Unix Expo

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Unix Expo
StatusInactive
GenreTechnology conference and trade show
Venue
Location(s)New York City
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated1984
Most recent1996
Attendance35,000 at peak (early 1990s)
Organized by
  • Blenheim Group

Unix Expo was a

Unix operating system, and software based on Unix, in the information technology
sector. It ran from 1984 through 1996 and was held in New York City during the autumn season. The show was owned and managed by the Blenheim Group.

Origins

The first Unix Expo was held in October 1984 and was split between the Sheraton Centre Hotel and the Marina Expo complex in New York and had the formal title of Unix Operating System Exposition & Conference.[1] It was organized by the Unigroup users' group for Unix, and some seventy Unix-related vendors signed up to display at it.[2]

The shows

AT&T Corporation, owner of Bell Labs, the creator of Unix, was the company behind the early commercial push for Unix adoption; accordingly it had the anchor display position in early shows.[3] By 1987, in its fourth year, the show had some 16,000 attendees, with commercial interest rising in Unix due to its portability and strengths in development tools and networking.[4] Due to acquisitions of various promotions firms, the show was run under the names of several different companies, ending with the Blenheim Group.[5]

The show grew in significance; in 1985 it was where AT&T unveiled

System V Release 4 version of Unix.[6] Similarly, it was a site where discussions to end the divisive Unix wars could take place.[6][7] Numerous other product announcements and company alliances were also announced during a Unix Expo.[7]

In its peak years, the show was held within the

Ed Zander.[8][11] It also featured panel discussions, technology- and business-oriented breakout sessions, and floor space for exhibiting vendors such as the aforementioned companies as well as DEC, HP, IBM, Novell, and numerous others.[8]

The Bill Gates keynote was much anticipated

Two well-known industry CEOs not normally associated with Unix gave keynotes at Unix Expo:

NeXT (whose innovative NeXTSTEP operating system was built on top of Unix) in between stints at Apple Computer,[12] and Bill Gates in 1996, when he was running Microsoft.[13]

The latter appearance was much anticipated, as Microsoft's

Sun Solaris operating system.[13][17] And as SunWorld magazine reported, "to the delight of the crowd, it crashed the first time around."[13]

End

As it happened, 1996 was to be the last Unix Expo.

Linux operating system, which had had some small exhibits within Unix Expo and now was attracting more industry interest as a leading-edge development.[19]

Accordingly, in 1997 Unix Expo ceased to be its own entity and was folded into a new larger and more general show called IT Forum '97 and run by

Miller Freeman.[11][19]

References

  1. ^ "Unix Expo slated for New York". Computerworld. July 9, 1984. p. 35.
  2. ^ Sakowski, N.; Baker, L. (August 1984). "UNIX". PC Week. pp. 63–65 – via Gale General OneFile.
  3. ^ a b Sandler, C. (September 24, 1985). "AT&T Shows Off Xenix System V at Unix Expo". PC Week. p. 3 – via Gale General OneFile.
  4. ^ Alper, Alan (November 2, 1997). "Unix gets scattered applause". Computerworld. p. 14.
  5. ^ "Obituaries: Ianuzzi". The Record. Bergen County, New Jersey. September 18, 2013. p. L-5 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Marshall, Martin (December 18, 1989). "Hopes of Reunification Highlight Eventful Year for Unix Community". InfoWorld. p. 41.
  7. ^ a b "1989: The Year in Unix – 3". Computergram International. Computer Business Review. January 15, 1990.
  8. ^ a b c "Eleventh Annual UNIX EXPO in New York". krsaborio.net. August 23, 1994. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "Novell and UnixWare Technology Group To Co-Sponsor UnixWare Solutions Pavilion at Blenheim Group USA UNIX EXPO Conference" (Press release). Novell. May 16, 1995.
  10. ^ Birnstock, Andrew (April 1994). "It's showtime!". UNIX Review. p. 7 – via Gale Academic OneFile.
  11. ^ a b c d e Shippee, Dick (October 16, 1996). "Unix Expo Fades Out". UniNews. Uniforum.
  12. ^ "Jobs says company has finally hit stride". The Town Talk. Alexandria–Pineville, Louisiana. Associated Press. October 31, 1991. p. B-9 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b c d Sykes, Rebecca (October 1996). "Unix Expo: Gates serves up NT as Unix flavor". SunWorld.
  14. ^ Coursey, David; Johnston, Stuart J. (August 3, 1992). "Industry hero or villain? Microsoft's Gates insists he's neither one". InfoWorld. p. 12.
  15. ^ DiDio, Laura (October 7, 1996). "Gates to step into pro-Unix lion's den". Computerworld. p. 14.
  16. ^ Darrow, Barbara (November 18, 1996). "Bill Gates". Computer Reseller News. p. 144 – via Gale General OneFile.
  17. ^ Bournellis, Cynthia (October 14, 1996). "Microsoft presence sends wake-up call". Electronic News. p. 6 – via Gale General OneFile.
  18. ^ "Unix gets an expo of its own again". Computergram International. Computer Business Review. October 28, 1998.
  19. ^ a b Smith, Michael E. (January 1998). "LXNY at UNIX EXPO '97". Linux Gazette.
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