Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!rutgers!psuvax1!blitz!ehrlich
From: ehrlich@blitz (Dan Ehrlich)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Open Software Foundation
Message-ID: <3648@psuvax1.psu.edu>
Date: 31 May 88 14:51:35 GMT
References: <14976@brl-adm.ARPA> <54822@sun.uucp>
Sender: news@psuvax1.psu.edu
Reply-To: ehrlich@blitz.cs.psu.edu (Dan Ehrlich)
Organization: Department of Computer Science, Penn State University
Lines: 25

In article <54822@sun.uucp> guy@gorodish.Sun.COM (Guy Harris) writes:
>Sun is not a subsidiary of AT&T.  I have no expectation that Sun will become a
>subsidiary of AT&T in the future, and I know of nobody within Sun who has such
>an expectation.
>
>Sun and AT&T are two separate companies, and will probably continue to be so
>for the forseeable future.  Please keep that in mind.
>

It is my understanding the AT&T currently owns 20% of SUN Microsystems'
stock (it may be less with options up to 20%).  Anytime a single
company or individual owns that large a block of stock they most
assuredly can influence major decisions.

The operative wording above is "for the forseeable future".  If AT&T
comes to the conclusion that SUN is doing something it does not like,
it could exert quite a bit of pressure to get things done differently.
I would be very surprised if AT&T did not use the power that comes with
owning 20% of a company to change something they percieved as bad for
AT&T's business.

Dan Ehrlich  | Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed are
The Pennsylvania State University      | my own, and should not be atributed
Department of Computer Science         | to anyone else, living or dead.
334B Whitmore Laboratory               |