minnie.tuhs.org/unixen.tar/unixen/Other/Coherent/DemonArchives/docs/coh.gen.faq.z/coh.gen.faq

Text File | 1994-01-06 | 14.5 KB | 362 lines

      A N  I N T R O D U C T I O N  T O  T H E  C O H E R E N T  F O R U M


               A N  I N T R O D U C T I O N  T O  C O H E R E N T

           General Information FAQ for the Coherent Operating System

                                C O N T E N T S


          What is Coherent?
          Will Coherent run on my system?
          What incompatibilities are known?
          Can I still run DOS?
          What about technical support?
          What revision is Coherent?
          How many people run Coherent?
          Postings to this newsgroup (comp.os.coherent)?
          Public domain software:
          Where do I get the public domain software?
          Heated discussions of the group:
          Who's Who at MWC.

MISC:
Disclaimer: A man about to speak the truth should keep one foot in the stirrup.
                                                     -Old Mongolian Saying
Trademarks: The property of the trademark owners.






























           A N  I N T R O D U C T I O N  T O  C O H E R E N T
           --------------------------------------------------
WHAT IS COHERENT?
    Coherent is a multi-tasking, multi-user operating system for IBM
    PC's and  compatibles.  It will run on most systems with a 286,
    386, or 486 CPU.  Coherent appears to be very similar to Version 7
    Unix, or for those of you that have not had the pleasure, close to
    System 5 Unix. Coherent includes uucp (Coherent to Coherent Copy)
    :) and many more functions you would  expect with Unix. Coherent
    is small and simple, easy to maintain, and does not require
    extensive CPU resources to operate well. It does not have network
    nor X windows support, and does not require an AT&T license for
    Unix. It  is as advertised, a quick, elegant Unix-like
    multi-tasking, multi-user Operating System, with good
    documentation. The newest version is very much like SCO Unix.

WILL COHERENT RUN ON MY SYSTEM?
    Coherent runs on just about all 286-386-486 systems.  To list them
    here  would make this document far too lengthy.  It is suggested
    that if you are in doubt, buy Coherent, and when it is almost
    beyond a doubt that you can  not run Coherent on your machine, to
    return the software and documentation to the the Mark Williams
    Company within 60 days for a full refund as per  their policy.

WHAT INCOMPATIBILITIES ARE KNOWN?
    IBM XT compatibles will not work, since the Coherent version 3.2
    operating  system uses the 286 protected mode.  Coherent version
    4.0 only works on 386 or 486 proccessors and operates in the 386
    protected mode.

    Coherent will not run on an AT&T 6300, IBM PS/2 model, or with the
    Western Digital WD1004-27X (XT) or other XT controllers.  Coherent
    exhibits a slight problem with some 386 AMI  BIOS, whereas
    Coherent requires a cold boot (hit the reset switch, not CTL-
    ALT-DEL) to boot Coherent after previously running DOS. The latest
    revisions of the AMI BIOS may not exibit this problem.

CAN I STILL RUN DOS?
    Yes, Coherent can reside on a disk partition separate from DOS,
    and likewise DOS on a partition separate from Coherent.  You can
    boot either one at boot  time via a "boot strap" program.  They
    will not run concurrently however. DOS file systems are available
    to Coherent with the Coherent DOS command, so files can be
    transferred from DOS to Coherent, Coherent to DOS.

WHAT ABOUT TECHNICAL SUPPORT?
    It is generally felt that Mark Williams Company provides excellent
    technical support of their software within the U.S.A..  They can
    be reached via phone [phone], or email:

    uunet!mwc!support       (General uucp address)
    [e-mail]         (Internet address)
    mwcbbs!support           (from your system directly to the uucp connection
                             they provided by the Mark Williams Company)

WHAT REVISION IS COHERENT?
    Coherent is offered in two revisions.  Revision 3.2 will run on
    systems with a 286 or higher processor, but does not take
    advantage of the 386 architecture, and has the 64K executable and
    64K data limits.  Revision 3.2 is the last revision of Coherent
    for the 286 protected mode OS. Bug fixes will continue to be
    posted to mwcbbs to support customers of the  3.2 version.

    COHERENT 4.0 was announced in May of 1992, and is targeted for the
    386 and 486 processors.  This revision does not have the 64K
    limits of revision 3.2, but, still does not include a virtual
    memory system that swaps pages out to disk. See the 4.0 specific
    FAQ posted with this FAQ for more information.  COHERENT 4.2 was
    announced in May of 1993, and is targeted for the 386 and 486
    processors. This revision is almost a complete rewrite, and can be
    considered a true unix operating system.

