techweb.com
March 01, 1999, Issue: 723
Section: InformationWeek Labs
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Can't Beat Linux? SCO Joins 'Em
Sean Gallagher
Gallagher's First Theorem of Technology Marketing: The quickest way to erode a product's market is to introduce something that does 80% of what that product does-and give it away.
OK, so I just made that up. But even so, it's a rule of thumb that's been demonstrated on plenty of occasions in the past, particularly by Microsoft-perhaps one or two times too many, considering how things are going for the Redmond folks in court recently.
So if my theorem holds any water, you can predict how it applies to Linux and the Unix-on-Intel market. If you were in the Unix-for-Intel business, you'd have to ask yourself some pretty hard questions these days-like "How do I stay relevant to my customers and still make money when they can get Linux for free?"
SCO obviously has, and the company's answers to those questions are embodied in the latest release of its UnixWare operating system. And it looks like at least part of the answer is to give away some licenses. SCO will allow noncommercial users to use UnixWare 7.1 free of charge. On top of that, UnixWare 7.1 also includes binary compatibility with Linux applications compiled for the Intel platform, so users can take advantage of the wealth of open software available for that operating system.
But there's a lot more to SCO's product strategy than just giveaways. UnixWare 7.1 incorporates several pieces of SCO's Tarantella technology, which turns a Java-equipped Web browser into a thin client that can run remote Unix and Windows applications.
Webtop, as SCO calls the technology, can be used to create a customized, task-oriented desktop for users without the need for specialized client software such as a PC X-Windows server, Citrix WinFrame, or a Windows terminal. You can run any application that runs on UnixWare-including Windows 95 applications through UnixWare's Merge emulator-simply by going to the appropriate URL.
SCO's Tarantella scales beyond the capabilities of Webtop-it can be used in conjunction with Windows Terminal Server to serve up Windows NT applications, for example. And for those concerned with the footprint and performance of a pure Java interface, there's a "native" client for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 as well. SCO also claims that its proprietary interface protocols are smart enough to make a browser application session's performance tolerable even over a 28.8-Kbps modem connection. Combine these factors with SCO's collaboration with IBM on a 64-bit Unix operating system fusing UnixWare and AIX for Intel's Merced processor, and there's plenty of cause to bet on SCO's continued health. With any luck, SCO can harness the Linux and open source communities as a source of applications, developers-and maybe even customers
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