karn@MOUTON.BELLCORE.COM (Phil R. Karn) (08/08/86)
I wonder if anyone else saw the article "OSI Substitute Lures Net Users" in the July 28, 1986 issue of Computerworld. The article begins as follows: "Business users eager to implement multivendor networks are increasingly turning to an alternative that already offers much of the networking versatility only promised by the Open Systems Interconnect protocols from the International Standards Organization. "According to user and industry sources, the alternative, called Transmission Control Protocol/Interconnect [sic] Protocol, or TCP/IP, provides an array of low-level networking functions for more than 50 vendors' systems..." And a few notable quotes from the rest of the article: "We're aware of what's going on in the OSI world, but the protocols are just not a reality for the kinds of computer applications we're doing. In terms of functionality, OSI is currently where TCP/IP was in 1980." (Tom Jacobson, director of communications for Minnesota Supercomputer Center, Inc. in Minneapolis). "I recently got into an argument with a National Bureau of Standards representative who said that OSI will supersede TCP/IP. Given the rate at which manufacturers are shipping TCP/IP, by the time OSI arrives, there will be a lot of people who will decide that don't need it. They won't drop a de facto standard just because the 'real' standard is here." (Harvey Freeman, vice president of Architecture Technology, Inc. in Minneapolis). "People thought that TCP/IP would fade and die when OSI was ready; instead, the protocols have gained even wider acceptance this year." (William Carrico, president of Bridge Communications, Inc.)