We had two (possibly 3) 11/45s for our application so I guess my memory isn't
so bad. :)
David.
----- Forwarded Message -----
>From: Clem Cole <cl...@ccc.com>
>To: david.d.mil...@att.net
>Cc: "simh@trailing-edge.com" <simh@trailing-edge.com>
>Sent: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 7:54 PM
>Subject: Re: [Simh] Fw: Cutler Unix
>
>
>
>below..
>
>
>
>
>
>On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 9:27 PM, <david.d.mil...@att.net> wrote:
>
>In the mid-70s I was working at Sylvania WDL. We were looking for a real-time
>OS for a PDP 11/45. Nothing at DEC. We checked with AT&T for UNIX and they
>wanted $40K (I was told). Management said, "no way" and I was assigned the
>task. I wrote a separated I&D-space (full memory) OS for our application,
>which incidentally was written in Pascal. But that's another story.
>>
>>
>>David.
>
>
>
>
>If it was mid-70's (i.e. 6th or 7th edition) the commercial license was $20K
>for the first CPU and $7K for the second and $5 for each additional CPU. $100
>was the educational license fee and was to defray the cost of writing a tape -
>but AT&T had to make the IP available as part of the consent decree. IIRC:
>Even the $100 could be waved it you brought a couple of RK05s to MH and Ken or
>Dennis copies the disk. i.e. that how some of the universities got the bits
>originally as students brought them back with them.
>
>
>The fees for basic UNIX did not go up to $40k for the first CPU until post
>System III - it may have been as late as System V. But by then there were all
>sort of other fees, such as the $150K redistribution license fee which was on
>top of the first CPU.
>
>
>Looking back on it, one of the few times I was ever in a room with Willy G was
>during the negotiations @ Ricki's Hyatt in Palo Alto that would cause AT&T to
>create the System III license and the first redistribution license. All the
>majors firms in the room had no problem with $1.5K per CPU when the cost of a
>VAX or HP3000 was $250K-$500K or more for IBM. The firms developing what
>were later be called "personal workstations" envisioned a $10K-$20K price
>point and were willing to settle for about $500 a copy. Gates wants to pay
>$25 for what would be the Xenix license for a PC/AT which then cost about
>$3.5K-5K retail, but he promised Al Arms that he would sell "millions." I
>remember him turning to the room and saying (whining actually) - "You guys
>don't get it. The only thing that matters in the software business is volume."
>
>
>Sad truth - he was right.
>
>
>Clem
>
>
>
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