Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!hsdndev!spdcc!rbraun
From: rbraun@spdcc.COM (Rich Braun)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386
Subject: Re: AT&T clean UNIX
Message-ID: <8127@spdcc.SPDCC.COM>
Date: 28 Jun 91 17:26:32 GMT
References: <1991Jun27.143617.17039@ccu.umanitoba.ca>
Organization: Kronos Inc., Waltham, Mass.
Lines: 27

dab@ubitrex.mb.ca (Danny Boulet) writes:
>While reading my latest UNIX World last night, I noticed a small article
>in the Newsbytes section that told of a company (Berkeley something or other)
>which is hoping to have a clone of BSD UNIX ready for shipping in September.
>The article claimed that the clone would not have any AT&T code in it.
>This would allow them to sell the system (including full source) for an
>introductory price of $995 (later to rise to $1,995). 

_Allow_ them to sell it at this price, notably higher than any existing
386-based Unix O/S products?  And using the word Berkeley in the company
name is just plain un-cool:  I hope the folks at the real Berkeley cry
foul.  This company even ripped off the BSD acronym:  it's called
"Berkeley Software Design Inc.", and the article on p.16 of UnixWorld
makes no mention of any affiliation or non-affiliation with BSD.  The
article does point out that BSD Inc.'s engineers have been "loaned" to
Berkeley for the 4.4 O/S (my assumption, correct me if I'm wrong, is that
BSD Inc. provided a couple of consultants to Berkeley for an hourly fee.)

Sorry I'm such a cynic, but when I read that article I came away with a
rather bad feeling about this.  Were the list price significantly under
$1995, perhaps I might not have this reaction.

Are there any people from BSD Inc. or from Berkeley who are familiar
with this case who can either follow up on this or send me e-mail to
keep me quiet about this?

-rich