A band of companies dubbed the Apache Group is set to break away from the Advanced Computing Environment group led by Compaq Computer Corp and majoring on the MIPS Computer Systems Inc R4000 RISC and while sticking with the agreed hardware specification, plan to run straight Unix System V.4 on their versions of the machine. This consortium within a consortium is likely to remain a secret for another month at least; it is believed to include Siemens-Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG, Sony Corp, NEC Corp, Pyramid Technology Inc, AT&T Computer Systems, Prime Computer Inc and Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA, though others, including Compaq Computer Corp may be involved – Electronic News reckons Compaq is definitely involved, and also names Control Data Corp, Unisys Corp and Silicon Graphics Inc. They plan an 88open-style consortium with System V.4 champion Unix International Inc as a member – is intended to ensure a reference implementation of Unix System V.4 for the MIPS chip, continued compatibility of the MIPS Application Binary Interface with Unix System V.4 and inclusion of the system in Unix International’s RoadMap. And Unix System Labs is expected tomorrow to announce an Applications Binary Interface specification for the MIPS architecture that will be available in May, followed by a reference implementation of Unix V.4 for applications running on MIPS R3000-based hardware.
