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From: tim@tslvax.UUCP (Timothy Beres)
Newsgroups: net.micro,net.micro.att,net.unix
Subject: OS Merge/SIMULTASK/AT&T marketing
Message-ID: <113@tslvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Jun-86 20:11:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: tslvax.113
Posted: Tue Jun 17 20:11:51 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Jun-86 01:58:52 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Tech-Source Labs, Altamonte Springs, Florida
Lines: 53
Xref: watmath net.micro:14846 net.micro.att:1305 net.unix:8232


WARNING: I am not a happy person right now...

A while back I posted a request for info concerning AT&T's new product
for the 6300+.  Back then, it was called OS Merge.  It was recently announced
(spring COMDEX, I believe) that it would be available under the name of
SIMULTASK, and check your dealer or AT&T sales rep *please*.

This product was recently asked about on the net by (?); it combines UN*X and
DOS files under one filesystem and has the capability to run DOS as 
a process under UN*X, with but a keystroke to zip between the two.

AT&T has had in print the features and capabilities of this product
for some time now.  I've been at one time or another led to believe in
January, Feb, .... release dates.  Of course when you call AT&T they
offer know information concerning this product (I guess their literature
department slipped one or two by their marketing dept.).  They've changed
the name of the product.  They just do not appear to give any clear indication
that they have the foggiest notion when or what this products future is.

The coup de grace that finally skewered my faith in MA BELL is this:
My dealer (Doug from Micro Mart, Altamonte Springs, FL) has bent over
backward to find me any information on this product's viability and 
availability, that I could not get on the net.  We have gone round and round
trying to make sense of AT&T's mktg plan.  Doug tells me that Micro Mart
corporate has received this wonderful product.  AT&T had led them to
believe that they could sell it forthwith.  HAH!  They now say July 1
at the earliest (Ok, they have distributed non-announcement announcements
way, way back; they've announced the product recently; they've announced
the release of the product; they've de-released the release; OH BUT I CANT
WAIT FOR JULY 1 AND THE NEXT ANNOUNCEMENT).

To top it off, I've heard that their support staff could not get the
thing working for the people who are supposed to sell the thing; that
the 6300+ isn't as fully compatible with the IBM AT as originally thought;
and, of course, there are all those articles out there in the popular 
literature that label AT&T's marketing strategy as BONEHEADED.

There.  I've said my piece.  Go buy a clone running SCO Xenix and partition
your hard disk.  If any of you can enlighten me differently, I may be 
persuaded to take another look, in, oh, 6 months.

DISCLAIMER: I just want to run a decent low cost UN*X system, with a little
Auto-CAD thrown in.  And the usual disclaimers apply.

 ________________________________________________________________________
| WHO:	    Tim Beres                                                    |
| UUCP:     ...!ihnp4!{duke, akgua}!ucf-cs!tslvax!tim                    |
| PHONE:    305/788-9100                                                 |
| SURFACE:  Tech-Source Labs   #division of Ciprico, Inc.                |
| 	    1175 Spring Centre South Suite D                             |
| 	    Altamonte Springs, Florida  32714                            |
|________________________________________________________________________|