![[Jones]](../images/jones-sm.gif)
by Terry Jones
T he Operating Systems Special Interest Committee sponsored a successful program at the Fall 1996 Cray User Group (CUG) meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Eleven papers in all were presented in four sessions, including three talks from the Security Mutual Interest Group (MIG). All sessions were well attended, with standing room only at the session featuring UNICOS/mk and the operating systems update and directions.From an operating systems viewpoint, the direction of the combined Silicon Graphics, Inc./Cray Research, Inc. (SGI/CRI) companies is becoming more well defined. The results of work to make common features available early was presented, as well as the futures of UNICOS, UNICOS/mk, and Cellular IRIX. A number of issues addressed by the Operating Systems SIC regarding UNICOS issues, particularly source code availability, have again been raised to SGI/CRI. It is important that we keep the momentum alive with communicating our site's needs to SGI/CRI as the IRIX-based platforms are developed.
The open meeting consisted of a roundtable in which several members of the SGI/CRI UNICOS and UNICOS/mk development staff answered questions and concerns from the attendees. Joining in was a representative from SGI who percipitated a lively discussion concerning IRIX-based operating system source code availability.
Announced at the meeting were the plans to bring the new Operating Systems SIC web pages on-line. Cray Research has also developed a web-based version of the UNICOS wish list in conjunction of the CRInform service. This prototype is under evaluation and will be made available through the Operating Systems SIC web page when the evaluation is complete. Anyone will be able to access the Operating Systems SIC web pages; however, access to the wish list will require your site's CRInform userid and password.
Other developments include the creation of an Operating Systems SIC listserver under the cug.org listserver. Details will be announced via the UNICOS-L list when the Operating Systems SIC list is placed online.
Dr. Ingeborg Weidl of the Max Planck Institute, Germany, has accepted the position of overseas deputy chair for the Operating Systems SIC. I would like to welcome her aboard and look forward to her association with CUG and the Operating Systems SIC!
The influx of operating system issues that suddenly appeared with the merger of Cray Research and SGI led the Operating Systems SIC to sponsor a new MIG to address IRIX issues. The IRIX MIG will focus on IRIX and Cellular IRIX issues, while the Operating Systems SIC will focus on UNICOS and UNICOS/mk issues.
I would like to extend my congratulations to the chair of the new IRIX MIG, Nicholas Cardo (cardo@nas.nasa.gov) of NASA Ames, and urge everyone with IRIX issues to submit talks to him for consideration at the San Jose CUG meeting in May 1997.
The program for the San Jose CUG promises to be an exiciting one as we all move forward during this dynamic and interesting period in the world of high-performance computing.
Comments to: lester@ucar.edu
