Editing Advanced Computing Environment (section)

===The Apache Group===
Even prior to the announcement of the initiative, a number of companies headed by Compaq and including Siemens, Sony, Silicon Graphics, Unisys and Control Data Corporation favoured the adoption of Unix System V Release 4 ([[SVR4]]) as the means to provide portability between the MIPS and Intel architectures.<ref name="electronicnews19910401_ace">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_electronic-news_1991-04-01_37_1854/page/n33/mode/1up | title=MIPS Software Group Seen Taking Two Paths | magazine=Electronic News | date=1 April 1991 | access-date=11 October 2022 | last1=Robertson | first1=Jack | pages=30 }}</ref> Since SVR4 favoured [[big-endian]] operation, this subgroup of members was known as the '''Apache''' group, reportedly conceived as a pun on "Big Indian".<ref name="barton">{{ cite journal | title=From Server Room to Living Room: How open source and TiVo became a perfect match | journal=ACM Queue | date=July–August 2003 | last1=Barton | first1=Jim | doi=10.1145/945074.945076 | s2cid=15741363 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref group=note>Unrelated to the later [[Apache Software Foundation]].</ref> At that early stage, a different group known as the '''Gibraltar''' group, consisting primarily of DEC and SCO, sought to define interoperability with DEC's Ultrix operating system.<ref name="electronicnews19910401_ace"/> The Apache group later adopted the name '''MIPS ABI''' after the demise of the ACE initiative.<ref name="opensystemstoday19930329_mipsabi">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_open-systems-today_1993-03-29_120/page/n37/mode/1up | title=Vendors Support Single Mips ABI | magazine=Open Systems Today | date=29 March 1993 | access-date=12 October 2022 | last1=Wagner | first1=Mitch | pages=32 }}</ref>

The emerging rift within the ACE consortium was averted when it was decided to add support for SVR4 alongside OSF/1, thus placating the group which, by then, included Siemens, Sony, NEC, Prime Computer, Olivetti, Tandem and Pyramid among its members. Although concerns persisted about the domination of the initiative by the founding members, the introduction of SVR4 complicated the position of DEC and SCO whose involvement focused on SCO Open Desktop built on the OSF/1 kernel. However, the availability of SVR4 was regarded as a way of satisfying end-user demand, particularly by Compaq.<ref name="electronicnews19911014_ace">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_electronic-news_1991-10-14_37_1882/mode/1up | title=ACE Embraces Unix V.4 To Avoid Internal Strife | magazine=Electronic News | date=14 October 1991 | access-date=11 October 2022 | last1=Stedman | first1=Craig | last2=Khermouch | first2=Gerry | pages=1, 4 }}</ref>