We're porting the GNU tools to Novell's UnixWare host environment,
with support for native compilation, as well as NetWare development
for i386, DEC's Alpha AXP, HP's PA-RISC, and Sun's Sparc processors.
DEC, HP, and Sun have also endorsed to this project.

Here's some more info on the deal:

In the old days, the only NetWare C compiler was hosted on DOS and
only generated code for the Intel architecture.  By partnering with
Cygnus, Novell will be able to offer a UnixWare development
environment (sure beats DOS!) and developers will be able to port
NetWare services to high-performance RISC processors (thereby opening
the architecture of the network).  We think this is cool.

Novell found that Cygnus had made GNU a widely acceptable (if not the
only accepted) cross-development tools for Unix, and in spite of our
"high" price (which is about 1/10th what proprietary compiler
companies used to charge), we were the most affordable way to get the
job done.  We were interested in finding a partner who could help us
make our solution more mainstream.  Novell has over 12,000 registered
developers (Oracle, Sybase, and WordPerfect are 3 such).

GNU software is great technology, and everybody at Cygnus recognizes
the benefits of the free software paradigm.  The value-add that we
provide is that we have endured the pain of setting up QA, release
processes and support mechanisms that really make us an acceptable (if
not highly affordable) solution for real(*) companies.  The more
people buy from us, the better our solution becomes--an exiting twist
on the concept of mutual benefit.

I must say that it's amazing to me how many free software businesses
are popping up these days.  I believe that the key to being a
successful FSB is mastering and delivering the economies of scale that
are possible.  Right now I see more competition than cooperation, but
I suspect things will settle out after a year or two when we know
which companies have the combination of skills needed to survive on
their own.

For even more info:

I'll be giving presentations about the Novell/Cygnus relationships at
the next two Novell developers conferences (Brainshare Dallas 4-5
Oct'93, Brainshare Provo ??-?? Mar'94) in case anybody here is
interested.

Michael

(*) Pure Software, GE, IBM, and Fujitsu are just some of the real
companies who prefer Cygnus support to the "hacker" solution.
Graduate students at UC Berkeley, MIT (the one in Cambridge MA), and
Harvard are some of our other customers.

================
	There is no practical reason to create machine intelligences
	indistinguishable from human ones.  People are in plentiful
	supply.  Should a shortage arise, there are proven and popular
	methods for making more.  The point of using machines ought to
	be they perform differently than people, and preferably
	better.

			Science and Technology, The Economist