Subject: RE: What about Mac OS X

From: Mike Johnson <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 15:16:10 -0700

It's not that I want, or care to, install anything Unix on X. I'm just
wondering what the relevance of netatalk will be in the future networking
environment.

I mainly use Linux and netatalk as a file sharing solution between the Macs,
IBMs, and SGIs in the office, but if Mac is going to be supporting NFS, the
for netatalk is drastically reduced, since windows 2000 (hey, it's what the
bosses want) has a nice Unix module. I was just wondering if anybody has
examined the long-term need for netatalk. I'm concerned that people are
spending their time developing a solution that will only be useful for
another few months before the Macs learn to speak for themselves.

It is merely a question - I'm not familiar with the abilities and drawbacks
of Mac X, and that's why I asked if anybody knew more about it. I'm sure
there will be a niche for netatalk to fill, but I wonder if it's future
position will be different than were the development is taking it.

Anyway, the work on netatalk has been very useable and reliable for me. I
appreciate the program.

- Mike

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Per Arve [mailto:[email-masked]] 
Sent:	Thursday, August 17, 2000 2:51 PM
To:	Mike Johnson
Subject:	Re: What about Mac OS X

May I wonder what features of netatalk you want to use on the OSX box. It
will
have appletalk built in just like any other mac OS. It is probably not wise
to
install a software like netatalk on to it as tthat may create conflicts.
However, if you are lucky it will contain the features you need directly in
the
OS.

Mike Johnson wrote:

> Hi all,
> Because my company routinely buys all of the newest Mac software - even
the
> joke-of-an-OS 9 - we'll probably find and buy Mac OS X soon after it's
> deployment.
>
> I have heard and read that this new version will be built on a BSD kernel,
a
> welcome but unnerving prospect. X supposedly will support NFS and a
command
> terminal, and will do away with the chooser all together.
>
> My 60 employee company runs Windows 98, NT, and 2000 as well as Mac 8.6
and
> 9 and SGI's IRIX (two servers for two offices and several workstations).
Oh,
> there's a Novell server in there, too (hopefully permanently replaced by
the
> infinitely more stable Linux soon). I spend the majority of each day just
> trying to keep all of these operating systems fat and happy, dealing with
> problems users create (i.e. "There was a flash of light and my appointment
> disappeared!"), and the rest I spend on research to prepare me for future
> changes I'll be expected to be an overnight expert on. I'm sure many of
you
> can sympathize....
>
> If X really does support the great pieces of Unix like they say it will,
> people like me will make the change as soon as possible because, once I
> train my users, it will be easier to maintain. Not to mention, Apple has a
> horrible habit of discontinuing support for any hardware or software older
> than their latest OS release.
>
> So I'll make the change with reservations. Reservations because most Mac
> users != power users, and many still don't fully understand what Unix is,
> even though we have several machines. Will I no longer need a solution
like
> netatalk? Or will I need a netatalk file server to bridge X and 9?
>
> My main question is: will netatalk still apply? I'd love to continue its
> use. With the help of the people on this list, it's now running smoothly.
> Like a dream. I'm guessing that if X supports Appleshare, then netatalk
will
> be the most comfortable, familiar solution for my users, rather than
> mounting NFS style.
>
> Has anybody had a chance to play with the beta?
>
> - Mike Johnson
> Systems Administrator
> Lunar Design
> www.lunar.com

---

From: Marc Miller <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 15:59:42 -0700 (PDT)

What I heard was that MacOS X can't serve files to Macs prior to the G3
models.  If it's not the G3, then I'm sure I heard that as long as there
are older Macs, there will be a need for netatalk.  

> > Has anybody had a chance to play with the beta?

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