16 Dec
2005
16 Dec
'05
7:13 a.m.
Liam Proven wrote:
Before Linux, if you wanted a cheap xNix for the PC,
there was
Coherent. Pretty decent system, from everything I heard. The 386
version wasn't limited to small-model code, either, AFAICR.
All true, depending on how you interpret the word "decent". What killed
Coherent was lack of a TCP/IP stack and virtual memory. The head of the
company decided that a pretty GUI (X Windows) was worth more of R&D's time.
The 386 version ran in true protected mode and had a flat address space. The C
compiler was so size-efficient that we got a version of X Windows running on a
2MB 386 (remember, no virtual memory!).
Don't think anyone ever accused the Mark Williams
Company of being evil!
Not until the final year, where all of us were cursing the head of the company
(I was an employee for 3 years). But I agree with you, it was a great company
filled with very talented, quirky people. The boat anchor manual was worth the
$99 all by itself (and toward the end of the company, Linux users were ordering
Coherent just to get their hands on the manual, since Linux was around version
1.2 and had no real docs).
--
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org) http://www.oldskool.org/
Want to help an ambitious games project? http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/