Product Review

More than a Toy but No Bargain

By Mike Burgard JOOOUX offers SVR4 on an outdated chip without the A miga PC 's capabilities

ommodore is hardly a name megabyte hard drive and card, designed, and resembles a small-footprint you expect to hear bandied but no monitor, and costs $4,998. Al­ PC jammed to the gills. Inside the 20-pound about in the worksta­ though this price seems reasonable, system box are four proprietary expan­ C tion market. Yet, Commodore UNIX users need more than the base sys­ sion slots, two floppy drive bays, up to 18 is positioning its Amiga 3000UX- stocked tem to satisfy routine disk and monitor re­ megabytes of RAM, a power supply, and with UNIX System V Release 4 from quirements. They need the 3000UXG, a 68030 processor. The Amiga also sup­ AT&T, Open Look, and Ethernet sup­ the reviewed platform, which had a 200. ports 100 to 400 megabytes of hard disk. port-as a niche alternative. megabyte hard disk, Ethernet Card, TIGA The location of the floppy bays repre­ Despite the good intentions, Commodore graphics adaptor, multiscanning monitor, sents efficient use of space, but makes misses the mark with the Amiga 3000UX and a price tag of $7,713. Compare this the Amiga 3000UX a difficult machine to because of its small, 14-inch color monitor, against Sun's $6,995 SPARCstation IPC work with at the board level. When our limited software supply, poor price/per­ with its H>·inch color monitor, 207 mega­ test unit died, the technician had quite a fonnance, and no UNIX-to-DOS utilities. bytes of disk, eight megabytes of memo­ chore getting at the system memory. Commodore makes it clear that the ry, and 3 1/2-inch floppy drive. The fan and hard disk maintain an ex­ Arniga is not going head to head with tremely low ambient noise level in com­ IBM, Hewlett-Packard, or high-end Sun Compact and Quiet parison to any machine-UNIX or DOS. Microsystems engineering worksta­ The Amiga 3000UX is an attractive ma­ Inside the Amiga is a Motorola tions. Instead, Amiga is targeting indi­ chine. The system box is compact, cleanly MC68030 32-bit processor running at 25 vidual users, the university market, and because of its port of SVR4, the "large quantity development market." Paul Commodore's Caulkin, UNIX programs manager for entry into the Commodore explains: ''We are position­ UNIX workstation ing the Amiga 3000UX for the large in­ market, the Amiga house developer that would rather have 3000UX, comes standalone machines than terminals on with AT&T UNIX each developer's desk." SVR4, Open Look, As a billion-dollar company, Commo­ and Ethernet dore has a large network of users and support- but it dealers. But to compete in the lower end doesn't have the of the UNIX workstation market, Com­ speed, software, modore has to offer a sizable price break or UNIX-to-DOS or solid value-added features: the Amiga utilities that most 3000UX offers neither. The available sys­ users demand. tem configurations are too expensive and the standout third-party products nor­ mally associated with the Amiga PC­ namely jazzy graphics and strong video support-are not available for the UNIX Amiga. Commodore promises that multi­ media products will be available in 1992. The base system comes with a 100-

