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- Xref: sparky comp.unix.misc:4750 comp.sys.novell:10899
- Newsgroups: comp.unix.misc,comp.sys.novell
- Path: sparky!uunet!sci34hub!gary
- From: gary@sci34hub.sci.com (Gary Heston)
- Subject: Re: Novell to buy USL !?
- Message-ID: <1992Dec29.033023.20700@sci34hub.sci.com>
- Reply-To: gary@sci34hub.sci.com (Gary Heston)
- Organization: SCI Systems, Inc., Huntsville, Al.
- References: <1992Dec21.210653.16639@grot.starconn.com> <89@nearside.UUCP> <brian.83.0@SJF.Novell.COM>
- Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 03:30:23 GMT
- Lines: 60
-
- In article <brian.83.0@SJF.Novell.COM> brian@SJF.Novell.COM (Brian Meek) writes:
- >There's been a lot of negative reaction to this news and I certainly don't
- >wish to fan the flames... I understand where many of the concerns are
- >coming from, but I would like to see a bit less public speculation (based
- >primarily on emotions) and a bit more openness. After all, isn't UNIX
- >typically associated with "open systems"?
-
- Yes. Novell isn't, which is one of the things that concerns me a lot.
-
- > How about some display of
- >"open minds" from those UNIX users out here crying about the pending demise
- >of our beloved operating system (ummm... I use the phrase "our beloved
- >operating system" collectively here :-).
-
- Do you recognize the term "clear-cutting", from the timber industry? It's
- a practice of taking out *every* upright growth from an area that timber
- is to be harvested from, instead of selectivly cutting and hauling only
- the mature trees.
-
- I think clear cutting is not a good idea; I believe it's a convenience
- approach rather than a rational one. I think it contributes *heavily* to
- erosion and water pollution.
-
- The difference between clear-cutting and what I think will happen to
- Unix if the buy goes thru is that eventually, some trees will grow back.
-
- If Unix gets hacked up ("purified" is a term I've heard, but I don't know
- the context) to make sure it doesn't cut into the sales of that grossly
- overpriced cash cow called NetWare, then it will have been cut down, and
- a large forest of users/licensees will be wiped out.
-
- But it won't grow back.
-
- >Novell's activities with respect to the UNIX networking market to date
- >have been upon two distinctly different paths, which cause wonder where
- >many of the fears I'm hearing are coming from.
-
- >On one hand, Novell has made real efforts to adopt and *promote* more
- >"traditional" UNIX networking technologies based upon TCP/IP standards
-
- At incredible prices. Not only does a medium-sized version of NetWare
- (say, 100 user) cost 4x a decent SysVr4 implementation (Dell, for
- example), in order to add NFS (already in the SysVr4) one must pay over
- twice the price again! (100 user 3.11 lists for $6995, 3.11 NFS for $3995,
- and Dell SysVr4 for $1600, last I heard.)
-
- For some reason, I'm not overly enthusiastic about this promotion....
-
- > [ ... ] So until additional official statements are made regarding
- >future plans, why not take the statements within the press release at face
- >value?
-
- Because I've heard these promises before....
-
-
- --
- Gary Heston SCI Systems, Inc. gary@sci34hub.sci.com site admin
- The Chairman of the Board and the CFO speak for SCI. I'm neither.
- "Data sheet: HSN-3000 Nuclear Event Detector. The [NED] senses the gamma
- radiation pulse [from a] nuclear weapon." As if we wouldn't notice...
-