From: Sengan DOT Short AT durham DOT ac DOT uk
Message-Id: <20572.9607161238@ws-ai5.dur.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: orbital's linux question
To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 13:38:54 +0100 (BST)
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

After trying to send the following message to Orbital, and failing (unknown
email server) I'm sending it to him via the group:

>   ? is it worth installing Linux on a 486DX4-100 with 16MB RAM and 
>   ? >NO INTERNET ACCESS< ? I used to think UNIX was mostly usefull to
>   ? access the internet, but indeed, are people using Linux as a Desktop OS?
>   ? What attracts me the most is gcc in its native [at least more native
>   ? than DOS] environment. Is X programming difficult compared to MS-Win?
>   ? Man, I could write X demos and recompile and run them on Suns at my
>   ? university, is that right? How's the speed and stabilty of Linux? 
>   ? What about the HD space? Is it possible to uninstall all the internet
>   ? stuff? What about sound and video cards? Are many of them supported?

I would think so. I'm intending to get Linux as soon as I get a bigger machine.
(currently I only have 80 Mg hard disk, and a 25MHz 486 SLC).  Unix is an
excellent OS. The internet is really only a recent add-on. Reliable multitasking
is something you have difficulty doing without once you are used to it. X is
relatively easy, but I don't know MS-Win. The thing is that under a free os
there'll be always people to help, and the source code to read/correct if things
go wrong. And yes, if you write in unix it should work directly on other unix
boxes (bar assembly or machine dependent code, or possibly bugs of certain
implementations of cc). The only thing is, as usual, DOS is a platform for
selling things, unix/amigados/ataritos/... are all platforms for playing: few
individuals have linux, or another unix box. If you want money, dos/windows is
the better bet. If you're developing under djgpp though, use linux and the
cross compiler, coz of multitasking/better crash protection, etc.

Sengan