3Bx Software

Sat May 5 02:35:55 AEST 1984

[sigh]

Had a chance to see a 3B2/300, sort of.  It had not much resemblence
to what I was expecting at all.

The basic guts of the machine look okay, especially the 1-meg
"boards" that fit inside.  256-K chippies on both sides of a board
about the size of a hair comb.  Used modular telephone-type jacks
for rs-232. but have the adapters for DB-25 connectors.  Basically,
looks good.

The bad news is the software.  First, they unbundled UNIX(tm) SysV
into many different sections.  Next, you can either purchase a
right to use the different packages forever for a fee up front, or
you can *rent* the software for a monthly charge.  There is an
installation charge also, as well as monthly maintenance fees.

My observations (and opinions are):

	1)  The market is clearly the office automation people.
	    People that use UNIX use the utility packages as tools
	    in lots of places.  People that use a program which just
	    happens to run under UNIX don't.  Unbundling caters to
	    that market.

	2)  UNIX is not a phone.  If AT&T has any chance in this market
	    at all, it is by shirking the "TPC" image and looking like
	    a computer company.  Selling software by the month doesn't
	    help that image.  I admit that it does have some advantages
	    in the tax domain if it can be considered deductible or
	    depreciable as many leased items can.  In the words of
	    a higher-up at our university, however, "Hell, they can't
	    even get the phones to work -- how can they sell
	    computers".

	3)  What is installation?  We distribute software by creating
	    shell scripts to do the installation.  AT&T wants lots of
	    money for that.  Is using cpio to read a floppy and then
	    running a shell script going to cost me, or is a 
	    Field-Oriented Software Installation Specialist going to
	    drive up to my machine and install one for me?  Still
	    unclear.

	4)  What if I don't pay my rent?  Do they send the UNIX Police
	    over to break my bits, or is there a /dev/SS which keeps
	    track of my system and payments, and tortures other programs
	    until I pay? (Sorry; a bit too melodramatic, huh?)

	5)  Universities are going to buy these critters and there will
	    be a rash of PD software to run on them.  I can guarantee
	    that the first thing to happen will be clone-packages
	    for the unbundled utilities, because that is what is needed
	    by people wanting to use UNIX.  How does that help keep
	    UNIX "pure"?  Not at all.  Very sad.  It is easy to flame
	    Rich Stallman when he treads on the path -- can we find
	    the courage to flame our benevolant benefactor?

I understand that the product is on limited-roll-out, and that we
should be very happy if we get a chance to touch or smell one.
I understand that AT&T is new to this market and that they should
be given some slack.

To paraphrase Mark Horton concerning netnews, " Ignorance of the
rules is no excuse ...".  The same applies to marketing.
If the office automation market is bigger than the hackers market, then
that is the one to chase.  It's probably time to find something a bit more
esoteric to hack, anyway.  Let all the apple and IBMPC kids have UNIX.
We lost when the dollars became more important than the product.  It
always happens that way.  In a world where people have to eat, I guess
it should happen that way.

going to feel better about all this after some Ted Drewes Frozen Custard,
eric

UNIX is a Trademark of AT&T (Bell Laboratories???)
-- 
from the gang down at...  38.37.45 N   90.12.22 W
	..!ihnp4!afinitc!{gang|wucs!gang}!eric