X and UNIX History

• Are closely intertwined though X is not limited to UNIX

• OSS software community has always been a key contributor of UNIX system components, particularly for Internet software

  • Remember: UNIX has been a proprietary system, even if Linux and *BSD are not
  • Examples: Bind, Sendmail, Apache, Samba, NFS, Perl, TK/TCL, are community developed, are interoperable and synergistic
  • A (the?) major reason why people buy UNIX systems

• The excellence of these tools (along with UNIX reliability) has saved the server UNIX market from being overwhelmed by Microsoft's NT