Quantum Software Systems Ltd, the Ontario, Canada-based company with the counter-Unix operating system QNX, is developing a Posix-compliant version of its real-time, multi-tasking, multi-user networked operating system. Focusing on the 1003.1 (system interface), 1003.2 (shells and tools) and 1003.4 (real-time) levels of compliance, Quantum hopes to be able to release the new version at the end of the first quarter, 1990. Binary compatibility with 80386 Unix (QNX is only available for Intel architectures) is a longer term goal, according to product manager Dan Hildebrand. The Canadians, who scoff at some of the technical issues besetting Unix, which they claim to have overcome in QNX, have also come up with their own object-oriented graphical user interface. By-passing X Window as too slow and too memory-intensive, they have written their own 400Kb windowing system for Sun Microsystems Inc’s Open Look. QNX, QNX Windows and Open Look can be booted up on an 80286 machine with 1Mb RAM from a floppy, says the company, while Unix with X Window would require an 80386-based machine with 6Mb. Like the X Window System, the QNX version is server based, and takes advantage of the message-passing architecture of QNX to provide distributed, device-independent computing. Earlier this year, Quantum was involved as the operating system component in the sale of 550 6386 workgroup systems from AT&T to the Ramada hotel chain across the US and Canada.
