Rodent Regatta

I thought the Unix operating system came out of Bell Labs back in the 1960’s or 1970’s. I thought dozens of startup companies in the field of multi-user, small business computer systems were built around the Motorola 68000 processor chip and the Unix operating system in the 1980’s. (e.g. Fortune Systems, Wicat, etc.)

Somewhere along the way Novell bought Unix from AT&T and then sold it to SCO. That’s where I lost track of Unix.

The reason I did is because Linus Torvalds invented Linux. I thought it was a new, independent operating system. Now, interviewed by VAR Business, the head of SCO says this:

VB: Is there anyway to get a real Linux version from your perspective without violating SCO IP?

McBride: Based on the understandings we have right now, we don’t see how.

Does this mean that Linus Torvalds copied Unix, named it something else and stuck his name on it? Linux, after all, is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.