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From: r...@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Subject: AT&T or USL, and extrapolation
Message-ID: <1992Jul23.064028@eklektix.com>
Date: 23 Jul 92 06:40:28 GMT
Organization: eklektix - Boulder, Colorado
Lines: 27
The discussion about the BSDI lawsuit seems to be focusing on AT&T. These
days, it's really USL which is responsible for the development (such as it
is) and the licensing of UNIX systems. Now, my understanding is that USL
isn't exactly a piece of AT&T but isn't exactly separate either. Can any-
one explain the real nature of this neither-fishy-nor-foul relationship?
It bears on things such as whether it means anything at all to protest by
changing your long-distance service. Could any information actually
trickle down/across to USL? (I doubt that it has much effect in the best
case, but I'm wondering if it has any at all.)
_ _ _ _ _
Next...There's been a lot of extrapolation from what is known about the
lawsuit to what it might mean. People are off guessing how AT&T must think
that nobody who's seen the inside of UNIX can do OS work without revealing
trade secret and nobody's going to be able to work in the field any more...
Let's hold on. The best we can say is that, to the typical reader among
us, the suit simply Doesn't Make Sense. We don't know what it is that USL
claims as violations--in fact, the defendants don't even know what the
alleged violations are. It's one thing to be wary--and I think we'd all
better watch this one carefully--but it's another thing to extrapolate from
lack of facts or lack of substantive accusations to doomsday scenarios.
There just isn't any justification for them (yet), and it would help us
understand the facts if we didn't have to keep filtering out the uninformed
guesses.
--
Dick Dunn r...@raven.eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd Boulder, Colorado
...The way to meet an impossible circumstance is with voluntary craziness.
Path: sparky!uunet!mcsun!Germany.EU.net!unido!adagio!grog
From: g...@adagio.UUCP (Greg Lehey)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Subject: Re: AT&T or USL, and extrapolation
Message-ID: <1830@adagio.UUCP>
Date: 24 Jul 92 18:26:53 GMT
References: <1992Jul23.064028@eklektix.com>
Organization: LEMIS, Schellnhausen 2, W-6324 Feldatal, Germany
Lines: 16
In article <1992Jul23.064...@eklektix.com> r...@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
writes:
>Next...There's been a lot of extrapolation from what is known about the
>lawsuit to what it might mean. People are off guessing how AT&T must think
>that nobody who's seen the inside of UNIX can do OS work without revealing
>trade secret and nobody's going to be able to work in the field any more...
To be fair, this was stated in a recent edition of Unigram-X. Of
course I can't find the !!(&*(&@ any more, but the gist was that an
AT&T spokesman said that nobody who had worked with Unix source could
produce unencumbered code.
--
Greg Lehey | Tel: +49-6637-1488
LEMIS | Fax: +49-6637-1489
Schellnhausen 2, W-6324 Feldatal, Germany
*** NOTE ***: Headers are mangled - reply to grog%le...@Germany.EU.net
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Path: sparky!uunet!utoday!wagner
From: wag...@utoday.com (Mitch Wagner)
Subject: Re: AT&T or USL, and extrapolation
Organization: Open Systems Today
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 15:56:34 GMT
Message-ID: <1992Jul30.155634.11081@utoday.com>
References: <1992Jul23.064028@eklektix.com>
Lines: 21
In article <1992Jul23.064...@eklektix.com> r...@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
writes:
#The discussion about the BSDI lawsuit seems to be focusing on AT&T. These
#days, it's really USL which is responsible for the development (such as it
#is) and the licensing of UNIX systems. Now, my understanding is that USL
#isn't exactly a piece of AT&T but isn't exactly separate either. Can any-
#one explain the real nature of this neither-fishy-nor-foul relationship?
#It bears on things such as whether it means anything at all to protest by
#changing your long-distance service. Could any information actually
#trickle down/across to USL? (I doubt that it has much effect in the best
#case, but I'm wondering if it has any at all.)
AT&T is a majority shareholder in USL.
What does this mean as far as how much clout AT&T has. I don't know,
and I think anybody who CLAIMS to know without sitting in on some
Board of Directors meetings for USL is simply blowing smoke. AT&T is a
mighty big corporation and USL---which has about $100 million
revenues---is might small stuff to them.
-- mitch w.