Mac-IBM-Compare Version 2.1.4

OS Section

This section is in need of an update on the matter of PC OSes. Any usefull information would be welcome.

Home pages:
mac-ibm-compare.html
mac-ibm-OS-compare.html

Contents

OSes

PowerPC OSes

IBM OS based {see IBM OS section for details}:

AIX PowerOpen, NeXTStep, Solaris OS, Expose and Novell DOS 7.0

MAE {Macintosh Application Enviroment}

Apple's Mac-on-Unix 680x0 emulator. (http://www.mae.apple.com/)

MAS {Macintosh Application Services}

Apple's Mac-on-Unix 680x0 emulator that also runs PowerPC Mac programs on PowerOpen versions of UNIX.

MachTen 4.0 {by Tenon}

MachTen is based on BSD 4.4 Unix. "Provides pre-emptive multitasking for UNIX applications and includes a full featured high-performance TCP/IP protocol stack that supports multi-homing and multi-casting." (http://www.tenon.com/blurb.html)

System 7.7

Planned for June 1997.

Windows NT

PPC version runs faster than MacOS with some programs. See IBM OS section for details.

Linex

Popular free unix.

Mac OSes

7.0.X

Base requirements: 2 MB, 40 MB hard drive, and 68000; De-facto standard to run all features well: 4 MB, 80 MB hard drive, and 68030. This 24 and 32-bit OS has a GUI, cooperative-multitasker [MultiFinder], standard program interface, standard stereo sound support [snd], 7.0.0 print drivers, Network receiving part of AppleShare software, program linking within and between computers [IAC], limited built-in server capabilities, Virtual Memory in machines with MMU, drag and drop, QuickTime, wildcard search/selection & built-in TrueType support. Supports sound input [AIFF and snd] for most present machines. Can access up to 1 GB of true RAM and 4 GB of virtual memory. To use real RAM beyond 8 MB it must be in 32-bit mode (though some third party products allow up to 14 MB in 24-bit mode); older machines require 'Mode 32' or '32-Bit Enabler' extension. Apple's last 'free' OS. More useable than contempory versions of MS-DOS or Windows 3.1 (Consumer Reports)

7.1.0

7.0.1 with WorldScript support, speedier {10% faster on Quadra line (sys71_vs_70_speed.txt)}, and less RAM usage than 7.0.X (MacWeek 9/14/92; PC Week 9/7/92). Marks the start of Apple selling its Mac OSes. Programs took up about the same hard disk space as comparitive DOS programs and about one-half less disk space than their x86/Pentium Windows counterparts (Byte April 93:102; Ingram Report 10/93).

7.5.x

32-bit OS. 680x0/PPC with AppleScript {scriptable Finder}, MacTCP, Macintosh Easy Open, QuickDraw GX, PowerTalk (replaced by Open Transport), PlainTalk, Thread Manager {allows the use of some preemptive multitasking feature within programs}, Drag and Drop Manager {between programs}, improved Find File, PC Exchange, and Apple Guide {balloon help replacement}. 680x0/MPC601 version requires 2.5/4.5 MB {4/8 recommended} RAM for core elements, 3/5.5 MB {8/16 recommended} for adding QuickDraw GX {display PostScript equivalent} and PowerTalk. Best speed on PPCs is with VM set at 1 MB above real RAM.

7.6 - 7.x

Apple has desided to go with modular OS updates concurrent with work on Rhapsody. More details on these systems can be found at the MacOS site and the MacOS rumors site.

MacOS Rhapsody

Apple's plans for this OS are in flux. The only clear thing it that it is planned to be Microkernel based and use some MachTen

Tenon Intersystems' MachTen OS which is based on BSD4.4 and the Mach kernel and runs on a wide variety of 680x0 and PPC macs.

Note: sound output was provided in OSes 3.2 to 6.0.5 via many third party formats including the following: snd, WAVE, ASND, FSSD, QSSN, SMSD, SOUN, dc2d, and DCFL. In 6.0.7 the sound manager formally established sound 'snd' and AIFF as standards which causes some playback problems for the other formats, though most still play correctly.

IBM/PC clone OSes

The wide array of OSes allowed programmers a wide range of ways to boost the speed of their programs; either by using obscure OS hooks or in some cases bypassing the OS totally and writing to the hardware directly.

