The following is an article by UniForum President, Michael Tilson and UniForum Executive Director, Richard Jaross, as submitted to ComputerWorld. UniNews feels the issues raised are of importance to our readers and we invite your response.
The recent multimillion-dollar award by the U.S. Coast Guard to Unisys Corp. for computers running the Windows NT operating system has generated a wave of protest and confusion. Buyers of information technology may have a tough time separating fact from fiction in this case.
Computerworld's article "Feds declare NT 'open system'; Unix takes a hit" (July 31) blurs several issues in the controversial award and subsequent protest of it by competing vendors. The most misleading aspect of the article is its equation of "POSIX compliance" with "open systems." Microsoft has disguised NT, its proprietary operating system, as "open" by adding on a POSIX module that will never be used to run real applications.
Even if it meets the letter of the Coast Guard's RFP (which we doubt), the presence of this module evades the original purpose and spirit of open standards. It does not make Windows NT a POSIX-compliant operating system, much less an "open system."
The Microsoft POSIX module may indeed pass some POSIX tests, but the Windows NT operating system will not. The applications being used in this procurement will not be running under the POSIX module. Therefore, this award undermines the federal government's efforts to create standards-based, competitive IT procurement.
Think of it this way: For government procurements, Microsoft puts two operating environments in the box. One is Windows NT, and one is a POSIX module that the government will purchase but never use. What does it matter if the POSIX module can pass some tests? In the actual deployment, you might as well save disk space and just throw it away.
In a real open system, the applications architecture actually uses the open standards. Openness promotes vendor competition, which offers real choices to buyers. Users may switch platforms as their needs require. Porting applications is relatively easy from one open system to another--and far less expensive than rewriting code and porting between proprietary systems.
And remember, competition is most important in the software platforms. Investments in software are far longer-lasting than hardware, so the decision to lock into a single-vendor solution is very significant and can be undone only at great cost and effort.
Windows NT is an operating system less than two years old. In contrast, the shared development model observed for 25 years among vendors of Unix systems has produced a stable, highly scalable operating system; the de facto standard TCP/IP networking protocols; and a robust, widely implemented windowing system called X. These and related technologies--including the Internet itself--provide a range of cost-effective options for IT users.
Nothing stops Microsoft from converting NT into a real open system. They have not done so with the dysfunctional POSIX module.
To date, the U.S. government has been served well by open systems. But this award is a sham, and it should not be allowed to stand. We urge the Coast Guard and the GSA to rethink their positions.