Not dead yet...

[Brian Morrison]

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On Fri, 27 Aug 1999 11:14:14 -0700, Chris Adams wrote:

>On Fri, 27 Aug 1999 10:17:47 +0100, Brian Morrison wrote:
>
>>From what I've read, it's more to do with Microsoft dropping support
>>for NT on the Alpha.
>
>Microsoft *needs* NT on the Alpha. NT only works if you throw hardware at
>it & for many sites the only solution was buying a large Alpha box.
>There's also the problem that Microsoft is trying to develop a 64-bit
>version of NT but Intel has been really late delivering Merced samples,
>so they were developing it on Alpha instead.

Funny how the Linux guys are able to make their code run on the very
late Merced samples, but M$ can't. I also gather that it is Compaq who
have dropped NT Alpha support really as many of the coders are Compaq
(ex-DEC) employees. They have withdrawn further development (64 bit NT)
and there will be no further 32 bit NT Alpha versions, but support will
continue until customers no longer want it.

As for developing on the Alpha, I suppose that is valid, but I can't
help thinking that the hardware abstraction in NT must impose a
performance penalty that just isn't there in the Unix world. Linux is
ported to many platforms without a HAL, I don't see why NT has to have
this feature other than as a grand design that doesn't really do what
is advertised.

>
>Compaq, of course, really doesn't care. I don't think they wanted to keep
>funding Alpha NT development but I doubt they'd do anything to hinder
>Microsoft from producing newer versions. After all, as long as they're
>getting paid for the box I doubt they care what you run on it.

The report I read says that Compaq are shifting resources into their
Tru64 Unix system, essentially because it is more powerful and more
scalable than NT.

Anyway, enough of this, it's still off-topic and I don't want to
stretch the patience of the list any more. If only there were more to
say about PMMail!


- -- 

Brian Morrison                                  bdm@fenrir.demon.co.uk

 "Almost noon, and she had yet to go the launderette in Concreton to 
 thaw out chickens in the spin-drier..."

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