Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site kitty.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!sunybcs!kitty!peter From: peter@kitty.UUCP (Peter DaSilva) Newsgroups: net.unix Subject: Re: Re: Limiting logons to licensed number: how? Message-ID: <274@kitty.UUCP> Date: Thu, 8-Aug-85 10:27:28 EDT Article-I.D.: kitty.274 Posted: Thu Aug 8 10:27:28 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 9-Aug-85 04:41:23 EDT References: <1029@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA> <112@vcvax1.UUCP> <169@telesoft.UUCP> <442@petrus.UUCP> Organization: Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, NY Lines: 39 > The justification is that you're using a tool which is assumed to be more > valuable the more users you have and your willingness to pay reflects this. Most people aren't willing to pay $1000 for a personal operating system. The market distribution reflects that. > Also, if you wanted a flat price for UNIX, it wouldn't be low! What the Why not? > per user structure does is allow a single user system to compete with MS-DOS. It doesn't. The single user system still costs more than MS-DOS, and the development costs of UNIX HAVE to have been depreciated long ago... > The competition with MS-DOS is also the reason for the "unbundling" of UNIX > into a basic part plus additional packages. If you look at the way IBM PC > sales work, the base operating system is essentially zip (8 programs?!) and > the user/owner buys additional packages (spreadsheet, dbms, ...) to do > what she wants. AT&T can't afford to give away a whole set of programs > for the same price that IBM gives away a few, so they stripped out as much Why not? If they did this you'ld see many many more people buying Xenix and putting money into AT&T's coffers. > as they could to make a small package for sale on small machines. But it's not selling. It still costs $1000 to get UNIX for your PC. MS-DOS comes with the machine. > To some extent this is "what the market will bear" but I want AT&T to > make a profit, after all who wants IBM/MCI to be the only major computer/ > telecommunications supplier? And if AT&T doesn't do something about their licensing they will be. > Rich Hammond (Bellcore,not part of AT&T) ihnp4|ucbvax !bellcore!hammond Peter da Silva, UNIX fan.