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Happy Birthday Post 369!
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Post 369 is another year older!James D. CorderExplorer Post 369 is now 4 years old:-) They said the Post just couldn't make it. They said we would never get any equipment. They said no youth would come. The best revenge is success:-) We now have over $300,000.00 of equipment (at new prices). The post tripled in size last year. Our web page won an award! One of our members became a UNIX System Administrator for Lucent, One received a position in Russia. Two Corder Kids wrote a book... We gained three new Associate Advisors. We have four new classes: Basic UNIX For Programmers, PERL, JAVA, & WEB Enabling SQL. I am extremely proud of Explorer Post 369 and its members. Therefore, Happy Birthday!
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Buying a "Good" UNIX WorkstationKarl N. MatthiasMany people want to know where they can get a good UNIX workstation for a good price. It really depends on what you are looking for, so the following article will explain some of the best bargains and why they are such good deals. Probably the best bargain in home UNIX hardware at this point is the NeXTstation TurboColor. This is my favorite UNIX workstation, but it also happens to be a tremendous deal. A typical configuration sold on the net for about $400 includes:
The display and color depth available on this box are phenomenal for the price, and after you've added some RAM, it's about as snappy as you can expect from a home workstation (thanks, in no small part to the speed of the OS). It's also fully capable of running the latest OS revision. Some may complain because NeXTstep does not support X, but you can get a freeware package called XNeXT which allows you to run both X and Display Postscript and to use a simple three finger key combination to switch between them. Once you have this installed, the machine makes a great X station, if nothing else. This machine is also really fantastic in that it will run all freeware UNIX stuff, as well as having a fair range of commercial software available. The NeXT platform has one of the greatest deals in software, too, which is available from Lighthouse Design, Inc. (A division of Sun Microsystems). Students can purchase an educational bundle for $99.00 which includes 9 software packages (word processor, multiple spreadsheets, a drawing program, web browser, etc.) Most of the packages are decent enough to make them worth using but are by no means incredible. Another good deal, with performance at a similar level, is the Sun SPARCstation-2 family (2 & IPX). These machines run an enterprise level UNIX (Solaris), are fantastically reliable, and are easily under $1000. You can typically get a machine with 16-32 MB RAM, a 17" Sony Trinitron, 400 MB HD, and a 40Mhz SPARC processor in this price range. This is a great deal for several reasons. Sun's Solaris has the largest installed base of any UNIX or UNIX-like OS (even Linux); once you can administer this machine, you can use the same knowledge on servers with up to 64 processors; and it is extremely useful in finding a system administration job. The negatives are that it costs more than the NeXT hardware, is difficult to get commercial software for (although lots is available, the price is prohibitive), and performs more slowly on similar hardware because the OS is so much larger. But, there is no machine more reliable than a Sun, and the parts and RAM are easy to get ahold of (as with the NeXTstation). Used SGI and HP equipment are also available on the net, but the prices are significantly higher for similar performance. See SGI's web page for remanufactured equipment if you are interested. Lately there have been decent deals in the newsgroups on Indy hardware, but the prices are typically in the $1500-$1900 range without a monitor. If you want to take a little gamble, you can get ahold of a very fast machine with a big disk, a good bit of RAM, and industry standard parts, in the form of a Motorola StarMax 5000 Mac clone. This machine, while not technically a workstation, sits just on the edge of being one. In Q1 1998 Apple will release their new OS based on NeXTstep, which will be true UNIX for the home desktop. They have not announced official support for the Motorola machines, but many developers report that they have it running. The reason I suggest this machine is because of the bang for the buck. Here's what you get for $995: 5 Year Warranty (the machines are new!)
The good thing is that there will be commercial support for Apple's new OS, at home computer prices. The bad news is that these machines are going fast, since Motorola is selling off their inventory. The question is will the machine run the new OS (Rhapsody)? Probably. It's worth a look, in any case. If you just have a PC and don't want to buy real hardware, take a look at educational discounts on SunSoft's Solaris x86 (available for under $100). If you just want a free UNIX, check out OpenBSD. It's more secure than just about any commercial OS, but doesn't have commercial support. It's a fantastic thing to get for free, however. I hope this helps a little bit in getting you toward a UNIX workstation. You might want to check out the following newsgroups:
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Digital caves under Intel's PressureJames D. CorderDigital & Intel come to an agreement. (Quoted from the December issue of Digital's inform) What it sounds like to me is that DEC lost and is going to produce IA-64 Intel machines. I bet that more and more of their products will be shipped with the IA-64 chip set and soon DEC UNIX and Open VMS will be moved to their architecture. Even though I am a strong advocate of the DEC Memory Channels on their Parallel 8x00 series systems I could no longer recommend their purchase. To recap:It is my opinion that DEC is just another Wintell company now! |
Sun Microsystems Seeks To Bar Microsoft From Unauthorized Use Of "Java Compatible" LogoSun Microsystems Independent Testing Consultants Confirm Microsoft Fails Compatibility Tests Sun Microsystems Inc. formally asked a United States District Court to bar Microsoft Corporation from using Sun's JavaTM Compatible Logo to promote and distribute its Internet Explorer 4.0 and related products because the Java technology has been improperly modified by Microsoft and fails to pass Sun's compatibility tests. We take very seriously our stewardship of this remarkable technology, which includes keeping the promise of cross-platform compatibility that our logo stands for," said Michael H. Morris, Sun's Vice President/ General Counsel. "Today's filing signals that we will act to protect both that technology and the trademark." "With this motion today we are making a simple demand: because these Microsoft products do not pass Sun's compatibility tests and are not compatible with Sun's published standards for the Java technology -- Microsoft must be stopped from using the Java Compatible Logo to deceive the marketplace," Morris said. Sun's filing, made in the San Jose Division of the U.S. District Court's Northern California District, was part of its response to counterclaims Microsoft made to Sun's legal action on October 7. Sun's suit claims that Microsoft, in deliberate violation of a licensing agreement, is attempting to break the cross platform compatibility made possible by the Java technology and deliver a version of the technology that works only with Microsoft's products. The Java Compatible Logo appears in various locations in and on Microsoft's consumer packaging and promotional materials. Until recently, it also appeared at various times on Microsoft's Website. It has since been removed from the Website. "It's like buying a can of Coca-Cola and finding ginger ale inside," Morris said. "The customer trusted the brand and was deceived." "A significant part of the value of the Java technology depends on the acceptance by the public of the promise that Sun will stand behind that technology and do everything possible to enable the products with the Java Compatible Logo to be capable of delivering `Write Once, Run AnywhereTM' performance," Morris said. "Independent experts have now confirmed that Microsoft's products fail Sun's compatibility tests and thus do not satisfy the conditions for the use of our logo." Two independent technical experts, Dr. L. Peter Deutsch and Alan Hankinson, today confirmed that Microsoft's IE 4.0 failed to pass the Sun Java compatibility test suite. The independent testing directed by Dr. Deutsch and performed by KeyLabs of Provo, Utah, and then again repeated by Dr. Deutsch, resulted in equivalent outcomes. These outcomes mirror those achieved by Sun in its early October testing that led up to the original filing. More information on the independent testing can be found in the Declarations filed today by Sun in U.S. District Court in San Jose. "Nowhere is the sanctity of a trademark more important than in the field of computer software," Morris said. "Our customers rely on the reputation and the goodwill of that trademark to make informed, efficient decisions about the technology they are using." In its filing, Sun details modifications Microsoft made to the Java technology in Internet Explorer 4.0 and its software development kit, modifications that render Microsoft's products incompatible with every other product that conforms to Sun's standards. Also in its filing Sun quoted from an article by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in the November 10, 1997, edition of The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Gates wrote, "Without a uniform Windows installation, end users could not be sure of the performance of the integrated operating system, and Microsoft could not stand behind its product. Furthermore, Windows would become Balkanized, like the many incompatible versions of UNIX\xa8 . This would eventually drive prices for PC products higher as software developers and hardware manufacturers would have to develop and test their products for all the different versions of Windows. And innovation would slow because developers would be reluctant to write new programs if they couldn't be sure that new features would work on all Windows PCs." "We couldn't have said it better -- except that we're talking about the Java platform," said Morris. "By tampering with Sun's Java technology, Microsoft wants to put Sun in the very same predicament it wants to avoid for Windows. Microsoft is seeking to neutralize the very real competitive threat Sun's Java technology poses to Windows." |
NT Fails for Banc OneJames D. CorderRumor control has it that once Banc One merges their credit card division with a newly acquired company that they will migrate from NT back to the obsolete and no longer supported OS2 OS. Once there they will attempt to bring both companies back on line under NT. When will large companies learn that NT is not "New Technology" bot simply "Not There"... Go UNIX!ActivatorWednesday December 10, 1997 Sun Microsystems Inc. said Wednesday it will offer software called "Activator" that it says will compensate for any incompatibilities between Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer Web browser and programs written for its Java language standards. Jon Kannegaard, vice president of products for Sun's JavaSoft business unit, said the software enables programmers to overcome any incompatibilities between its "100 percent pure" Java standard and Microsoft's implementation. "What this means for an application developer is that he no longer worries about (differences in) Microsoft Explorer," Kannegaard said in an interview. "Developers can write the application to the most up-to- date (version of) Java." In October, Sun sued Microsoft, alleging that the Redmond, Wash., company is trying to disrupt the development of Java by failing to keep its implementations of Java compatible with Sun's specifications. Sun Microsystems, based in Palo Alto, Calif., said the activator program scans a user's computer for the virtual machine it needs. If it does not find it will download the software from Sun's Web site. Netra on the Ultra30Sun Microsystems
The Netra Proxy Cache is a high performance network caching server with built-in load balancing and failover features. The distributed caching allows increased availability of the service in the event of a server failures. Netra Proxy Cache distributes the load intelligently across the multiple cache servers. It provides "on-the-fly" scalability to network administrators, enabling the addition and dynamic configuration of cache servers as required without interrupting or halting service. Due to the inherent nature of the architecture, automatic failover is built into the product which ensures uninterrupted service to the users in the event of server exit failure. Highlights
Hardware:
I ask you, why would you buy a Wintel Box when you can have all of this:-? The foundation for an anti-trust law suit against Micro$oft is being laid. The Government forced the breakup of AT&T for being a trust. The future will hold the same for Micro$oft. If Micro$oft was forced to separate their OS, Windowing, Office, and Web groups into separate but equal companies it is my opinion that all would fail but Office. Financially office supports the rest. |
Quote of the MonthUp-an-Coming Post Expenses12/01/98 Post Charter $30.00 12/01/98 Post Insurance $85.00 Monthly ExpNews $75.00 Up-an-Coming Member ExpensesRegistration 11/01/98 $15.00 |
Post FinancesExplorer Post 369 has -$1,318.00 December's ExpNews $75.00 Gift in Kind ($250.00) New Total -$1,143.00 Registration $570.00 Extension Cords -9.97 UNIX Books -177.82 Membership Books -156.55 Unit Registration -153.00 Quality Unit Award -17.50 Post Insurance -53.75 New Total $1.41 Floor Fund Need $1,200.00
Room Fund Needed $3,800.00
Computer Fund Needed $0.00
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