Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!yale!husc6!psuvax1!schwartz
From: schwartz@psuvax1.psu.edu (Scott Schwartz)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: Help us defend against VMS!
Message-ID: <3357@psuvax1.psu.edu>
Date: 13 Mar 88 02:51:20 GMT
References: <2235@bsu-cs.UUCP> <892@cfa.cfa.harvard.EDU> <4236@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu>
Reply-To: schwartz@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu (Scott Schwartz)
Organization: Penn State University
Lines: 19

In article <4236@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu> davidli@umn-cs.UUCP (Dave Meile) writes:
>I don't understand these OS wars here in comp.os.vms.  I mean, the two
>major operating systems are both, for the most part, proprietary.  If you
>don't believe this, try writing your own version of UNIX and marketing it
>without paying AT&T any money.  You'll quickly experience the how "non
>proprietary" it really is!

Ha ha ha.  Ever heard of the Free Software Foundation?  They are writing
a unix compatable OS that will be free for all.  Currently the FSF is
negotiating with Berkeley to have the BSD utilities declared free
(as many of them have already been) and with CMU for the ok to use MACH as 
the kernel.  AT&T gets nothing.

More to the point, AT&T has already source licenced UNIX to tons of other
companies.  Many companies have written unix look alikes, too.
If you want unix, you are never chained to one vendor.

#disclaimer <unix is a trademark of western electric co., 
             but a rose by any other name... >			:-) :-)