[W/K] :: Unix conspiracy

  Unix conspiracy n. [ITS] According to a conspiracy theory long popular
     among {ITS and {TOPS-20} fans, Unix's growth is the result of a
     plot, hatched during the 1970s at Bell Labs, whose intent was to hobble
     AT&T's competitors by making them dependent upon a system whose future
     evolution was to be under AT&T's control. This would be accomplished by
     disseminating an operating system that is apparently inexpensive and
     easily portable, but also relatively unreliable and insecure (so as to
     require continuing upgrades from AT&T). This theory was lent a
     substantial impetus in 1984 by the paper referenced in the back door
     entry.
  
     In this view, Unix was designed to be one of the first computer
     viruses (see virus) -- but a virus spread to computers indirectly by
     people and market forces, rather than directly through disks and
     networks. Adherents of this `Unix virus' theory like to cite the fact
     that the well-known quotation "Unix is snake oil" was uttered by DEC
     president Kenneth Olsen shortly before DEC began actively promoting its
     own family of Unix workstations. (Olsen now claims to have been
     misquoted.)
  
     [If there was ever such a conspiracy, it got thoroughly out of the
     plotters' control after 1990. AT&T sold its Unix operation to Novell
     around the same time Linux and other free-Unix distributions were
     beginning to make noise. --ESR]
  
  

  Unix conspiracy
       
          [ITS] According to a conspiracy theory long popular among
          ITS and TOPS-20 fans, Unix's growth is the result of a
          plot, hatched during the 1970s at Bell Labs, whose intent was
          to hobble AT&T's competitors by making them dependent upon a
          system whose future evolution was to be under AT&T's control.
          This would be accomplished by disseminating an operating
          system that is apparently inexpensive and easily portable, but
          also relatively unreliable and insecure (so as to require
          continuing upgrades from AT&T).  This theory was lent a
          substantial impetus in 1984 by the paper referenced in the
          back door entry.
       
          In this view, Unix was designed to be one of the first
          computer viruses (see virus) - but a virus spread to
          computers indirectly by people and market forces, rather than
          directly through disks and networks.  Adherents of this "Unix
          virus" theory like to cite the fact that the well-known
          quotation "Unix is snake oil" was uttered by DEC president
          Kenneth Olsen shortly before DEC began actively promoting its
          own family of Unix workstations.  (Olsen now claims to have
          been misquoted.)