re: Linux is obsolete Linux Inside
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re: Linux is obsolete

 Since I think I posted one of the earliest messages in all this discussion
 of Minix vs Linux, I feel compelled to comment on my reasons for 
 switching from Minix to Linux.  In order of importance they are:
 
   1) Linux is free
   2) Linux is evolving at a satisfactory clip (because new features
 		are accepted into the distribution by Linus).
 
 The first requires some explanation, because if I have already purchased
 Minix, what posssible concern could price have for me?  Simple.
 If the OS is free, many more people will use/support/enhance it.
 This is also the same reasoning I used when I bought my 386 instead
 of a sparc (which I could have got for just 30% more).  Since 
 PCs are cheap and generally available, more people will buy/use
 them and thus good, cheap/free software will be abundant. 
 
 The second should be pretty obvious to anyone who has been using Minix
 for for any period of time.  AST generally does not accept enhancements
 to Minix.  This is not meant as a challenge, but merely a statement of
 fact.  AST has good and legitimate reasons for this, and I do not dispute
 them.  But Minix has some limitations which I just could no longer
 live with, and due to this policy, the prospect of seeing them resolved
 in reasonable time was unsatisfactory.  These limitations include:
 
 	no 386 support
 	no virtual consoles
 	no soft links
 	no select call
 	no ptys
 	no demand paging/swapping/shared-text/shared-libs... (efficient mm)
 	chmem (inflexible mm)
 	no X-Windows (advocated for the same reasons as Linux and the 386).
 	no TCP/IP
 	no GNU/SysV integration (portability)
 	
 Some of these could be fixed by patches (and if you have done this
 yourself, I don't have to tell you how satisfactory that is), but at 
 least the last 5 items were/are beyond any reasonable expectation.
 
 Finally, my comment (crack?) about Minix's segmented kernel, or
 micro-kernel architecture was more an expression of my frustration/
 bewilderment at attempting to use the Minix PTY patches as a guide
 of how to do it under Linux.  That particular instance was one where
 message passing greatly complicated the implementation of a feature.
 
 I do have an opinion about Monlithic vs Message Passing, but won't 
 express it now, and did not mean to expresss it then.  My goals are
 totally short term (maximum functionality in the minimum amount of 
 time/cost/hassle), and so my views on this are irrelevant, and should
 not be misconstrued.  If you are non-plussed by the lack of the above
 features, then you should consider Minix, as long as you don't mind 
 paying of course :)