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From: mouse@lightning.mcrcim.mcgill.EDU (der Mouse)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Question for net.views column in UNIX Today!
Message-ID: <9104022108.AA12160@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Date: 2 Apr 91 21:08:09 GMT
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 33

>> Is a single GUI standard really necessary?
> Yes.  The competition between Motif and Open Look is destroying the
> development of the Unix software market.  [...] If there [were] an
> agreement on standards, it would open up a huge new market as there
> are so many programmers who are trained in using Unix.

What do Motif and/or OpenLook have to do with UNIX?

> I can hardly believe that Sun, which did so much to start the open
> systems movement, is now doing everything it can to force its own
> interface onto its customers.

I don't see it that way.

> Sun is still the hardware of choice for universities,

I would say rather the hardware of lack of choice, but that's neither
here nor there.

> but whenever I visit other universities I hear nothing but anger at
> Sun's refusal to adopt the same interface that was selected by other
> major manufacturers.

I would say, rather, that Sun is refusing to adopt a closed interface.
For all the OSF calls things open, they are awfully proprietary about
Motif.  Sun contributed XView to the X Consortium.  If the OSF, or even
one of its members, had contributed a Motif-compliant toolkit and/or
widget set to the world as freeware, you might have a point.

					der Mouse

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