Mt Xinu
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Bob Kridle, Alan Tobey, Ed Gould, Vance Vaughan |
| Fate | Division spun off to form Xinet in 1991 |
| Products | BSD Unix for DEC VAX, more/BSD, Mach386, AppleShare server for Unix |
mt Xinu—a name derived by reversing the letters in "Unix™"—was a software firm established in 1983, specializing in the development of two distinct operating systems. Their motto, "We know Unix™ backwards and forwards," underscored both their deep knowledge and the origin of their company name.
The range of products offered by mt Xinu comprised:
- A commercially licensed BSD Unix operating system for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX platform, initially built upon 4.1cBSD and subsequently updated to incorporate features from 4.2 and 4.3BSD releases.
- more/BSD, an enhanced version of 4.3BSD-Tahoe designed for VAX and HP 9000 systems, which incorporated code contributions from the University of Utah's HPBSD project and included support for Network File System (NFS).
- Mach386, a hybrid operating system that combined Mach kernel versions 2.5/2.6 with 4.3BSD-Tahoe/Reno, specifically optimized for IBM PC compatibles based on i386 and i486 processors.
In addition to these OS offerings, mt Xinu developed software aimed at facilitating interoperability between Macintosh and Unix environments, notably producing an AppleShare server compatible with Unix workstations.
The company was founded by computer science graduates from the University of California, Berkeley—Bob Kridle, Alan Tobey, Ed Gould, and Vance Vaughan—with subsequent input from Debbie Scherrer, drawing heavily on academic expertise throughout its operations.
As part of its branding initiatives, mt Xinu published Unix-themed calendars during several years:
- Command of the Month (1987–1988)
- Lessons in Art (1989)
- Platform of the Year (1990)
In 1991, a division within mt Xinu branched off to form Xinet, thereby broadening its presence in the software industry.
References
- Salus, Peter (1994). A Quarter Century of UNIX. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-201-54777-5. p. 209