Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!shadooby!samsung!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-ses!hpiag0!tai From: tai@hpiag0.IAG.HP.COM (Tai Jin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp Subject: Re: HP-UX: unacceptable [Was: root-over-nfs under HP-UX 6.5] Message-ID: <2130002@hpiag0.IAG.HP.COM> Date: 23 Nov 89 06:07:34 GMT References: Organization: HP Information Architecture Group - Cupertino, CA Lines: 44 >I repeat my call for HP to set up an anonymous FTP site. I think one of >HPs first jobs should be to ensure that its modifications to the X11R4 >server, to be released just after HPUX 7.0, will be on that anonymous FTP >site as soon as possible. I'm not sure if you are talking about HP supported software or user contributed software. If HP sets up an anonymous FTP site then it is assumed that the software provided is HP supported. I think it is more wise to set up a user contributed software archive at some university. To that end I've gathered some software from within HP that could be made available from an FTP archive site. What I got wasn't much, but it's a start. The software is available from Columbia U (columbia.edu) -- contact Chris Maio (chris@columbia.edu). But I must ask all you customers out there to please contribute to an archive near you. If you already have an archive, please let everyone know about it. One I know about is the University of Tromsoe (sfd.uit.no) and another is the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (I don't know the domain name for this one, but Bo Thide has posted here many times). >HPs software release policy is in bad need of reexamination. Maybe it works >for corporate customers who don't use the latest and greatest, but it >certainly has failed universities in fundamental ways. I agree with you. I know that the universities have a need to run the latest software available and that our current software release cycles do not meet this need. It does take time to "productize" software. And it's also possible that your favorite public domain software will never become a product. But if someone in HP ports the software then I see no reason why it should not be made available. Now I don't know that there is an overall policy regarding the distribution of such software. I have made available software that I've ported (eg. BIND). However, it gets sticky when the software is being "productized" -- the owner of the product makes the decision. The owner is probably mostly concerned with meeting the product deadline. And providing early releases of the software can take away valuable time from those working on the product (due to having to support the software). So what we need is an efficient scheme for customers to get early releases of software while benefitting both HP and the customers. Do you have any suggestions? >Dan Greening | NY 914-789-7861 | 12 Foster Court >dgreen@cs.ucla.edu | CA 213-825-2266 | Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 ...tai "speaking for myself and hopefully for others"