Unix International Inc, the club that backs the original AT&T standard for Unix, is not being panicked by the decision of the renegade Open Software Foundation to reject AT&T’s Open Look user interface and go out and create its own Motif graphical user interface for Unix systems. Instead, Unix International is working on some new technology that in the words of its boss, Peter Cunningham, may resolve the interface issue. Cunningham declined to comment further, but said that an announcement will be made over the next few weeks. This could refer to a development made by AT&T’s Unix Software Operation, responsible for implementing technical developments in Unix: Operation engineers are believed to be confident now that as long as 80% of the Open Look and Motif toolkits are the same, then they will both be able to run under Unix System V.4. But Unix Software Operation’s Larry Dooling sounded less positive at the recent Santa Cruz Operation Forum, where he said that a common applications programming interface for Open Look and OSF Motif was far in the future – we have a market need, and a feasibility study, but don’t have anything definite.
