A.T.&T. Details Unix Licensing

The New York Times

October 13, 1989

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company yesterday announced the terms for licensing the Release 4.0 version of its Unix computer operating system, which is scheduled to be released later this year.

Under the new terms, vendors who use Unix System V, Release 4.0 in desktop computers and work stations will pay less than they now pay to license Unix. But vendors who use the new version of Unix in larger machines, like minicomputers and networked systems, will probably pay more, A.T.&T. said.

Exactly how much vendors will pay under the new licensing terms will depend upon the configuration of the machine.

For example, vendors of single-user desktop machines priced at about $10,000 will pay about $120 in royalties for Release 4.0, compared with the current $310 licensing fee. On a large minicomputer, vendors will pay between $1,650 and $3,300 for Release 4.0, compared with the current $2,860 fee.

Unix is a single computer operating system, but it comes in many versions that are not compatible with one another.

A.T.&T. and Sun Microsystems Inc., a leading supplier of work stations, agreed to develop System V, Release 4.0 to pull together different Unix features.