Aucbvax.5825
fa.works
utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!works
Sun Jan 17 02:35:39 1982
WorkS Digest V2 #8
>From JSOL@USC-ECLB Sat Jan 16 21:53:18 1982
Works Digest Sunday, 17 Jan 1982 Volume 2 : Issue 8
Today's Topics: What is a WorkStation?
Backups Or Not?
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Date: 16 January 1982 00:15-EST
From: Brian P. Lloyd <LLOYD MIT-MC AT>
Subject: What is a workstation?
Most of us here think that 'workstation' has something to do with
computers. It doesn't. It is the place we go to work. For most of
the world it is a desk with a telephone.
For those of us involved with computers it is also someplace we go to
communicate with a computer. I think the real question is, "What do
we need to make our workstations more efficient?" Now we can get into
talking about LAN's, local processors, bitmapped displays, and shared
databases.
Brian
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Date: 14 January 1982 01:16 est
From: SSteinberg.SoftArts at MIT-Multics
Subject: WORKS V2 #4: What is Work
2. What is a workstation?
As far as I am concerned a workstation is any small computer system
which is aimed at a single user. Word processors are workstations,
LISP machines are workstations, the S-1 computer will be a very
powerful workstation. A workstation must provide computer power for
an individual. This puts certain economic and interface constraints
on it but in my definition an advanced telephone is a kind of
workstation even if it lacks a full keyboard and a crt.
One big problem in the computer field is that it is hard not to be
conservative without appearing flakey. It is as if predicting the
future of the automobile I had the choice of describing fuel injection
or teleportation. My guess is that we are about ten years from a desk
top Symbolics LISP Machine.
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Date: Saturday, 16 January 1982, 10:04-EST
From: Daniel L. Weinreb <DLW AT MIT-AI>
Subject: Dave Reed's questions
Regarding the backup problem: I don't see how you can convince people to
do backup if they don't appreciate the need -- they'll find out soon
enough, probably. When Symbolics sets up a new site, they insist that
the site either provide a time-sharing system on their network that has
tape drives, or else that the site buy a magtape drive for file system
backup; the marketing department makes it clear that any configuration
that we are willing to sell must include provision for file system
backup either locally or over the net.
Regarding network communications, Lisp Machines are always listening to
the net. If for no other reasons, this is useful because of the FINGER
server that lets other people ask who is logged into the machine, and
the SEND server which receives interactive messages. It's not
particularly expensive to do this; we just have a process that sits
around blocked all the time waiting for a packet to appear on the
network, which doesn't cost anything much.
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End of WorkS Digest
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