Despite the Open Software Foundation’s apparent downgrading of its Architecture-Neutral Distribution Format technology effort, the momentous project is likely to gain an imminent reprieve from a variety of quarters, not least as part of any eventual joint working relationship between the Open Software Foundation and Unix System Laboratories Inc. In a development that is expected to have at least some impact on the current jockeying for position between the Unix factions, Praxis Systems Plc, the 200-employee Bath, Avon software house, has now completed an evaluation ANDF installer for the Sun Microsystems Inc Sparc, which it says exceeded the original performance targets. It has been doing that work on behalf of the Software Foundation, which could presumably use the stuff as some kind of a bargaining chip in the latest round of talks with Unix Labs. Praxis says it is well down the development road of getting an Acrhitecture-Neutral Distribution installer up on another RISC, possibly the Inmos Ltd Transputer, while there are known to be several other key players keen to get installers up and running on their kit too. Praxis believes that once the independent software vendor community starts nibbling at its bait, the momentum behind ANDF will gather irreversible pace. Whatever happens tomorrow, it is thought ANDF will return to centre stage soon.