    All versions of OS are available at $99.00, and updates from 3.2
    to 4.2 are now priced at $79.00.

HOW MANY PEOPLE RUN COHERENT?
    The Mark Williams Company has stated that the sales volume has
    passed 40,000 copies since its introduction to the market in 1990.

CAN POSTINGS BE MADE IN THIS NEWS GROUP (COMP.OS.COHERENT)?
    It is somewhat accepted that source for Coherent will be posted in
    this news group occasionally.  Keep in mind that large postings
    cost money to those that pay for telephone and connect time.

PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE:
    Several public domain packages are available for use on a Coherent
    machine.  These range from improved mailing packages and spread
    sheets, to at least four news programs, such as bsnews, cnews,
    gnews, wnews, along with readers such as rn, tass, tin and more.

WHERE DO I GET THE PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE?
    There are several ways to get public domain software:

    1. Mark Williams Company bbs (mwcbbs)
    2. FTP sites
    3. Mailserver (ListServ@IndyCMS)
    4. The OZ / NZ Coherent Users Group
    5. The Australian Coherent E-Mail Bureau

    MWCbbs (mwcbbs)
    Access information on the mwcbbs is included in the documentation
    provided  with Coherent.  In short, it is a uucp site with public
    domain software as  well as updates to the Coherent release, along
    with Coherent news (not usenet) and a "home" for all Coherent
    sites to uucp to. For most of us, that is a  long distance phone
    call, as the Mark Williams Company is located in Illinois.

FTP sites:
    Jay C. Beavers has been keeping the Coherent Archives for quite
    some time on the ftp site orca.alaska.edu, and has moved these to
    an Ultrix machine for better access (raven).  When a previous ftp
    site was no longer available,  Jay quickly put raven into action.
    Hats off to Jay!

    Machine            I'net Address          Archive administrator
    ---------------    -------------     ----------------------------------
    raven.alaska.edu   137.229.10.39     J.C. Beavers:[e-mail]

            on raven: cd /pub/coherent

MailServers:
    ListServ@IndyCMS has been offering a mailserver service since
    before the start of comp.os.coherent. It is a gateway between two
    nets:

    Machine Address                         Mailserver Administrator
    ------------------------------------    ------------------------
    ListServ@IndyCMS (CREN)                 IJBH200@IndyVAX (CREN)
    [e-mail] (Internet)   [e-mail] (I)

    Coherent@IndyCMS is bidirectional gateway between the ListServ
    list Coherent and Usenet newsgroup comp.os.coherent co-owned and
    coordinated by John Harlan and Phil Corporon.  All original
    postings to comp.os.coherent Usenet group are automatically
    distributed to the ListServ list, and everything posted to the
    ListServ list Coherent, is automatically posted to
    comp.os.coherent on Usenet.  John Harlan humorously adds: "And all
    without mail looping :-)"

    To get a list of Coherent files from ListServ, mail the ListServ
    mailserver as follows, with the contents of the message being the
    mailserver command:

                    % mail [e-mail]
                    Subject: (none)

                    INDEX COHERENT

Info Server

        The Australian host nanguo has a list of files and FAQs, and useful
        information available by info-server retrieval. Simply send an e-mail
        message to

                [e-mail]
                Subject: list

                message body - none

Mail -> News Gateway

        The Australian host nanguo has a Mail to News gateway. This means that
        you can post to comp.os.coherent with e-mail messages. It is really
        simple. Post your standard e-mail news type article to,

                [e-mail]
                Subject: {whatever your subject is}

                message body - whatever you want to write.

Privately Owned BBSs:

The Australian Coherent Users Group:
(From: [e-mail].)
        In order to support Coherent users in oz & nz, Mark Williams
        Co. have agreed to supply a mirror of the downloads directory
        from their uucp BBS in the states for distribution here [in
        Australia]. This is being supplied to the  Australian Coherent
        User Group.

        Software is available to all registered Coherent users, and
        may be obtained either by direct UUCP transfer from this
        machine, or on 1.2MB floppies for a nominal media/postage
        charge.

        Anyone interested in this, or in ACUG in general, (as well as
        in APANA - the Australian Public Access Network Association)
        may contact me by email at  [e-mail].

