Re: QUES: Imigosh! A MAC!!!

[Randal Whittle <whittle@chaph.usc.edu>]

> Thanks for your thoughtful reply. It did show up some of my biases. Let me
> comment on that first, so you can get a handle on them. 

	<Grin!>  We all have biases!  You should meet my brother.... ;)

> A very large part of my work is large numerical simulations. I really need  
> be able to send the machine away to calculate for some hours, but still be 
> to get on with the other things  I need it for (word processing, program
> editing  etc). So this makes OS2 vital to me for running Matlab, which is o
> available in a windows version as you point out. Another "biggie" for me is
> Mathematica, but they have an OS2 version, and will transfer the license for
> mininal cost. 

	OS/2 obviously is the kind of thing you need.

	My problem is the "mainstream" apps which are suspiciously lacking
on the OS/2 platform.

> So I guess I forgot the cardinal rule about computing, that everybody has
> different requirements. 

	Undoubtedly!

> The matlab test is very rigorous, and by far the best available,  if you are
> interested in numerical crunching. It handles such things as flops (Linpack
> tests) , and graphics drawing, but not much (I think) on disk access. It may
> not be quite so relevant to the sort of applications you are using.  Their
> power PC version is not yet out, but the bench mark was done with natice PPC
> code. The power PC 8100 comes in about halfway between a sparc II and a DEC
> alpha. 

	I don't understand--Power PC version of Matlab is not out, but the
benchmark was done with native PPC code.  The Benchmark test is native PPC?

> I might very well have changed to NT, except for the difficulties I heard ab
> getting it to go on a thinkpad. And yes, it was  wishful thinking on my
> part to presume IBM would put out OS2 on a  PPC. That is quite old IBM promo
> material.

	My brother is an IBMer who has some marketing responsibility for
OS/2, so yes, I know where you got that bit of stuff.  I tweak him left
and right when I point out how many promises IBM has made and how few
they delivered on--it makes Microsoft "Vaporware" look awfully solid! ;)

> NT does look like it could become the standard. .. I just have this
> quixotic urge to help retain some competition against the Microsoft juggernau

	I can't blame you--but it is rather absurd to ignore reality. 
In the PC world, Microsoft pretty *defines* what "reality" is...
 
-----                                          ________________________________
Randy Whittle    whittle@usc.edu               |       Y'know, Tuna just      |
USC School of Business (Fight on, 'SC Trojans!)|    doesn't taste the same    |
  (My opinions are mine, but since I'm         |      since they took the     |
    right, they should be yours too.)          |          Dolphin out!        |
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