UNIX WORLD DECEMBER 1991 75 Commodore's Amiga 3000UX

MHz and a 68882 math coprocessor. The workout. A monochrome monitor with with MS-DOS because ArnigaDOS is a · 68030 leaves the Amiga one whole gener­ the ability to display 1008 by 800 pixels is multitasking created ation behind the Nextstation with the available for the same price as the color specifically for the Arniga. A coprocess­ 68040 processor. Commodore would not monitor. A high-resolution TIGA board ing board, such as a $754 BridgeBoard comment whether they have a 68040 ma­ with 1024-by-768 resolution is also an op­ coprocessor add-in board, must be pur­ chine in the works, although even a fast­ tion. Unfortunately, the TIGA did not chased to run DOS applications. Com­ er processor wouldn't overshadow the boot with the system, so you must have pounding the Amiga's problems, you UNIX Arniga's other problems. two monitors, which again increases the cannot run ArnigaDOS and UNIX simul­ The Arniga comes standard with ei­ cost of the Amiga, especially in compari­ taneously, nor is there a DOS emulator. ther five or nine megabytes of on-board son to a Sun or Next machine. The bottom line is that the Amiga memory. This odd configuration results The 94-key keyboard is also a weak 3000UX is not the machine you want if from the two types of RAM on the Amiga. link. There are no dedicated PgUp, combining DOS and UNIX is your goal. One megabyte of RAM is set aside fo r PgDn, Home, or End keys, and there As for software for the Amiga, we video and sound, giving the Arniga its are only 10 function keys. The feel of the were able to get a copy of Empress Soft­ improved graphics performance. Sepa­ keyboard is "middle of the road"; it has ware's DBMS, but other products and rate from this are four megabytes of ad­ information are slow in coming. Com­ ditional memory for operating system modore provided a list of approximately use. This memory, called fast SCRAM, 50 separate applications, but the only runs at 80 nanoseconds and is expand­ Review Highlights well-known names were Oracle (DBMS able to 16 megabytes. products), Quadratron (Cliq), and Quality CONTACT Amiga 3000UX Software Products (Exclaim). Noticeably The Return of Zorro? INFO absent were multimedia, engineering, Four expansion slots are vertically 1200 Wilson Dr. and scientific applications. Only univer­ mounted in the Arniga, each capable of West Chester, PA 19380 sity users interested in exploring and us­ 215-431-9100 holding a full-size card. Two of the slots ing SVR4 will not be bothered by the double as ISAcompatible slots, but all four small number of applications. use Commodore's proprietary Amiga Uses UNIX SVR4. Hardware opti­ Zorro III , which uses a 100-pin slot mized for outstanding graphics and On the Other Hand and limits the options available for ex­ audio. Excellent beginner's manu­ There really are some likable features in 0 als. Strong support structure. Easy pansion because of the limited manufac­ to set up. the Amiga, such as the Open Look GUI. turers of Zorro-<:ompatible boards. The The system comes with a small·set of util­ review machine came with a thin Ether­ Expensive for a low-end machine. ities built into the GUI-most useful is the net card ($331) and a TIGA high-resolu­ Color monitor choice inadequate for file manager, which gives you a visual pic­ tion graphics card ($998) in two of the many tasks. Software availability is ture of all directories and files. The file sparse. Unable to run DOS and manager runs vi or executes a file when slots. According to Commodore, any ISA UNIX simultaneously. Uses 68030 card will work in the dual bus slots. processor. No SVR4 manuals you click on an icon, depending on The standard hard drive is a SCSI 19- whether the file is text or an executable. millisecond, 100-megabyte Quantum. PRICE $6,998 for 200-megabyte hard disk, SVR4 supports virtual screens in a This drive is both quiet and quick. The nine-megabyte RAM , 3 1/2-inch fashion similar to The Santa Cruz Opera­ standard 100-megabyte drive is barely floppy drive, TIGA video. Monitor tion. Alt-F2 invokes a second screen and sufficient because the system files alone and tape drive extra. log-in. Virtual screens allow a single user consume more than 70 megabytes. Seri­ WARRANTY One year parts and service. to conduct a variety of sessions on the ous work requires the optional 200- same workstation. X Windows reduces megabyte disk drive unless you rely on SUPPORT 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) , Monday the need for virtual screens in a single-user a network for most of your storage. through Friday, toll free. One year machine, but the option is still a benefit · The optional SCSI tape drive sits in a free support and service in the con­ On the value-added side, Commodore tinental United States. standalone unit that uses standard 150- promotes the Arniga as a multimedia . megabyte tapes and daisy chains off the box. Unfortunately, Commodore admits SCSI port in the rear of the system unit. that there is no multimedia software yet Thanks to an unfriendly design, if your a mushy feel, and lacks a tactile click-or available under UNIX. For a machine with tape drive is connected, it must be any click for that matter. multimedia features, you might be better turned on or the hard drive might fail. If off with a monochrome Nextstation for there are no additional SCSI devices, a SVR4: Prodigy or Problem? $4,995. If it's applications development terminator is required on the SCSI port. One reason Commodore is so high on software that you want, Commodore has The optional 14-inch multiscanning the Amiga is its ability to run SVR4. about 15 developer's tools, but nothing at monitor provided with the review unit Commodore states that Amiga UNIX "is the level of Saber Software's Saber C or left much to be desired. Its size makes an ABI-compliant industry standard ParcPlace's Objectworks. for a diminutive workstation when com­ configuration of UNIX SVR4." This is A network card provides both thin and pared to any other system. The swivel one of the first machines that has SVR4 thick Ethernet support and support for base broke apart during shipment and as standard equipment and the first with TCP/IP and NFS is built into SVR4. The the power cord was missing. The screen a processor. The process of connecting to a network is a seemed to have the jitters because the system comes preloaded with UNIX simple matter of altering the I etc/hosts display occasionally wavered. SVR4 and Open Look. file and hooking up the cable. Commodore claims there is a color The Amiga 3000UX is essentially the version of Open Look, but we never re­ same machine as the highly regarded How fast is fast? ceived a copy and cannot verify its exist­ Amiga PC. AmigaDOS 2.0 is also preload­ Performance issues are difficult to nail ence. The color monitor never got a real ed on the hard disk, but is not compatible down with the Amiga. The 68030, the Commodore's Amiga 3000UX math coprocessor, and the one mega­ quick enough to handle common tasks through the cable connections and set­ byte of video RAM contribute to making such as document creation and educa­ up steps in an almost simplistic manner. the machine responsive, but Commo­ tional uses. Our experience with scroll­ With all the operating system software dore has deliberately tried not to posi­ ing documents and using X utilities tells preloaded, you can have a login prompt tion the Amiga in markets in which us the Amiga is on par with a slow 386 within about 30 minutes of opening the. performance is the major evaluation cri­ machine running SCO Open Desktop. boxes. The plug-and-play aspects of the teria. However, SPECmarks have Amiga make it attractive to many users. shown even the 68040 processor to be Standout Service and Support The Amiga also comes with an out­ slower than the SPARC chip in the IPC. The Amiga was truly easy to set up and standing support policy: if anything goes There is doubt that the Amiga is get running. A color brochure leads you wrong with the machine in the first year, Commodore will fix it free of charge. We were able to have a technician up in the boondocks of Montana within 24 hours when a set of RAM chips died. SYSTEM CRASH(~. I Documentation stands out from the \- typical. Three small manuals take you ...... ~~ DON'T LEAVE WORK WITHOUT IT!™ 1. Reco nstructs SCO UN IX & SCO XEN IX from a complete crash . 2. Comp letes the job ... Al l data, parlitions, d_d vers, commodoN kerna l li nks , symbol ic links. .. you name 11. The AlA· BAG does it all. 3. Allows recovery to a larger hard disk. hasn't given us a 4. Allows enlarging partitions bel ore restoring . 5. Fully menu driven lor the UNIX impaired. 6. A must for compa ni es selling maintainance contracts .. . your customer can recover rrom a crash without you convincing reason 7. ~·;:~.~h;:: lor VAR 's to mass produce the ir $18500 as to why it put UNIX vert ica l application . on the Amiga

