10:07 Compaq joins UNIX unification effort led by IBM (fwd)

[Gunnar Wolf <gwolf en campus iztacala unam mx>]

10:07 Compaq joins UNIX unification effort led by IBM 
  HOUSTON, April 7 (Reuters) - Compaq Computer Corp. <CPQ.N> on Wednesday joined an industry alliance seeking to unify the fractured market for UNIX, a software operating system used to
control powerful business computers.
    Compaq said it joined the Monterey alliance led by Santa Cruz Operation Inc. <SCOC.O> and IBM <IBM.N>. The group is co-developing a version of UNIX that brings together many of the rival flavors of the business computer software system.
    Compaq said it will support the group's efforts to forge a unified version of UNIX designed to operate on computers running Intel Corp's forthcoming generation of high-volume 64-bit microprocessors.
    UNIX is a powerful computer operating system used to run industrial strength computer operations like phone networks, stock markets and retail inventory tracking systems. 
    But since its development 30 years ago, UNIX has fragmented into a series of niche markets as each computer maker designed its own version of the software, leaving a hodgepodge market of UNIX computers that can not easily work together. 
    Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> has sought to fill this void by beefing up its Windows NT operating system to handle the large-scale business tasks that UNIX was designed to handle. 
    As part of Compaq's agreement to join the alliance, IBM said it would market Compaq ProLiant servers as part of its partner program, its powerful computers used to run networks of other computers.
    IBM will also offer up its middleware, the plumbing software used to connect front-office and back-office computer systems, for use in running Compaq UNIX computers.
    Compaq said it will also work with IBM, one of the creators of the Project Monterey effort, to ensure strong support and software availability for computer systems based on the unified
software.
    "Compaq's participation in the Monterey initiative will propel the initiative to another level," Rajiv Samant, general manager of IBM's UNIX business, said in a statement.
    Compaq joins IBM, SCO, and more than a score of other companies offering UNIX-based products that have already endorsed the Monterey alliance.
    Another 10 software companies have newly signed up to support Monterey, including Baan Co. NV <BAAN.AS>, BMC Software Inc. <BMCS.O>, Computer Associates International Inc. <CA.N>, Sapiens International Corp. NV <SPNSF.O>, Sendmail and Reuters Group Plc's <RTR.L> TIBCO unit.
    ((-- Eric Auchard, New York newsdesk, 212-859-1840))
                                                              
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