MS-DOS 6.22

Conventional Memory mode is limited to either 640 K {DOS's own memory manager} or 1 MB {third party memory managers}. XMS allows up to 16 MB but is usable only by certain programs. Protected Mode Interface (DPMI) compliant programs running in 32-bit Protected Mode [386dx] also allow 16 MB. Contains DOS 4.0 GUI shell, disk defragmenter, debugger for the CONFIG.SYS file and built-in file compresion. It needed a $80 module for networking. (InfoWorld 8/29/94).

MS-DOS 7.0

Comes with Windows95.

Windows 3.x

Runs on top of DOS. Breaks 640K/1 M barrier but still uses DOS file structure. Base requirements 2 MB, hard drive and 386sx; to run well 8 MB, hard drive, 386sx (PC Magazine 94). Has Mac's QD equivalent called Windows GDI [Graphics Device Interface]. Does not have consistent application interfaces {Like 84-85 Mac programs} nor a very large program base {compared to DOS}, still tends to slow the machine down (Info-IBMPC Digest V92 #186) with speed more dependent on the display adapter then on the CPU (Bill Coleman) and "A user pumping up a Windows machine past 64 MB (or even 16 MB in some cases) can encounter some nasty conflicts." (Computer Shopper, 07/93 v13 n7 p180(7)). Some programs need editing of config.sys, autoexec.bat, or system.ini to run/display correctly (Fortune 10/04/93:112). There were reports of a 12-15% performance hit in enchanced {32-bit} mode (BYTE 11/93:85). Window programs tend to be disk and memory hogs compared to their DOS counterparts (Byte April 93:98-108) and in general occupy 1.84 times more disk space than their 680x0 Macintosh counterparts (Byte 04/93:102; Ingram Report 93).

Windows 95

Requirements: 8 MB and 386; 486/Pentium 12-16 MB recommended, 60 MB HD space. 32-bit Plug and Play aware OS combining 3.x and NT features. Access Pack {Easy Access-like} included. DOS and Win 16 programs run in "virtural machines" created by the OS.

Windows NT

16 MB, ~50 MB of disk space [including swap file] recommended (PC Week 07/19/93). This 32-bit OS has limited protected mode multitasking, multithreading, symmetric multiprocessing, recoverable file system, and 32-bit data GDI. Has built-in OSF DCE compliant networking and can handle up to 4 GB RAM.

Non MS-OSes

AIX

IBM's UNIX system which runs on the RS 6000 PPC machines.

PC-DOS 7.0

IBM's version of DOS.

OS/2 Warp 4.0

32-bit Plug and Play aware multitasking OS with protected memory, protected application, and Java features. Runs Win16 programs slower than Windows 3.1 or Win95.

OpenStep 4.0 (NeXT)

An upgrade of NeXTStep 3.3. Object-oriented Mach (UNIX)-based microkernal GUI OS with built-in multi-architecture binary support, preemptive multitasking, multithreading, virtual memory, multimedia e-mail, on-line help, Display PostScript Level 2, and networking support. Can read, write, and initialize Mac and IBM disks. With as little as a recompile OpenStep programs can run on Windows NT, Solaris, and eventually Apple's Rhapsody OS.

Solaris x86

a SunSoft port. A 32-bit OS with symmetric multiprocessing and multithreading, built-in networking capabilities with tools to allow remote configuring and adminstration features, and a communication package.

Networking [Includes printing]

WYSIWYG printing can be a problem with either Mac of IBM machines especially if one sends TrueType fonts to a older style PostScript printer or uses one of the older systems.

Mac

Hardware: Built-in printer port and a built-in modem port. LocalTalk has moderate speeds (230.4 Kb/s), requires special connectors for each machine ($15 and up), and is run through the printer port. Some third party networking programs use the modem port. Built-in Ethernet is common with transceivers available but some of the older Macs require a PDS or Nubus card at about $150-$300 for each machine. These cards provide three connectors and transceivers {thick, thin, and 10BaseT} for Ethernet. TokenRing has been a network option since 1989. Over five years a Mac is the cheapest overall (The Gartner Group - Fortune 10/04/93:110).

Software: AppleTalk {the suite of protocols} standard with Mac OS, which can use variety of media types. AppleShare client software included with the OS and can connect to file servers such as Novell Netware, 3Com 3+Open, Banyan Vines, DEC Pathworks, Apple's AppleShare servers, System 7 File Sharing machines, and AFP servers running on variety of UNIX hosts. MacTCP allows typical TCP/IP communications (telnet, ftp, NFS, rlogin). Third-party software to connect to NFS servers. DEC Pathworks provides DECnet support. Peer-to-peer file sharing software built into System 7.1 (See OS section). Full server software is extra.

