Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!xylogics!bu.edu!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!zardoz.coral.COM!don
From: don@zardoz.coral.COM (Don Dewar)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: What's what in OPEN LOOK/OpenWindows (long)
Message-ID: <9010161109.AA02249@zardoz.noname>
Date: 16 Oct 90 11:09:16 GMT
References: <1776@riscy.enet.dec.com>
Sender: root@athena.mit.edu (Wizard A. Root)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 66


) Return-Path: <uunet!expo.lcs.mit.edu!xpert-mailer>
) Date: 15 Oct 90 22:41:09 GMT
) From: uunet!decwrl.dec.com!bacchus.pa.dec.com!deccrl!shlump.nac.dec.com!riscy.enet.dec.com!fuel.dec.com!graham  (kris graham)
) Subject: Re: What's what in OPEN LOOK/OpenWindows (long)
) References: <507@texhrc.UUCP>, <9009272035.AA09060@islanders.>
) Sender: uunet!expo.lcs.mit.edu!xpert-request
) To: xpert@expo.lcs.mit.edu
) 
) >> 	The amount of Sun (actually SPARC is more
) >> 	appropriate) workstations in the commercial marketplace is growing 
) > >	incredibly fast (in the Wall Street arena, there *is* no other
) workstation).
) > >	Guess which UI is standard on those machines?   Hint: Its not Motif.
) 
) >	What this shows is that different industries are adapting different
) >	toolkits. At the last Society of Exploration Geophysicists show,
) >	MOTIF lead by at least 10 to 1 over open look in the number of
) >	displays
) 
) Also, at Wall Street's most popular financial/commercial show, Motif trounced
) Open Look by a 10 to 1 margin!  I dunno where Frank Greco gets his data
) from.
) 
) I will look again at the October 31 UNIX EXPO here in New York City...another
) big show.
) 
) Christopher Graham          
) Digital Equipment Corp            
) Ultrix Resource Center                                             
) New York City
) 
) Internet: graham@fuel.enet.dec.com 
) UUCP:     ...!decwrl!fuel.enet.dec.com!graham
) 
) 

As an addendum to Christopher's comment, the recent Interop '90 also
seemed overwhelmingly to favor Motif, even on SPARCstations.  Of those
network management programs written on UNIX platforms, I heard of far
more using Motif than OpenLook.  In addition, the SPARC was also a
common sight at many of those same booths.

To me the muddied message is becoming clearer.  The UI software battle
is not going to be decided by any one hardware's predominance in the
marketplace.  So please stop using the lame argument that Sun's large
market share is going to make OpenLook the defacto standard.  Go back
to the argument on technical merit -- it was far more interesting. 

Let me couch my last request so there are no misunderstandings.  I
believe it will be the market that sets the defacto standard UI
in the UNIX arena.  But it will be the software marketplace, not the
hardware marketplace that renders the final decision.  Everyone who is
trying to make predictions at this point is still trying to figure
out who is going to win the superbowl on the first day of the season.

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