through installing, learning, and using Amiga UNIX. The small-format manuals come with spiral binding, detailed in­ structions, and frequent illustrations. The main AT&T UNIX manual pages are online and can be accessed with the man command. Commodore does not offer a full SVR4 documentation set. The Amiga draws a fiercely loyal fol­ lowing in the PC world and we can see the characteristics of a soundly built ma­ chine. Quiet and small, the Amiga packs a lot of system into a tight space and sup­ ports it with one of the best service guarantees in the business. Even so, Commodore hasn't given us a convincing reason as to why it put UNIX on theAmiga And we haven't a clue. OTHER CACTUS UTILITIES!!! The Amiga 3000UX is a sound hardware BUTTSAVER'" .... undelete files box looking for a home. At its present INODE NAVAGATOR '" ... super block doctor price, it provides no attraction compared JET-COM'" ...... fast communications to inexpensive Suns, SPARC clones, or TAR-CHECK'" ... byte level verification even Nextstations. The lack of multime­ BUTTCLEAR'" ... electronic shredder CACTUS dia software also leaves the Amiga hol­ SHELL·LOCK '" . shell script compiler INTERNATIONALM low. But if you like a mystery and are UFDISK '" . ... better than fdisk & fsck 13987 W. Annapolis Ct. Mt. Atry, MD 21771 willing to risk $7,000, give it a try. • All trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Add $10.00 shipping 800-515-UNIX (Sales) on floppy media. 30 I -829- I 622 (Support) 301-829-1623 (Fax) Editor-at-Large Mike Burgard is a regular reviewer for UNIXWORLD and a data sys­ tems information manager for a commer­ ------.- ...... cial printing company in Montana.