PC/IX and Xenix: of Licenses and Multiusers

[HFISCHER at USC-ECLB.ARPA]

From:  Herm Fischer <HFISCHER at USC-ECLB.ARPA>

Readers of my review of PC/IX and Xenix have suggested that it is
important to point out that IBM markets its product as a single user
multitasking executive while Xenix is marketed as a multiuser product.
I suggested that both products are capable of multiuser use.


The license agreement


The PC/IX license agreement is very easy to read and straightforward:

You may:

    a.  Use the program on only one machine at any one time;
    
    b.  Copy the program into machine readable or printed form
    for backup or modification purposes only in support of such
    use...

    c.  Modify the program and/or merge it into another program
    for your use on the single machine...

    d.  Transfer the program with a copy of this agreement to another
    party only if the other party agrees to accept from IBM the
    terms and conditions of this agreement...

    You must reproduce and include the copyright notice on any copy...

    You may not reverse assemble or reverse compile without IBM's 
    prior written concent...

    [A sentence saying you may only do what is expressly permitted.]

    You may not sublicense, rent, or lease this program.

As the reader may notice, there is no requirement to restrict the
number of logged on users to a single user, nor is there any statement
in the license about the number of simultaneous online users of the
"single machine" which runs PC/IX "at any one time".

The Xenix agreement is more severe, as I noted in my review, because
the software can only be used on a single computer system you
designate, and you must have a new and separate license for each
additional computer system; because you cannot make ANY copies of the
code or documentation; because you are explicitly given permission to
write in the margins of the manual (but I cannot underline or markup
the text???); and then the license contradicts itself by saying you
can make one backup copy of the software.


Practical Aspects of Multiuser Operation


IBM describes PC/IX as a single user system, and I agree, because the
8088 is not a processor capable of supporting multiple online
simultaneous "workers".  It cannot provide reasonable response time if
two programmers are "making", or two secretaries are "nroffing",
simultaneously. But if one is doing an intensive operation and the
other is casually browsing a file, the degredation is less than with
three users making or nroffing together on a VAX.

Xenix claims their system is worth more money because they explicitly
sell it for multiuser use (even though such is not reflected in either
license agreement).  I disagree.  They cannot make the 8088 behave any
faster than PC/IX can.  And if they do get 10% faster "C" execution,
then one must also note that PC/IX gets some faster shell response...
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