Australian Coherent E-Mail Bureau
       (Robert Chalmers. [e-mail]. Mackay. Australia)
                    ---* ao zhong youyi wan sui *---
    Privately operated public uucp site, based in Mackay, North
    Queensland,  Australia.  The system is connected 24 hours a day 7
    days a week, apart from some down time for maintenance.  Purely
    Coherent system.  Technical: 386-25DX, 8Mb RAM, 130Mb IDE HDD. 1 x
    1.2, 1 x 1.44 FDD.  Maestro V32 Modem. Version 4.xx Coherent.
    SVGA.

    Support: Robert can pass on internet fixes and messages to local
    users, such as this FAQ, and is a MIRROR site for MWC, receiving
    monthly updates from MWC. (Sometimes!) Can supply elm, tin and
    wnews.

    UUCP nanguo  [phone] AEST:24 Hours. in:nuucp rd:uupublic
    Info is in ~/INFO

          E-Mail into China,Africa.... and currently, Keeper of The FAQ!

        Currently the site supports uucp using a chat script exactly
        the same as the mwcbbs chat script listed in their manual.
        Anonymous uucp is also ok, as I use Taylor uucp.  The public
        directory is really /usr/spool/uucppublic.  The default
        directory is available for incoming material and the  INFO
        file, which contains most of the details concerning the site.

        Direct login is also available using the following login and
        passwd. login: public passwd: coherent

        This is a public user area, mostly used by my students
        locally, but you are welcome to log in and leave mail. (mail
        robert).  Even if you only uucp mail to me, mail
        nanguo!robert, all are welcome to use these facilities for the
        exchange of information.

        You can get the latest text files and faqs', and fixes by
        sending mail to [e-mail], subject line, "list".

        This site also sells the full range of Coherent packages from
        MWC,  and has a FREECALL support service in place for
        registered users of Coherent.
                                                            Bob Chalmers.

HEATED DISCUSSIONS OF THE GROUP:
        Mark Williams Company has a patent on bit ordering, which is a
        software patent.  Most think that this is obvious art in
        software, and should not be patentable, not to mention a move
        in the software world (i.e., FSF) that  "software" should not
        be patentable in the first place.  The Mark Williams Company
        has committed to comment on this some time in the future.

DISCLAIMER:
         ANY REFERENCE TO THIS ARTICLE, IN ANY FORM, IS PURELY AT YOUR
                                    OWN RISK!
        All opinions, tips, and instructions in this article are those
        of the  contributors, and not of any company associated with
        the individual  contributor, or any company mentioned in this
        article.  The information contained within is not guaranteed
        to be free of errors  in any way.

        The intention of this note is only to inform curious usenet
        readers about some aspects of the operating system of
        Coherent, and those companies mentioned are encouraged to add
        corrections, additions, or suggest deletions to this note to
        as per their policy or willingness to provide positive
        criticism.

TRADEMARKS
        Unix is the trademark of AT&T / Unix System Laboratories, Inc.
        Coherent is the trademark of the Mark Williams Company.


                Contact People at Mark Williams Company:
                ========================================

    All of the following work for Mark Williams Company.  You can
    telephone them at 1-800-MARK-WMS, FAX them at 708-291-6750, or
    write to them at Mark Williams Company, 60 Revere Driver,
    Northbrook, IL 60062, USA.

Jay Alter - Director of Marketing ([e-mail])
Contact Jay if you are interested in site licenses, distribution rights,
bulk orders, review copies, etc.

Ed Bravo - Technical Support ([e-mail])

Fred Butzen - Technical Writer ([e-mail])
Send mail to Fred if you have any questions about the COHERENT manual.

Stephen Davis - Director of Telemarketing ([e-mail])
Stephen runs telemarketing, and also work on marketing issues and publishing
contracts.

Jeff Day - Sales Representative ([e-mail])

John R. Dennison - Technical Support ([e-mail])
John tests third-party software under COHERENT, and helps us modify COHERENT
to run them.  If you know of a third-party package that may work under
COHERENT, send mail to him and Jay.

Jim Leonard - Technical Support ([e-mail])
Jim is in charge of the MWC bulletin board.  Please direct questions
about the BBS to him.

Udo Munk - Technical Development ([e-mail])
Udo works on device drivers.  He also is coordinating the efforts of volunteer
developers to write drivers.  If you want to write a driver for a particular
device, contact him.

Doug Peterson - Director of Technical Support ([e-mail])

Addison Snell - Marketing Representative ([e-mail])

All of these are excellent people, and will be glad to help you.