Compaq Computer Corp said yesterday that it is continuing with its discussions over levels of interoperability between its planned 64-bit Bravo Unix and The Santa Cruz Operation’s UnixWare. Compaq currently makes $1.3bn sales per year shipping servers running SCO Unix, around 25% of SCO’s total shipments. Compaq said again that it would offer 64-bit Digital Unix to telecommunications companies and anyone else who wanted 64-bit enabled systems. It won’t take SCO’s 64-bit Unix, but will continue to sell 32-bit SCO Unix to those who aren’t interested in upgrading to Merced, it said. Compaq and SCO began working together in 1984 on the MPX multiprocessor operating system, and Compaq has been a SCO OEM since 1992. Struggling SCO calculates that, if it were a hardware company and added in the value of hardware to its operating system sales, it would have sales of between $5bn and $6bn a year. It says it outships any of the Unix server companies by three to one.
