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Computer Development Leading to Multi-Tasking UNIX


Article # : 10765 

Section : Natural Science
Issue Date : 1 / 1986  3,065 Words
Author : Jason S. Ehrhart
Jason S. Ehrhart is a systems analyst for Sperry in Arlington, Virginia and a graduate in computer science from the University of Utah.

       The computer world is still feeling the effects of the latest shakeout. Corporate survivors of the big computer slump of 1984-1985 are counting their losses (or modest gains) and are prepared (or not) for the competitive war ahead in 1986. Last year's victims, such as employees of smaller, less fortunate companies, have either been snatched up by larger companies via corporate acquisitions, or are looking for new jobs.
       
        The shakeout is seen by many as being the result of saturation of the personal computer market. Executives, employees, and stock analysts are asking themselves and their consultants such questions as: Has the computing market finally begun to collapse? Where do we go from here? The answer to the first question is, Decidedly not! Where the industry goes from here takes a longer answer, for new operating systems are truly at the cutting edge of multi-user and multi-tasking capability (terms which are defined below). This slump is created, in part, by the market's waiting for some new ways to increase the computing horsepower it already has.
       
        The new industrial revolution is taking place now. The time for harmonizing hardware and software developments has finally arrived, and near the forefront of this revolution is the UNIX operating system. Why is UNIX, designed in the seventies for large-scale computers, so strongly affecting the field dominated in the eighties by microcomputers? A subjective view from one close to the developments will be found below, following some background.
       
        Early Computers
       
        During World War II, the United ... (1998 of 18524 Characters)
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