> I can't get over the idea that this is a bunch of people who were angry their favorite proprietary systems got killed by open systems and, ultimately, open so

> I can't get over the idea that this is a bunch of people who were angry their favorite proprietary systems got killed by open systems and, ultimately, open source. I think that they were angry that the inferior product was winning/had won. The "worse is better" essay didn't come out until a decade later, IIRC. To be clear, the Unix systems were worse in all the ways they point out, but better in the way that mattered - multiple companies provided Unix, and the skills from one Unix to another were easily transferable. The "winning" system won not because it was superior, but because it was easier to hire for. Need an operator for your SCO Unix? Someone experienced with Sun boxes could onboard faster than someone experienced with VMS.