Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!oliveb!sun!gorodish!guy
From: guy@gorodish.Sun.COM (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Summary of AT&T Open Look Product Overview
Message-ID: <52855@sun.uucp>
Date: 11 May 88 17:51:44 GMT
References:  <8805110100.AA06996@ATHENA.MIT.EDU>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Lines: 24

> It seems to me that when AT&T uses "OPEN LOOK GUI" they mean
> the look and behaviour (the parts of which not invented at AT&T, they have
> licensed from Xerox)

Credit where credit is due: most of the parts of Open Look not invented at
Xerox were invented at Sun.  AT&T, among others, contributed to the Open Look
interface, but it was primarily developed here.

> and not a particular implementation.

True.  I think the announcement mentioned two implementations: one based on Xt
(which may very well have its own window manager; they may have left that out
of the description just to simplify the description) being done by AT&T, and
one based on NeWS being done at Sun.  There may well be other implementations
as well; conceivably, some could be built atop windowing platforms other than
X11 or NeWS.

> So the above statement seems to say to me, that they are willing to license
> the look and behaviour, to be implemented any way the licensee sees fit.
> We'll see...

Actually, I think what will be licensed is the trademark; as I understand it,
you could implement Open Look without a license, you just couldn't call it
"OPEN LOOK(TM)".