily (or at
 all in some cases) available for MINIX. The important thing about Linux
 is that it is here, and it works, and its free. There is NO other OS
 available (portable or not) that fits the bill that Linux does. 
 AST's comments were absolutely uncalled for - and his feelings for
 those of us out here who would like some common useful features
 (like > 64k segments, or job control, or TCP/IP) are readily appearant
 from his comment about (note: slightly paraphrased) ".....keeping all those
 people who want to turn MINIX into BSD...." off his back. Clearly
 he is not in the "Public Service" field.
 
 
 -- 
 -How long must we fight? How long        Courtesy of Bruce Varney
  until we can live in peace.             asg@sage.cc.purdue.edu 
 -Until the madmen are dead my son,      
  Or until they realize that they cannot count on us to do nothing