The Santa Cruz Operation updated its original OpenServer operating system line at SCO Forum this week with the release of version 5.05. Although SCO’s main interests these days lie in the UnixWare product line it acquired from Novell Inc, OpenServer still accounts for 80% of its Unix revenues and it will continue to be updated for some time to come as a matter of necessity. It still represents the largest installed base of any Unix flavor. OpenServer 5.05 is the first to integrate RealNetworks video streaming software into the operating system (CI No 3,476). SCO has added support for the DHCP Dynamic Host Control Protocol server so that mobile users can more easily access the network from other corporate locations. It also supports the IMAP4 internet mail protocol and SCO’s Unix to Windows interoperability tools, VisionFS 2.0, TermLite 1.07 and Merge 4.0, as well as Netscape Communicator 4.05. Next year, SCO is promising to release migration tools to help its users make the shift over to UnixWare, so that user data, configuration and network setups can be transferred from one to the other. SCO purged its channel inventories last month, and will offer the new OpenServer version through its electronic licensing model. Prices start at $700 for the host system and $1,400 for a five user Enterprise system.
