[TUHS] unix v4 tape found

[Cameron Míċeál Tyre via TUHS]

The first model year for the Ford Mustang is commonly described as 1964½ even though the vehicles were given 1965 VIN codes. This was because they appeared in the early half of 1964.

Perhaps V...½ would be a good way of referencing some physical UNIX distributions, e.g. V4½ to describe a distribution that is neither fully V4 nor V5.

Using the ½ as opposed to a .5 would hint, just like the earliest Ford Mustangs, that "we" gave the moniker, not "them".

Best regards,

Cameron

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

-------- Original Message --------

On Saturday, 12/20/25 at 04:59 Thalia Archibald via TUHS wrote: On Fri, Dec 19, 2025 at 9:28 PM Matt Day wrote: > At a glance it looks like Fifth Edition to me... all the files are > timestamped June 10 - 12, 1974. We received the tape in June 1974, due to delay in printing more documentation. The documentation we received must have been for V4, since the label says to “see manual for format”, written later by Jay Lepreau, the OS researcher in whose documents it was found. Furthermore, the blue embossed label on the side says UNIX V4 DIST, which I presume was put there by Bell Labs.

https://archive.org/details/thompson_to_newell_1974-05-31

UNIX wasn’t versioned as we know it today...

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone