Tandy Xenix (was Re: Menu{Master, Maestro, etc} question(s)) from Filepro-list Digest, Vol 40, Issue 16

[wdg3rd at comcast.net]

> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 09:35:58 -0400
> From: "Jay R. Ashworth" <jra at baylink.com>
> Subject: Re: Menu{Master,Maestro,etc} question(s)
> To: filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
> Message-ID: <20070510133558.GF3976 at cgi.jachomes.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

> On Wed, May 09, 2007 at 09:21:21AM -0400, Kenneth Brody wrote:
> > Quoting Bill Campbell (Tue, 8 May 2007 21:33:41 -0700):
> > > Gordon!  That's the one who's name I forgot.  He was definately on the
> > > marketing/management side, not very technical at all (he left Xenix
> > > machines at the root login in his Radio Shack Computer center while
> > > hosting Seattle Unix Group meetings.
> > 
>> And nobody took the time to give him a first-hand demonstration on why
> this was a "Bad Thing"[tm]?  :-)

> Ah... a good baggy-pantsing.

> I haven't pantsed someone in a long time.

> I *did*, though, get a memo sent out to all the Computer Center
> managers telling them to set passwords on their Xenix boxen.  I'm told
> it mentioned me by name, but I never did get to see a copy of it.

Don't remember seeing it, though most of my RSCC managers let me see all Xenix-related memos, at least if they knew what was good for them.  (I did RSCC training and tech support for over five years -- few managers and far less sales types who didn't graduate to management lasted nearly that long, I outlived at least eight managers at three RSCCs before the ATSOs were formed).

I was the CSR.  I owned the store demo systems.  Since for much of that time I was also the Instructor, they had to wait for class breaks to demo Xenix with more than the simple demo login (password demo) capability.  Because those turkeys on the sales floor couldn't even demo Dancing Demon without breaking something.

As it was, I wound up reinstalling the OS on the demo system at least every other week -- cumulative damage from sales types rebooting the box and bypassing the fsck.

Our first pre-release Xenix system was passworded to the hilt the first day it was installed and permissions were set to a little more secure than default.  Helped that I had played with Xenix a bit in my classroom setup for a couple of weeks courtesy of a (big) customer who had a beta copy and we thought we could save time in passing the problems to Fort Worth if I knew what he was talking about.

Yes, Tandy Xenix 68k through version 3.2 could (can -- I tested a couple years back on my 6k) run from a floppy.  After PG&E killed my HD (my personal book and LP databases on [yes, it was bootleg, an RSCC CSR and later an ATSO CSR were poorly paid but had access to a bunch of software and hardware] Profile 16+ were backed up), I still ran my 16 for a while, root and swap on drive 0, /usr on drive 1, to play hack.  (By that time, 1989, most of my attention at home was on my 3B1, which almost anybody will admit was a prettier machine).
-- 
Ward Griffiths    wdg3rd at comcast.net

The reason folks don't think of installing Windows as a painful experience is roughly the same reason men don't think of childbirth as a painful experience.      Mike, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/30/letters_3003/