Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!houxm!hogpc!btb From: btb@hogpc.UUCP (B.BURGER) Newsgroups: net.unix Subject: Popularity of various flavors of UNIX Message-ID: <463@hogpc.UUCP> Date: Wed, 3-Oct-84 00:16:15 EDT Article-I.D.: hogpc.463 Posted: Wed Oct 3 00:16:15 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 4-Oct-84 01:13:34 EDT Lines: 30 [Bzzzz] Bill Tuthill uses figures about the installed base of UNIX systems to analyze what versions of UNIX* (System V, XENIX, etc.) will be popular in the future. A few reminders on getting from here to there: 1) Don't confuse UNIX *systems* (which most data describe) with *users*. As an analogy, there are a lot of MS-DOS systems, but only about 1 user per system. 2) The installed base of an OS depends on (primarily): - how good it is - how good the hardware on which it runs is - how long it's been sold, and how well - how much good software runs under it (there bidrectional causality here) Since System V hasn't been on the market long, one wouldn't expect it to have a big share yet. 3) The future popularity of an OS -- which commercial software developers have to predict -- depends on similar factors, but looking toward the future instead of the past. Thus you should consider which versions of UNIX will be supported best. --Bruce Burger AT&T-Information Systems Freehold, NJ {...ihnp4!}hogpc!btb * UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories