Although Unix International Inc took most of the limelight at the Unix Expo show in New York at the beginning of the month, the Open Software Foundation took the opportunity of reminding the industry that it still has substantial support by naming nine more members to its rank. Total membership now stands at 174. The new organisations included educational bodies such as Columbia University, users such as Shell Development Co, and computer hardware and software vendors such as Objectivity Inc, Raytheon Co and Transarc Corp. And following its release of respondents to its distributed computing Request For Technology, the Foundation also issued a list of those companies replying to its Architecture-Neutral Distribution Format technology Request. Out of 24 initial responses, 15 were judged to fall within the requirements. Among these are companies already working in related fields within the Unix market, such as Hewlett-Packard, Hunter Systems, Insignia Solutions, Micro Focus, and two joint submissions from Real Time Systems and Unipress software and Siemens AG and National Semiconductor. Other, less familiar names on the list are Gimpel Software, Intermetrics Inc, Peritus International, Prysm Inc, the UK Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, Software Engineering Associates, Software Innovations Inc, Translation Systems and the University of Virginia. The aim is to produce a vendor-neutral format for the distribution of software, fully hardware independent. Foundation business manager Liz Cobb said that, given the quality of submissions, the Foundation is confident that the approach is technically feasible.
