“SCO Inc.’s OpenServer has long been the operating system of
choice for many smaller businesses that want to run Unix on Intel
processors. SCO now hopes that such businesses will flock to a
version of its higher-end UnixWare enterprise software. Last week,
SCO introduced UnixWare 7 Business Edition, which the company says
is more scalable, more affordable, and easier to manage than
previous UnixWare offerings.
UnixWare 7 Business Edition, due this month, includes a Web
interface that lets IT managers administer UnixWare servers from
any client with a browser. This feature, named Webtop, is based on
SCO’s Tarantella software for network computing. The company
expects Webtop to attract IT managers who want the power of Unix
but shy away from its command-line interface. The theory, says
Tamar Newberger, director of product management for SCO’s server
division, is that ‘if you know how to use a browser, you know how
to use Unix.’ Server-based applications can also be accessed by
users running Java-equipped browsers or Java thin clients;
according to SCO, the apps don’t need to be modified on the back
end to run in this environment.
Robert Piwowarczyk, president of Enterprise Systems, a Morrison,
Colo., reseller, says the Tarantella technology behind Webtop means
companies don’t have to be locked into a single client platform for
Web access. Companies with older terminal systems and thin clients,
for example, can have Webtop access to UnixWare server apps. This
capability, he says, ‘gives them the best of both worlds.’
An integrated Web server, an unlimited number of E-mailboxes,
and streaming audio and video from Real Networks are included in
the $1,399 price tag. UnixWare 7 Business Edition also offers
enhanced file and print sharing between Unix servers, NetWare
servers, and Windows PCs. It also runs Red Hat Linux applications,
as well as apps written for DOS, Windows 3.1, and Windows 95. ‘As
you develop new applications or change applications,’ Piwowarczyk
says, ‘you don’t have to buy any additional servers.'”