sorry guys.

Story: Windows Vista ProblemsTotal Replies: 5
Author Content
usacomputertec

Mar 13, 2007
11:34 AM EDT
Sorry guys. I just posted my first article on this page. Yes there is a special version of linux called SUN BSD Linux for the NAPA TAMS System. I'm not saying bash runs anything I am just saying it's a part of linux AT&T created. Ok so maybe someone else created SUSE? but it's owned by Novell now. Right? Thats what I thought. Yes Linus invented Linux. As far as the formating goes I just pasted it from my web site. It seemed that in text mode it did not care about returns. I could not get it to recognize my returns.

Still isn't it a funny story about the HP? lol
number6x

Mar 13, 2007
1:05 PM EDT
The following might help you understand the history better:

http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=2005101323...

Then you'll understand why the phrase "BSD Linux" causes giggles.

However the history is confusing and convoluted, even if you grew up with it it is hard to follow.

Sun was founded by some of the authors of BSD. Solaris is a mix of BSD and Unix and mostly just itself.

BSD was a derivative of Unix. Unix was written at AT&T, but BSD was not. BSD was written at Berkeley. AT&T was regulated by the government, and could not sell Operating systems. So they released a lot of documentation about Unix to schools and did not put copyright notices on it or require everyone to sign NDA's. AT&T effectively released most of the early Unix OS into the public domain by doing this. That's the two line version of how Berkeley was able to write a version of Unix.

Sun has sold a version of Linux. Linux is not based on BSD or Unix. Linux was developed independently with an eye towards a set of public standards called POSIX. POSIX standards were developed by various Unix vendors and published as open standards so anyone could follow them. This is partly why Linux has a 'Unixy-feel', even though it is not based on Unix.

A German company called SuSE developed a version of Linux based on the SLS distribution. SLS is the same distro Slackware was based on. Suse was founded the year before Red Hat, but they both started selling distros about the same time. SuSE started out supporting and installing SLS for people. The SuSE founders wrote a book, popular in Europe, on how to install Linux.

It happens that the version of Linux that Sun sold was based on the SuSE distro, but that's just a weird coincidence. The version of Linux sold by Sun was called the Sun Java Desktop, for some reason obscure to most people.

Sun's Java Desktop was based on Linux, not BSD or Unix.

SuSE was later bought by Novell, who happened to buy Unix and USL from AT&T in the past.

All of these various OS's BSD, Solaris, At&T Unix, Linux are great and each have there own benefit and draw backs.

Saying the words 'We run SUN BSD LINUX' is kind of like saying 'I drive a Chevy Mustang' or saying 'Our IBM Mainframe runs Windows 2000'.

They just don't make sense.

I hope that helps make things perfectly muddy!
usacomputertec

Oct 17, 2007
7:05 PM EDT
When you go to the terminal you see [root@SUNLinux]
gus3

Oct 17, 2007
8:53 PM EDT
> AT&T was regulated by the government, and could not sell Operating systems.

AT&T was a monopolistic telephone service provider which was very carefully regulated. When they decided to try to release Unix, they petitioned the federal government for permission. The feds decided they would be allowed to sell it only. No support, no advertisement, nothing but the sale. The net result was deliveries of Unix from AT&T that amounted to, "Here's the tape, here's the manual, don't call us."

The advertisement and support came by word-of-mouth in the academic and research community, using that Intar-web thingy.

> saying 'Our IBM Mainframe runs Windows 2000'.

I suspect Bochs can be made to run on AIX...
Sander_Marechal

Oct 17, 2007
10:07 PM EDT
Quoting:When you go to the terminal you see [root@SUNLinux]


Meh. I can make mine say [poopyhead@windowsvista]. All it proves is that the guy who chose the hostname for the box doesn't know his history.
number6x

Oct 18, 2007
6:07 AM EDT
'root' is the user who is logged in.

'SUNLinux' is the hostname of the machine, chosen by whoever named it probably when they installed the OS.

I have an old Apple IIgs and a copy of Gno/ME that could be set up to show "[root@SUNLinux] as the shell prompt by editing the gshrc file, 'set prompt' line.

Neither of these has anything to do with the names or manufacturers of the software or hardware the machine is running on.

If you don't know this, you should probably not be logging in as root. Not because you don't know history, but becuse you don't know some of the basics of unix shell prompt settings.

It would disturb me if someone with root access did not know how the shell prompt was formatted.

Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]

Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!