In return for taking Windows NT into the enterprise, Compaq Computer Corp has persuaded Microsoft Corp to embrace Digital Unix. Getting with the Unix-NT interoperability theme of the week Microsoft will today bless Compaq’s Unix strategy by offering-up all manner of interoperability promises, committing to supporting COM on Digital Unix as well as NT security and other technologies. Although largely an NT shop, Compaq has a large base of customers running Digital Unix on expensive Alpha servers which it must keep in the fold if it wishes to become the next IBM, and securing Microsoft’s blessing is one way in which it hopes to keep users loyal. Compaq will restate its claim to be closest to Microsoft on enterprise NT. Doing its bit to woo Unix developers, Microsoft’s got together a package of 27 Unix commands and utilities it is offering on NT to attract Unix command line programmers, including password synchronization for NFS.
