Software Consortium Selects Cambridge
A $100-million computer software consortium said Monday that it will locate in Cambridge, Mass.
The Open Software Foundation was created in May with the backing of Digital Equipment Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Apollo Computer Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and other major computer companies.
The intention of the consortium is to develop a version of the Unix operating system that is independent of control by American Telephone & Telegraph Co., the creator of Unix. The standard could run on a variety of computers.
The consortium, temporarily located in Lawrence, Mass., said it chose Cambridge after a three-month search of sites across the country, including Washington; Pittsburgh; Austin, Tex., and California’s Silicon Valley.
Henry Crouse, president of the Open Software Foundation, said the presence of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University were factors.
“It is situated in one of the country’s premier high-technology and business regions, allowing us to attract top talent. It is close to MIT, Harvard and other academic institutions pioneering the development of advanced systems technology.
“Finally, it offers unique proximity to an international airport, with central and timely access to both the West Coast and Europe,” Crouse said in a prepared statement.
The Open Software Foundation has 75 employees but expects to grow to 200 by year-end and 250 in 1989, according to spokeswoman Paula Slotkin.
OSF, a nonprofit organization, was founded as a move against the control by AT&T; of the Unix software standard. The original members of the consortium, besides Digital, Apollo, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, included three European companies, West Germany’s Nixdorf Computer and Siemens AG and France’s Groupe Bull.
Since then, they have been joined by Philips of the Netherlands, Adobe Systems, Altos Computer Systems, Mitre Corp., Stratus Computer, Italy’s Tecsiel SpA and Toshiba America Inc.
Alex Morrow, director of strategic relations for the consortium, said it plans to introduce its key product, a new open software operating system, in January, 1990.
In addition, he said, the consortium will undertake software research, development and technical support services, and it will establish a laboratory with computer hardware from many companies for use in developing software that will work in different computers.
