> i've finally gotten myself to getting around to signing up for PUPS access.

Great!  Welcome aboard.  If you need CD's, holler.  I have the archives
online and update them every day.  I would be happy to run you off a
cd set if you need it, although Warren now has the cd isos up in the
archives, too, if you can roll your own cd's.

> i don't have the time to screw around with DECUS right now, so i won't be
> running VMS anytime soon (i hate compaq, decus used to be such an organized
> organization) so i was wondering what the opinions of the list members here
> were for getting one of the 4BSD distros on my VAX 4000/400 with DSSI disks
> on the internal controller.  i'm tempted to go for Tahoe, but only since that
> is what i cut my UNIX teeth on, so it's what i know best.

If you are an old Tahoe hand, great!  Jump in with both feet.....
The Quasijarus Tahoe runs fine on MVII, and MVIII, plus the biggie iron
(11/730-11/780), but is not supported on anything later than the KA650
cpu.  I just loaded that up last night on my MVIII.5 (a KA650 boardset
in a BA213 case, sort of), and it runs fine with a stripped KA650 only
kernel.  It is also relatively faster than on the KA630.  Alas, I only
have the esdi mscp controller (DQ696) and a 700mb esdi drive for it.
I tried the SQ706A and scsi drives, but it would not run those.  I have
another mscp diff-scsi controller I want to try if I can find a good
1 gig or so differential drive somewhere for the taking.

> what does everyone here think?  NetBSD Bob? i know you have opinions by the
> barrell, let's hear them.  :)

Well, you would have to port some KA660 bits into it, and would have to
use the DEQNA and some sort of mscp non-dssi controller, which sort of
makes for a plain jane machine to start with, and not really a 4000
based box.  But, it might give you a place from which to start it.
I would expect, with some backporting from NetBSD bits, you could get
it up, mostly.  What is our current state of DSSI driver?  I forget
who was working that up, and at what state it now is, but, with some
twiddling of the bits, my expectation is that one could someday get
a 4000 box up on Tahoe.  That might be fun, and would certainly be
speedy.  Ethernet throughput is slower though at about 50-60% of the
current NetBSD speed.  But, I am still amazed at how fast a Tahoe
kernel compiles compared to the current NetBSD kernel.  Wow!
(running for Flak Jacket, just in case.....(:+}}....).

Tahoe is an exercise in retrocomputing, but, still fun.....(:+}}...

Use NetBSD where you want to be serious, but, where you want a trip
back in time, do Tahoe for this year's vacation fun!

(Yikes.... I been Tahoeing too much lately.....(:+}}....)

Bob