Conference 7.286::digital

>    DEC became Digital because _____
>    OSF/1 became UNIX because _____
>    

Would that be in the "things we fixed" or "known problems
with this release" section ?

>    DEC became Digital because _____
>    OSF/1 became UNIX because _____
>    
> 
> Would that be in the "things we fixed" or "known problems
> with this release" section ?
    
    Actually, in the light of our DEC vs Digital string, I'm more inclined
    to think that it should be in the "Future Enhancements" section...

    Marketing....Marketing....Marketing....Anyone home?
    
    Mav
    

	for those of you who a) live on another planet or b) have been
	on a *very* long vacation, I have attached the press release
	from MARCH that announced this change...summary for the detail
	impaired:

		- name changed to reflect official SPEC 1170 conformance
		- all documents to reference the change ala
		  "Digital UNIX (formerly DEC OSF/1)" for 1 year

	IMHO this is one of the better name changes we have made as I am
	no longer battling the age-old "DEC OSF/1, is the really
	UNIX?" crap...and as this has been in place for the better
	part of 1/2 a year, "if you don't like it, lump it"...

	_kelley (feeling a little crusty this morning ;-)

	ps this topic has been discussed ad nauseum in many conferences
	previously (in here even perhaps?)...

								CORP/95/845 

                   DIGITAL TO RENAME DEC OSF/1(tm)
                 OPERATING SYSTEM "DIGITAL UNIX(R)"

              ...Receives X/Open UNIX Brand for current
                     operating system release...

DALLAS, TX -- March 14, 1995 -- Digital Equipment Corporation today 
announced that it is has received a license under the X/Open UNIX 
branding program to use the UNIX trademark, and has received the 
UNIX Brand for its current release of the operating system, now 
called Digital UNIX Version 3.2*. To reinforce the UNIX Brand to 
better reflect the true nature of their standards-compliant UNIX
product the company also announced that it is changing the name of 
its UNIX operating system from DEC OSF/1 to Digital UNIX. 
     "We've been shipping UNIX source code on our Alpha platforms 
since March, 1993," said Don Harbert, vice president of Digital's 
UNIX Business Unit. Our branded UNIX system is the same high-quality 
software, but now we can call it UNIX. Digital has long supported 
cooperative standards efforts among UNIX system vendors, and 
provides the most standards-compliant UNIX system implementation in 
the industry today. With the branding program in place, changing the 
name of DEC OSF/1 to Digital UNIX is the logical step." 
     "COGNOS heartily applauds the Digital UNIX decision. This name 
more appropriately highlights the tremendous job Digital has done in 
providing a truly open operating system on a truly open platform," 
said Ron Zambonini, President of Cognos, Inc., Ottawa, Ontario, 
Canada. 
     Products branded as conformant to the agreed Single UNIX 
Specification are able to carry the X/Open UNIX Brand.  UNIX system 
buyers will be assured that systems bearing the X/Open UNIX Brand 
will meet the published Single UNIX Specification set by X/Open. 
Digital will seek the brand for all subsequent versions of Digital 
UNIX. "X/Open is excited to see that Digital has received the X/Open 
UNIX Brand so early in our program," said Michael Lambert, Vice 
President and Chief Technical Officer of X/Open Company, Ltd. "The 
brand, now part of the Digital product name, demonstrates the 
company's commitment to meeting customer demand for a broad industry 
standard." 
     Digital UNIX, based on technology from the Open Software 
Foundation, is among the most modern operating systems available. It 
features modularity, scalability, extensibility and performance 
unmatched by any other offering. As the only true general purpose 
64-bit operating system on the market today, it leads the industry 
by allowing customers and software developers to offer the the next 
generation of open computing now. All other vendors will require 
that their customers face at least one, and in most cases two, 
migrations as they move to the more advanced architectures required 
for next-generation applications. 
     "Today we're shipping the systems and software that other 
vendors are promising in the next century," said Harbert. "It's no 
wonder that we are seeing unprecedented interest and growth in our 
UNIX system products." We will continue to evolve our system on the 
same advanced technology base which has let us become the industry 
leader in features, functionality quality, and standards-compliance. 
Digital has grown its UNIX system business significantly over the 
past year, and has been cited by IDC as the fastest-growing vendor 
for 1994. We intend to continue that growth trend." 
     Digital Equipment Corporation is the world's leader in open 
client/server solutions from personal computing to integrated 
worldwide information systems. Digital's scalable Alpha platforms, 
storage, networking, software and services, together with industry-
focused solutions from business partners, help organizations compete 
and win in today's global marketplace. 
                                #### 

* Digital UNIX V3.2 is an X/Open UNIX 93 branded product.

Note to Editors:  Digital, DEC and the Digital logo are trademarks 
                  of Digital Equipment Corporation.

     		  OSF/1 is a registered trademark of the Open 
                  Software Foundation.

     		  UNIX is a registered trademark in the United 
                  States and other countries, licensed exclusively 
                  through X/Open Company, Ltd. 

     		  X/Open is a registered trademark of X/Open 
                  Company, Ltd.

CORP/95/845 

     Robert L. Price
     (508) 493-4297
     [email protected]

    This may be old news to some but not everybody sees or pays attention
    to all the Digital press releases. I had a customer call me with this
    question. I agree with .0 - the change should be described somewhere.
    
    Maybe put a footnote or something in the release notes -

    Digital UNIX (formerly DEC OSF/1)*

    *name change to conform to industry standard SPEC 1170



    

Those of use who work for UNIX Systems Group Publications include the following
paragraph in our manuals (usually in the preface):

    Digital has changed the name of its UNIX operating system from
    DEC OSF/1 to Digital UNIX.  The new name reflects Digital's
    commitment to UNIX and its conformance to UNIX standards, 
    including the Single UNIX Specification (formerly called SPEC 1170).

    
    The standard paragraph described in 4132.6 appears in the front matter
    of the release notes for Digital UNIX Version 3.2C.  This was the first
    release that used the new product name.  (AA-PS2BF-TE).
    
    There is a section in Chapter 1 "New and Changed Features" to explain
    the name change:
    
    	1.2 UNIX Brand and Product Name Change
    
    The new and changed features chapter is shipped as a separate online
    manual. The name change is also documented in the SPD.
    
    The title "Digital UNIX (formerly DEC/OSF 1)" will be used for
    the Version 4.0 release notes.
    	
    Colin Walters.

    One thing our marketing seems to have never learned is repetiton. Just
    because we told the world something once, it is not reasonable to
    assume every person heard it and will remember it forever.
    
    If we want to get a message out we must say it more than once. We have
    a long history of messages and ad campaigns that get launched, run once
    then we get tired of seeing it, or a re-org brings in new management and
    we change the ad.
    
    

    
    re .8 - it's a well known psychological trait of engineering types that
    they assume it's only necessary to say something once, until it
    changes.  E.g.,
    
    	"Why don't you tell me you love me?"
    
    	"I told you that last month!"
    
    And programmers are strongly discouraged from repeating statements;
    they cause conflicting declaration errors
    
    ;^)
    
    len.
    

    We've been running the Digital UNIX name change ad since March, and
    it is in a number of publications through October.
    
    8 months is a long time to run an ad that just focuses on the product
    name change, but we felt is was useful to keep the message in the
    customer's view.
    
    If 8 months is not long enough, can someone provide evidence that it
    should be run longer?
    
    Regards,
    Mark
    

Deep.