*BSD News Article 99718


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From: guy@netapp.com (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: The Window to Kill Windows??
Date: 15 Jul 1997 13:53:42 -0700
Organization: Network Appliance
Lines: 37
Message-ID: <5qgo0m$pes@tooting.netapp.com>
References: <EDCIDs.K2I@nonexistent.com>
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Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:44478


Louis Epstein <le@put.com> wrote:
>I note in the new PC Computing(the one that says the Cyrix M2 "should
>debut by the end of this year",as if it weren't already shipping) that
>they forecast the Intel 64-bit CPU codenamed Merced will be out in 1999,
>but Microsoft will take quite a while after that to come up with a 64-bit
>OS that will let it run at its full potential.(they see NT 5.0 as a
>"Unix killer" before then,though).
>
>Will 64-bit FreeBSD 4.x be available in this interval to blow NT away,

64-bit FreeBSD 4.x won't help there if it doesn't run on IA64 machines.

When there'll be a 64-bit FreeBSD for IA64 depends on, among other
things, when:

	the IA64 architecture spec is available;

	compilers and linkers for IA64 usable by FreeBSD are available
	(e.g., GCC);

	specs for Merced are available;

	specs for support chips used with Merced are available;

	people have time to implement stuff from those specs;

	machines are available to test what they've implemented.

Whether FreeBSD - or Linux, or, heck, even the SCO/HP UNIX-of-the-future
planned for IA64 - for IA64 will "kill" NT is another matter; has
anything touted as an "XXX-killer" has ever succeeded in killing the XXX
it was allegedly going to kill?
-- 
Reply, or follow up, but don't do both, please.

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