Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Fortune) 6/7/84; site dmsd.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!decwrl!amd!fortune!hpda!dmsd!bass From: bass@dmsd.UUCP (John Bass) Newsgroups: net.unix Subject: Re: Is System V going down the tube? Message-ID: <146@dmsd.UUCP> Date: Wed, 3-Oct-84 00:54:14 EDT Article-I.D.: dmsd.146 Posted: Wed Oct 3 00:54:14 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 4-Oct-84 06:30:54 EDT References: <205@ucbopal.CC.Berkeley.ARPA> Lines: 40 A couple of things to adjust your numbers of the installed base and who runs what by: I'm not sure where SCO got their numbers but it is likely the The AT&T number of licenses sold. Two things make the installed base for XENIX look larger than it really is. First Fortune 32:16's have a UNIX license thru Microsoft's XENIX ... the Fortune doesn't run XENIX as distributed by Microsoft. Fortune did it's own M68k port which is a mixture of V7 & 4.1. The Microsoft guys gave Fortune a good deal on the price ... and Fortunes volume pushed XENIX quickly down the AT&T curve. Secondly from what I can tell all tandy model 16 hard disk expansions come with a xenix license. It is clear that some number of these are not really running UNIX ... but are really being used as hard drives for CPM using the Mod 16 as a mod 12 ... or were simply installed on a mod 12. Fortune and Tandy represent the large share of XENIX's ... I have forgotten the numbers. Any one else know the breakdown? Secondly, it takes 12-18 months to bring a new kernel release to high volume production release ... this is a non-trival effort tomake sure that when you make 50,000 copies that you don't have to make 50,000 updates the next month to fix a major bug. Microsoft XENIX OEMS have been shipping some version of 2.x .. which is V7 based. Microsoft is just now releasing versions of 3.x which is system III/V ... it will take 6-12 months for many of the installed base to decide to upgrade. After that time the distribution of who runs what will by greatly biased toward System V. Nearly every major vendor is releasing a System V upgrade or new product in the next year ... it truly is on the verge of being the DEFACTO standard by the second half of '85. By this time next year I expect that the installed base for V7 + 4.x will be something much less than 10% -- the balance will be System 3/5 Any comments? John