Printing requires connection of the printer and the printer being selected in the chooser. Changing printers is by selecting a different name in the chooser. The same is true of connecting to servers.

Printing bugs: Some TrueType fonts are different from the screen bitmap font which can cause problems in WYSIWYG printing. The best example of this is the Monaco font.

IBM

Hardware: LocalTalk [not widely used], Ethernet, ArcNet, and TokenRing.

Software: Novell Netware, IBM Lan Server, Banyan Vines, DECNet, Windows/Work Groups, AppleTalk protocols, and AppleShare {subset of AppleTalk}.

Each of the MS-DOS networking schemes were, in general, totally incompatible with the others. Once you had chosen one, you were pretty much locked-in to that product line from then on. Windows/Work Groups is a little more forgiving and removes some of this problem. Novell Netware is the biggest, {~80 percent of the corporate market} and in general is more powerful and offers better control/management/security than AppleShare, but it was also more complex to set up and manage thought I beleive this problem has been fixed.

Printing {Very OS dependent}

DOS: If it's a single user, then you plug the printer into the parallel port, and don't worry about it {Tweeking may be needed with poorly written software}. Network Printing is not controlled by the system, but is mostly implemented by the actual program, therefore performance varies from one software program to the next.

Windows 3.x

Supports standard drivers and can do a good job of showing "jobs" in the print queue, but it can list printers as "active"... even if they are not. This becomes a problem if there are several incompatible printers on the same net, because there's no way for software to reliably determine which printer is active right now. Windows for Workgroups is more Mac-like and intelligent about this.

OS/2

Mac-like; the os deals with printers, with apps making calls to the OS.

Printing bugs

Due to poor programing some programs for all the above OSes do not have WYSIWYG printing. This is the fault of the programs in question and not that of the OS involved.

Price issue: This is very dynamic with Mac providing more build-in features than IBM and IBM being more 'get only what you need' then Mac, and price wars going on in both worlds.
In general, when one adds all the standard Mac hardware features to an IBM {built-in input/output sound support, SCSI, PDS, built-in monitor support, built-in networking, standard interface} the Mac tends to be cheaper then an equivalent equipted IBM machine at purchace and over five years. (IBM System User, Jan 1992 v13 n1 p43(1) {91 Ingram report}; Fortune 10/04/93:110 {92 Gartner Group report}; BYTE 9/94:79 {93 Gartner Group report-Windows PC}; 93 Ingram report; 94 Ingram report; Business Week, 03/06/95:73).
Since some IBM monitors can be used with Macs the over all cost of a Mac can be cut even further (MacUser Aug 1992:158-176)

These are the facts as they were known to me on 02/1/97 and may be changed by new developments, announcements, or corrections. Corrections to the information are welcome.

Bibliography notes
'Dictionary of Computer Terms 3rd ed.' (ISBM 0-8120-4824-5)
PPCP/CHRP reference
jay@seaspray.uacn.alaska.edu (Jay C. Beavers)
bericksn@ac.dal.ca (Sean)
david@visix.com (David Charlap)
bcoleman@hayes.com (Bill Coleman)
matt@wardsgi.med.yale.edu (Matt Healy)
cj00+@andrew.cmu.edu (Carl B Jabido)
fj05+@andrew.cmu.edu (Faisal Nameer Jawdat)
dana@vnet.ibm.com (Dana Kilcrease)
jokim@jarthur.claremont.edu (John H. Kim)
lamont@catfish16.rtsg.mot.com (Bradley Lamont)
mem@jhufos.pha.jhu.edu/mem@pha.jhu.edu (Mel Martinez)
dayne@u.washington.edu (Dayne Miller)
mpark@utmem1.utmem.edu (Mel Park)
pcu@umich.edu
noah@apple.com (Noah Price)
terjer@ifi.unit.no (Terje Rydland)
lschultz@ichips.intel.com (Len Schultz)
especkma@reed.edu (Erik. A Speckman)
d88-jwa@nada.kth.se (Jon Wtte)
nan@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Nan Zou)

"Eliminate the impossible and what ever remains, no matter how improbable,
is the truth" -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle through Sherlock Holmes in The 
Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier, Sign of 
Four and The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans.

"The burden of proof should be on the people who make these statements, to show where they got their information from, to see if their conclusions and interpritaions are valid, and if they have left anything out."
-- _The Case of the Bermuda Triange_ Nova/Horizon