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Linux VTs is all we had for a long time. Even if X was around, not everybody had computers powerful enough to comfortably run X. I had a computer that would swa
by zorked 9y ago
Linux VTs is all we had for a long time. Even if X was around, not everybody had computers powerful enough to comfortably run X. I had a computer that would swap just by having X open with fvwm.
- pm215 9y agoMmm. If you want an example of a console that seemingly was never meant to be used for real work, try the old Sun SPARCStation Solaris consoles. Those were implemented using the boot PROM's graphics drivers which were written in Forth and not exactly optimised for speed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntJmmI6iIEc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntJmmI6iIEc has an example starting at about 0:50 -- it used to feel like you could practically watch the cursor moving from left to right as it printed longer lines... (I think Sun assumed you'd either be logging in remotely or using a graphical windowing system, so they never worried about the performance of the text console. Linux on the same hardware installed its own video driver written in C for the terminal so it was dramatically faster.)
- cat199 9y agoStill faster than a hardware terminal... I wouldn't be surprised if it was meant to emulate these to some degree..