AT&T and Unix

[Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB)]

Originally, unversities got UNIX because it was a new research-oriented
development, not a product.  And AT&T was not allowed by law to market
software and other computing services.  Part of the reason that there
is currently an "educational" license is due to this historical situation.

The other reason universities probably get a discount is because AT&T
sees that it is in its own long-term interests to do this.  Whether this
is a purely marketing ploy, a tax break, or a concern for assisting
education to improve the overall society is anybody's guess.  It really
doesn't matter, though -- if AT&T wanted to give away UNIX to people
whose names start with "G" and withhold it from everybody else, that too
would be their right (and again, it would be folly to make that kind of
business policy).

One thing I am sure of (and one suspects AT&T would agree) is that
making UNIX freely available to "hackers" would be a BAD idea; there
is a conscious effort to establish a stable operating system base
for applications software, and hackers are unlikely to care enough
about such matters to cooperate.