We're looking at the ability to have more than just !root for admin use,
but I can say whether they will have any restrictions on what they can do.
> After dealing with Annexes for so long, it's annoying to not be
>able to do a simple 'finger @ts.whatever' and not get a list of who is on,
>who is idle, what they're doing, etc.
Run 'procs' on an Annex sometime - they basically run a stripped UNIX kernel
with fingerd, telnetd, routed, ftpd, etc, etc. They are small UNIX boxes
running daemons. So having a fingerd is no big deal - it is also why they
use multiple, faster processors and a lot more RAM to have relatively the
same performace level. The PM image is around 300K, the Annex image is getting
on to 2Megs. (To be fair they also support LAT, tn3270, and ARAP - all of
which add to the image size.) I missed it when I left, but it just took a
shift in my mental paradigm to adjust to PM management. I had been working
with Annexen for 6 years - college and then at Xylogics - before coming to
Livingston. Now when I try to work on an Annex I have to really bend my head
around the different command set.
We delieverately resist the featuritis trend, there are many, many bells and
whistles that would be 'nice to have'. But every new bell and whistle adds
to code bloat. And as any programmer will tell you, the more lines of code
the greater the chance of a bug. And if code bloats, you then end up needing
more memory and faster hardware, etc. And then the new horsepower leads
people to pack in more features. Once of the biggest ironies I've seen is
a Xylo T-shirt that I have that has little robots on the back representing
each department. The Marketroid is stuffing the word 'feature' into an annex
many times over, and they are sticking out of every orifice. The Annex looks
like it is ready to pop. I just about died when I saw that the first time.
I *love* irony. But then, I'm also a sarcastic SOB.
Just look at PCs - remember when a 40Meg drive was MORE than enough room
to have a good word processor and a lot of files. These days some of the
software packages are 20-30Megs alone! A lot of that is featuritis - compare
the current Word or WordPerfect to a couple of revs back. Most of the
features that were added are nice to have dodads that most users will never
touch and all it does is force users to have larger drives and faster
processors just to write a paper.
We have a different philosophy towards the PM and the code base - we use KISS.
At the other end you can look at Cisco and the IOS for an example of what
happens to code when you want to make it do *everything*. I'm waiting for
native emacs in IOS...
Obviously some customers are going to desire the bells and whistles approach
and will pick an Annex or a Cisco, especially if they really want to do LAT,
or tn3270, etc, the things we just don't do. At the other end people want
units that are reliable, simple, and less expensive to handle the bulk of
the market which is PPP/SLIP, IP/IPX, and shell useage. And at that end it
is hard to beat a PortMaster. And with OSPF coming (be patient, we are
thrashing it in the lab now, we want to get it *right* before sending it out.
Quality is important. BTW, I decided I was too busy to run that beta so I
handed it over to Dave) it will get better. And we have more coming.
And just wait until the PRI box comes out. ;-) *I* am very excited over
that one.
We are always trying to improve the product, but in ways that make the most
sense for the majority in the long run. As Gryph commented to me the other
night, once you make a stupid design decision you get stuck with it forever
for 'backwards compatibility' - so it is best to avoid those mistakes.
Our end goal is to produce the highest quality product we can and provide
the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Realistically we're always
going to clash with a few people (one person said to keep him they'd have
to fire me first for example...), but by and large I think we do a good
job. And that is one of the main reasons I enjoy working for Livingston, I
think they have the right attitude.
-MZ
-- Livingston Enterprises - Chair, Department of Interstitial Affairs Phone: 800-458-9966 510-426-0770 FAX: 510-426-8951 megazone@livingston.com For support requests: support@livingston.com <http://www.livingston.com/> Snail mail: 6920 Koll Center Parkway #220, Pleasanton, CA 94566