SCO readies merged OS

The Santa Cruz Operation (SCOC) will finally ship the fruits of a merger of two server-based operating systems in the first quarter of next year.

For sometime, SCO has been talking about how it would reconcile its own OpenServer software with the UnixWare OS it bought at fire sale prices from Novell.

By the end of the year, developers and third parties will get an initial look at what was once known as Gemini. Production shipment for the combined OS, dubbed UnixWare 7, is due soon after.

The Santa Cruz, California-based company is the dominant Unix server OS software provider for machines based on Intel chips. By merging two OSes into one, the company said it hopes to deliver a set of software tools that caters to both small businesses and enterprise customers.

The announcement of delivery dates coincides with a software-focused day being held for the press and analyst community at Sun Microsystems. Though they trail SCO by a large margin, Sun wants to grow Solaris, its brand of Unix, in the Intel-based server systems market.

SCO said it will offer versions of?UnixWare server software?for specific applications such as databases, messaging, Web serving, and fault-tolerant enterprise installations. No details on pricing were given.

SCO executives said they would continue to improve OpenServer software through 1999 but would not take the OS to 64 bits, where UnixWare is heading. The 64-bit technology allows software to take on larger-sized data tasks.