he new Novell Unix Master programme. Univel admits its continued independence is still an' unresolved issue' that's being kicked around Novell and figures its eventual disposition won't be made public until after Novell's acquisition of Unix System Labs goes through, though the decision could actually be made in the next 30 days. Novell has said it expected Univel to do over $5m worth of business during the quarter just closed. It also expects it to build gradually over the next two quarters and then start doing something serious in the fall. Early bird catches worm: there are two programs already shipping for the still-unavailable Microsoft Windows NT-run Alpha AXP, Digital Equipment Corp says. One is SlickEdit, a programmer's editor from MicroEdge. The other is Hamilton Seashell, a software tool from Hamilton Labs. DEC is planning to have AXP PC platforms out with software developers before Microsoft puts NT into general release. Figure the hardware for March or April. Meanwhile, DEC is pulling together a central NT group under Jesse Lipcon and has picked Dennis Schneider, who rolled