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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.unix,net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: 4BSD is dead???
Message-ID: <6778@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 6-Jun-86 14:04:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.6778
Posted: Fri Jun  6 14:04:27 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 6-Jun-86 14:04:27 EDT
References: <440@geowhiz.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 35

Nah, 4BSD isn't dead, it just smells that way... :-)

> 1) Why is Unix departing from berkeley?  Who initiated the departure...

I have no idea whether the rumor is true, but if it is... why should Unix
STAY at Berkeley?  Universities are not software houses (it has been said,
not altogether untruthfully, that 4.2BSD is a bunch of M.Sc. theses loosely
stitched together).  If they lose interest and/or funding, it departs.

> 3) Is the DOD going to support cmu?

CMU often gives the impression of being a wholly-owned subsidiary of DoD.
I'd guess that almost any major project they undertake would use DoD funds.

> 4) What about Version 8 Unix? ...
>     Are there any plans to follow in berkeley's footsteps with
>    a version of unix based on version 8?

Any such plan would have to be cleared with AT&T, who probably would be
very much opposed to it, on grounds of competition with System V.  Existing
V8 licences are few and far between, and AT&T is serious about nondisclosure
on V8.  Do not hold your breath.

>  What about a merger?  I work on a Masscomp system which is really pretty 
>  nice: they have this universe stuff in which both 4.2 & SysV system calls
>  can be supported...  Is there any chance of the various 4.x utils being
>  merged into AT&T Unix?

To some extent this is already in progress; a few things have filtered over.
As far as the system calls... what ever happened to the idea that you should
do things once, right, instead of supporting every possible variation?
-- 
Usenet(n): AT&T scheme to earn
revenue from otherwise-unused	Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
late-night phone capacity.	{allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry