Microsoft Integrates with Unix

MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES WINDOWS NT SERVICES FOR UNIX

Announced last week, the development of the Unix Add-On Pack provides a set of very useful features to integrate NT with Unix systems. Now, be warned, this is announcement of *development* not of shipping product. The beta should be available late this summer.

Key features of the add-on pack are:
• Resource sharing (file and printer)
• Synchronised passwords
• Common scripting (i.e. shell on NT)

Resource sharing:

Users of Windows NT Workstation 4.0 will be able to access files on UNIX systems and vice-versa. To provide resource-sharing capabilities, Microsoft is licensing Network File System client/server software from Intergraph Corp. Intergraph is a leading vendor of Windows NT and UNIX interoperability solutions.

Remote administration:

Remote administration through Telnet gives remote users the ability to remotely log into and execute commands on Windows NT- or UNIX-based systems. Nothing especially new there then.

Password synchronization:

One-way password synchronization will allow customers to maintain a common password between their Windows NT- and UNIX-based machines. Changes made to a password for Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server will automatically synchronize on UNIX systems. It also will provide a seamless navigation environment, so users can work with data on Windows NT-based servers and UNIX systems without entering their password multiple times.

Common scripting:

Windows NT Services for UNIX will also allow users to run many existing UNIX scripts on Windows NT-based systems. As part of these scripting capabilities, Microsoft has licensed from Mortice Kern Systems Inc. (MKS) more than 25 UNIX scripting commands and its leading KornShell, which gives users the ability to automate common processes and administrative tasks across both Windows NT and UNIX platforms. MKS is a leading provider of Windows NT scripting tools

Centreline 2000 says:

We approve of this add-on, the key features are definitely those most commonly requested at our customer sites. Fortunately, Microsoft has not chosen to develop these solutions from scratch but has licensed the leading modules already available. The Intergraph NFS and Mortice Kern shells are widely used and products we already recommend.

We look forward to (a) being able to test this solution, (b) seeing the prices!

SHARE TALK or I wish I'd bought Microsoft shares in 1990

News this week that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has sold 530,000 MS shares for a total of $46,8m (around 28 million sterling)! In all Allen has pocketed over $2 billion from MS shares.

But, and there is a kicker here, there is increasing concern about stock options and how they work for these large companies. Here's how it works: an employee gets an option buy certain numbers of shares at a fixed price. After a given period of time he can then buy these shares and immediately resell them at the current price - netting the profit on the way.

Now a lot of high tech companies have been giving employees stock options for a long time, indeed that's how come Microsoft has so many paper millionaires on the payroll. But there are two issues arising from this:

Firstly, these companies are becoming increasingly driven by the need to appeal to the *option* holders, rather than the share holders. Why? Well, share holders are usually in it for the long haul, option holders tend to sell up as soon as there is a down-turn in the option value. Now in Microsofts case that would mean a significant chunk of their key employees suddenly becoming millionaires overnight and quitting their jobs.

Its a bit like the oil industry that had its head so far up its senior managers pension funds that they completely lost sight of what was happening to the industry. Goodbye most american oil producers.

It is also the same factor that applies in UK privatised companies, where senior managers take the bulk of their renumeration in options. This focusses them on increasing the share price, not on share dividends, nor on general service, re-investment etc.

Secondly, there is now getting to be some doubts about the fiscal correctness of stock options, in particular that they don't need to be factored into the accounts. Now if it was you see a different picture as to the accounting of these companies (and why the option holders are so important)

Company	Stated profit	Accounting for options
Microsoft	$2.285 billion	$10.175 billion LOSS
Cisco	$913 million	$656 million LOSS
Intel	$5.157 billion	$281 million LOSS

Now, if the US Govt decided to correct the accounting practice, you would instantly see a collapse of the IT share bubble, hence making all those share option holders sell out and retire to California (or whatever it is they do).

Just makes it all look a little more fragile than it is. In fact, Informix never really recovered from the problems created when accounting practice allowing around product developments changed leaving them in a loss situation instead of the profit they had always stated - share holders pulled out and the company has struggled ever since.

Since we are on a somewhat gloomy note, Following Compaq's purchase of Digital staff lay-offs have started already, some 15,000 staff. That's the population of a small town.

MICROSOFT FRONT PAGE DELETES YOUR HARD DRIVE BUT ITS NOT A BUG!!!

Well, to cheer us up a little, we have Bill Gates doing his first live demo of Windows 98 which duly crashed in front of hundreds at Comdex.

Never mind the Dept of Justice law suits and all that...

But, much more significant for people using, or trialling MS Front Page, their pretty good web site builder. Put your web site in the wrong place and Front Page will gleefully delete your entire hard drive, no questions asked!

The bug:

1) Create a web page in the root directory of your hard disk
2) Delete the web page
3) Watch your entire hard drive get wiped!

Actually, Front Page will delete everything in the current folder of the web site you are removing, whether it belongs to Front Page or not. So even if you have your web page in a sub-folder, if it is along side other data you will lose it.

Microsoft says it is not a bug, but a "feature". So that's all right then.

GOOD DEALS ON COMPAQ HARDWARE

Compaq are offering a very competitive small business server at the moment. For 2,400 (UKP) you can get a ProSignia 200 (P233, 64MB, 4GB Hard Disk, 8GB SCSI Tape, 1/100TX Ethernet, Modem). The offer also includes 10 client licenses for MS BackOffice Small Business Server, the NT/Exchange combination designed for smaller offices.

This is a special offer only open until June 30th, after that Compaq say prices will return to around £2,800.

Compaq servers are very well built machines and are definetely built to be servers (unlike some PC manufacturers who just over-spec a PC and call it a server). Compaq have a long experience in designing the entire machine to work as a server, which covers integral design, quality components as well as automatic diagnostics and recovery.

Incidentally, you can also pick up 3 Year on-site warranty with 4-Hour response for only £500.00 at the same time.

UNIPLEX COMES OUT ON TOP OF FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE

You may remember our report a few weeks ago that Uniplex 11 Plus (sic), managed by Uniplex' Keith Larkin was leading the MicroScope/Ingram Fantasy Football League.

Well, for the last few weeks the Uniplex team has been under pressure but finally came through and has won the league for 1998! Well done Keith.

CYBER JUNK MAILER FINED OVER A MILLION POUNDS (YES!!!!!)

The US electronic junkmail company Cyber Promotions has been fined $2M dollars (1.2M Sterling) by the Los Angeles County Superior Court for sending 25 million unsolicited e-mail advertisements. The case was brought by the ISP Earthlink, which accused Cryber Promotions of clogging up the Internet.

Other spam-mailers beware.