Unix System Laboratories: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:42, 2 April 2024

Latest revision as of 20:49, 17 October 2024

(2 intermediate revisions by one other user not shown)

Line 75:

==Chorus and Ouverture==

[[Image:High Street in Ealing.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|USL Europe's offices were in Ealing, London (in the building on the right side after the road bends, as seen here in 2009)]]

In 1991, USL forged an arrangement with the French company [[Chorus Systèmes SA]] to engage in cooperative work on the [[ChorusOS|Chorus]] [[microkernel]] technology, with the idea of supporting SVR4 on a microkernel and thereby making it more scalable and better suited for parallel and distributed applications.<ref name="en-1991"/><ref name="pcw-1993"/> As part of this, USL took a $1 million stake in Chorus Systèmes.<ref name="en-1991">{{cite news | author-last=Khermouch | author-first=Gerry | title=USL backs French firm's Microkernel | magazine=Electronic News | date=November 25, 1991 | page=13 | via=Gale General OneFile | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A11521898/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=ITOF&xid=50f6313d | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062613/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=wikipedia&id=GALE{{!}}A11521898%7CA11521898&v=2.1&it=r&sid=ITOF&asid=50f6313d | url-status=live }}</ref> Much of the USL Chorus work was done at the USL Europe facility in London.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/6603/es | title=An Industry Project to Progress Microkernel-based Open Operating Systems for the 1990s | publisher=Community Research and Development Information Service | work=Resultados de investigaciones de la UE | date=June 17, 1994 | access-date=May 21, 2020 | archive-date=November 30, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130232809/https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/6603/es | url-status=live }}</ref> By 1993 the work was still ongoing, with questions of industry standardization of interfaces arising.<ref>{{cite news | url=<!-- https://www.cbronline.com/news/chorus_systemes_takes_the_initiative_in_establishing_a_microkernel_compatibility_effort/ -->| title=Chorus Systemes takes the initiative in establishing a microkernel compatibility effort | work=Computergram International | publisher=Computer Business Review | date=June 16, 1993}}</ref> [[Unisys]] was also part of the collaboration effort.<ref name="pcw-1993"/> Announcements made during 1993 promised an OEM release in 1994 and a general availability release in 1995.<ref name="pcw-1993">{{cite news | author-last=Foley | author-first=Mary Jo | title=USL, Chorus outline plans for microkernel release of Unix SVR4 | magazine=PC Week | date=June 14, 1993 | page=60 | via=Gale General OneFile | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A13938479/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=ITOF&xid=deeb8d72 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062612/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=wikipedia&id=GALE{{!}}A13938479%7CA13938479&v=2.1&it=r&sid=ITOF&asid=deeb8d72 | url-status=live }}</ref>

This was part of the larger [[Ouverture project]], a $14 million effort that was itself part of the [[European Strategic Program on Research in Information Technology]] (ESPRIT), overseen by the [[European Commission]].<ref>{{cite news | author-last=Van Tyle | author-first=Sherry | title=PC fault-tolerant Unix-based system runs on a modular microkernel architecture | magazine=Electronic Design | date=October 15, 1992 | page=34 | via=Gale General OneFile | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A14402019/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=ITOF&xid=ede270b7 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062611/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=wikipedia&id=GALE{{!}}A14402019%7CA14402019&v=2.1&it=r&sid=ITOF&asid=ede270b7 | url-status=live }}</ref>

{{clear}}

==Other software work==

[[Image:USL building in Summit library.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.625|USL had a library that was connected to the full AT&T/Bell Labs research system]]

{{main|Tuxedo (software)}}

Another unit within USL, called the Open Solutions Software business unit and headed by Joel A. Appelbaum, was responsible for other system software that in some way worked in conjunction with Unix.<ref name="pr-rosetta"/>

Line 111 ⟶ 110:

USL got a new president and CEO in November 1991 when Dooling was replaced by the Dutchman [[Roel Pieper]], formerly chief technical officer of [[Software AG]].<ref name="cwde-roel">{{cite news | url=https://www.computerwoche.de/a/roel-pieper-ist-neuer-chef-der-usl,1143313 | title=Roel Pieper ist neuer Chef der USL | newspaper=Computerwoche von IDG | date=December 6, 1991 | language=de | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062608/https://www.computerwoche.de/a/roel-pieper-ist-neuer-chef-der-usl,1143313 | url-status=live }}</ref>

USL was aggressive in defending its perceived intellectual property rights, initiating as the plaintiff a lawsuit in 1992 against [[Berkeley Software Design]] makers of and the [[Regents of the University of California]] over copyrights and trademarks related to Unix.<ref name="ieee-unix">{{cite news | url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/cyberspace/the-strange-birth-and-long-life-of-unix | title=The Strange Birth and Long Life of Unix | date=November 28, 2011 | first=Warren | last=Toomey | magazine=IEEE Spectrum | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 14, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314190817/https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/cyberspace/the-strange-birth-and-long-life-of-unix | url-status=live }}</ref> The case was known as ''[[UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. v. Berkeley Software Design, Inc.]]'' and in it USL asked the court for a [[preliminary injunction]] that would bar the Berkeley firm and the university from distributing their [[Net/2]] operating system release, which was implied to be Unix, until the case was concluded.<ref name="conn"/> In response the university filed a countersuit against AT&T for alleged breaches in the licensing agreement the two parties had.<ref name="ieee-unix"/> (The case was settled out of court in January 1994.<ref name="conn">{{cite web | url=https://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1009&context=libr_pubs | title=Open Source Software: A History | first=David | last=Bretthauer | publisher=University of Connecticut | date=December 26, 2001 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=December 2, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202033619/https://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2F&httpsredir=1&article=1009&context=libr_pubs | url-status=live }}</ref>)

== Univel and UnixWare ==

Line 130 ⟶ 129:

[[Image:Novell building in Summit, New Jersey that housed Unix Systems Group, which had been Unix System Laboratories-March 1994.jpg|thumb|left|The Summit building in the Novell Unix Systems Group era]]

On December 21, 1992, it was announced that Novell would acquire Unix System Laboratories, and all of its Unix assets, including all copyrights, trademarks, and licensing contracts, for some $335 million in stock.<ref name="lat-novell">{{cite news | url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-22/business/-fi-2406_1_networking2406-technologystory.html | title=Technology | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=December 22, 1992 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=January 16, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116183938/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-12-22/business/fi-2406_1_networking-technology | url-status=live }}</ref> The news led to large headlines of the "NOVELL BUYS UNIX" variety.<ref name="crn-news">{{cite news | url=https://www.crn.com/columns/channel-programs/18831011/novell-buys-unix-again.htm | title=Novell Buys Unix, Again | first=David | last=Strom | magazine=CRN | date=November 5, 2003 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=November 28, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128195822/https://www.crn.com/columns/channel-programs/18831011/novell-buys-unix-again.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

The measure was intended to help Novell compete against [[Microsoft]], which was on the verge of including networking as a built-in feature of [[Windows]] in conjunction with the [[Windows NT]] server.<ref name="lat-novell"/><ref name="cw-longshot"/> It was also an outgrowth of Novell chief [[Ray Noorda]]'s theories about [[coopetition]] in a technology industry.<ref name="cbr-japan"/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/29/business/preaching-love-thy-competitor.html | title=Preaching Love Thy Competitor | first=Lawrence M. | last=Fisher | newspaper=The New York Times | date=March 29, 1992 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=December 23, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223051337/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/29/business/preaching-love-thy-competitor.html | url-status=live }}</ref>