Anton Aylward said the following on 05/14/2013 12:40 PM:
Dave Howorth said the following on 05/14/2013 12:07 PM:
James Knott wrote:
Hearns, John wrote:
So it might be that the 'multi-seat' is really a GUI version of what we were doing with PDP-11s back in the 70s and 80s, that is having many terminal plugged in to one box and many people logged in simultaneously and making use of the multi-processing and process separation capabilities of UNIX.
Back in the late '70s, early 80's, I worked on a system running on a Data General Nova 800 with a couple of dozen users. It sure wasn't Unix or even RDOS that they were running. It was a custom system that ran only one application. It was used for sending telegrams. In addition to the operators, sitting in front of terminals, there were also several Telex lines connected for incoming traffic from that network. The system could also support up to two remote sites, with up to 4 terminals each. This computer then sent the telegrams, via several 75 b/s Baudot serial lines to the main computer.
Yes, but the multi-user part of it is not the issue, nor even multiple X-servers. It's multiple physical screens, keyboards & mice that are the 'novel' part of the equation.
Maybe; maybe not. If they are remote terminals, X-terminals
Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear. If Dave's concern is plugging more boards into PC chassis, then I think that is a wrong-headed approach to "multi-seat". Even small towers don't have that many spare slots :-) And ask for rack mounted servers and 'blades' - there's little hope! But display are ubiquitous. Even apart from phones an tablets (if you can run X though a web browser (as opposed to running an application though a web browser)) we have landfill overflowing with old PCs and screens all of which are quite capable of running the not very demanding software needed for an X display. After all, X is not Windows. The reality is you can make a graphics card that does most of what X requires since all X is is the display. The computation is done on the computer, not on the display. Heck, the junk out of my Closet of Anxieties or a $20 "special" from the Salvation Army Thrift Store -- hey, wow, they now have flat screen for the gouging price of $40[1]. I see USB mice for $2.99 and keyboard for $4.99. Sorry, what was that? "New Equipment" and "warranty"? Look, you want a warranty on your toilet paper too? At those prices you can fill your closet with spares a number of times over for the price of one new warrantied set up. This isn't rocket science. The smarts are on the compute server. [1] Come on, I can get a 19" new at local outlets for under $100! -- "It seemed to me," said Wonko the Sane, "that any civilization that had so far lost its head as to need to include a set of detailed instructions for use in a package of toothpicks, was no longer a civilization in which I could live and stay sane." -- Douglas Adams' _So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish_ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org