GUTFREUND%umass-cs.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA (01/16/86)
From: "Steven H. Gutfreund" <GUTFREUND%umass-cs.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA> Does anyone have any comments about the new consortium formed to produce a uniform network model (file servers, print servers, etc) among all computer vendors (except IBM). Bell, DEC, Burroughs, CDC, etc announced this effort in the last week. My feeling was this was not so much a technical move (there is a lot of room for innovation in the area of servers, especially when one realizes that in the future there will be voice-servers, video-servers, parrallel process servers - and locking oneself into a standard across hybred operating systems will constrain all operating system development at these firms). The actual move seems to have been more marketing focused. I think everyone was shocked when they woke up and realized that in one day, IBM could say no, they would not go ethernet with the PC, they would go ring - and all the Interlan's and 3-Coms and Apples of the world would have to dance to IBM's tune. This effort seems to be aimed at coming up with a marketing counterforce to keep IBM from making SNA a defacto standard. - Steve