> we tend to forget the "Unix" precursor of Linux comes from the data centre server world.
Indeed. When I first encountered Unix back in the Dark Ages, not only was it common to be working on the same machine with a dozen other people simultaneously, we also had an environment where many programs were hosted on NFS filesystems, and we would have paths like /usr/nfs/alpha-dec-osf1 for Alpha binaries, /usr/nfs/decstation-ultrix for MIPS binaries, /usr/nfs/sparc-sun-solaris, etc. You would make sure your profile scripts included the right architecture path.
Even modern UNIXes (like Darwin/MacOS) include write(1), if you want to start a chat with someone else logged into your MacBook, I suppose.
Indeed. When I first encountered Unix back in the Dark Ages, not only was it common to be working on the same machine with a dozen other people simultaneously, we also had an environment where many programs were hosted on NFS filesystems, and we would have paths like /usr/nfs/alpha-dec-osf1 for Alpha binaries, /usr/nfs/decstation-ultrix for MIPS binaries, /usr/nfs/sparc-sun-solaris, etc. You would make sure your profile scripts included the right architecture path.
Even modern UNIXes (like Darwin/MacOS) include write(1), if you want to start a chat with someone else logged into your MacBook, I suppose.