Bell Tech Unix Review #2

[William E. Davidsen Jr]

In article <161 at focsys.UUCP> larry at focsys.UUCP (Larry Williamson) writes:

| We spent some time getting a tape drive that would work with our
| Microport software. Much of the problems were our fault. We finally
| settled on this Everex drive. Before we bought the BTUnix, I asked
| our marketing contact at BT if the QIC36 tape driver (I'm pretty
| sure I mentioned it was an everex drive) would work. "I think so. The
| tech sheet I have here says that our software works with these tape
| drives"
| 
| Now I have a tape drive that I can use to backup our uport systems, 
| but I can't backup our BT systems (except on a VERY slow floppy drive).
| 
| We even went to the trouble to by an external tape drive so that we
| would be able to use it on all our unix systems and the dos systems
| in house.  Just by an extra interface card for every system, and move
| the tape drive around.

  I bought a tape external tape drive and several controllers, for
xenix/286, and 386. It seems that BT modifies the controller to keep
their software from being used with other controllers (so I was told).
They supply a set of software to use the tape, which works fine, if a
bit slowly.

  Now when I want to run on Xenix/386, I can't use the BT drivers
because the shell scripts I have use the standard Xenix drivers and
commands (why supply a whole new set of commands for a system which has
its own?). I can't use the Xenix drivers because the controller (it may
actually be the drive) won't work.

  No one will steal the BT tape software, but I won't be quick to buy
another BT product. The usefulness of an external drive is pretty well
lost on this.
-- 
	bill davidsen		(wedu at ge-crd.arpa)
  {uunet | philabs | seismo}!steinmetz!crdos1!davidsen
"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me