Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. Today's Unix systems are split into various branches, developed over time by AT&T, several other commercial vendors, as well as several non-profit organizations, such as contributors to the GNU project.

Unix was designed to be portable, multi-tasking and multi-user in a time-sharing configuration. The Unix systems are characterized by various concepts: plain text files, command line interpreter, hierarchical file system, treating devices and certain types of inter-process communication as files, etc. In software engineering, Unix is mainly noted for its use of the C programming language and for the Unix philosophy.

The present owner of the UNIX trademark is The Open Group, while the present claimants on the rights to the UNIX source code are SCO Group and Novell (an issue that is currently being decided in court). Only systems fully compliant with and certified to the Single UNIX Specification qualify as "UNIX" (others are called "UNIX system-like" or Unix-like).

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HP's first 13.3-inch Pavilion vs. the competition
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:34:18 -0700
HP is shipping its first laptop with a 13.3-inch widescreen display. The HP Pavilion dv3500t series is already available on HP's site starting at $1,000, and a slightly higher-end configuration, the dv3520nr, is available for pre-order at Best Buy for $1,200. Other sites have reported that this model will be...
A new mystery: What's Microsoft got up its Office Live sleeve?
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:22:06 -0700
It sounds like Microsoft has yet another Professional Developers Conference PDC announcement percolating -- beyond the Windows 7, Oslo, cloud OS (Red Dog/Zurich) and Mesh Platform stuff about which the company already has been dropping hints. by Mary Jo Foley
Google talks efficient data centers
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:18:32 -0700
Google is known as a search titan, but its real business is running data centers. On Wednesday, Google handed out a few key tips as it touted its data center efficiency and sustainability efforts. In a blog post, Google's senior vice president of operations Urs Hölzle outlined...
Apple strikes back against Psystar, asks for counterclaim to be dismissed
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:17:23 -0700
Apple has hit back against claims made by Mac-clone maker Psystar that the company is operating in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act and will be asking the U.S. District Court judge to dismiss to dismiss the counterclaim. by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Microsoft HealthVault offers the nickel tour
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:08:55 -0700
Nolan insists that "third party applications" will be what get HealthVault over the top, and it's in making those available that he hopes the system will prove its value. by Dana Blankenhorn
Student Technology Day: "Windows Cloud" revealed
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:47:18 -0700
Steve Ballmer was next door in the Queen Elizabeth Hall talking to the TechNet/TechEd people about Office Live, and mentioning that there would be a major announcement at the PDC on the 27th October. Once he finished there, he popped next door and told us a similar thing. ...

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