Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!LARRY.MCRCIM.MCGILL.EDU!mouse
From: mouse@LARRY.MCRCIM.MCGILL.EDU (der Mouse)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Xview vs. Motif speculation
Message-ID: <9004102128.AA19302@Larry.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Date: 10 Apr 90 21:28:28 GMT
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 42

>> 'free' in our context means -- free to use && free to port && free
>> to fix && free to enhance && free to experiment with && free to
>> develop from [...].  To us, 'free' does not mean "We don't charge
>> you extra for it, it's bundled with the system".

> So.....one honest question.....

> Any suggestions how the software companies should pay for the time
> and money invested/spent in building and *supporting* the software
> that you suggest be available via ftp from every coner of the
> universe?  The last time I checked, even University/academic
> programmers did not work for free.....

Well, how did X, which *is* available via ftp from every corner of the
universe, get written?

Why am I getting paid to write software which I will be glad to send
out to anyone on the net who asks?  (And if I am forbidden to send it
out, I will quit working here.)

Sometimes, having something available is worth some money even if no
money can be (or perhaps "is") made from the thing itself.

> Why ask for Motif only?  Why not ask for free source for every
> product built by these companies?

I do.  If we can't get source we don't run it.  (There are a few
exceptions, which have been imposed on me from without.)

> ...maybe the academics/'free' advocates should propose to spend some
> time on 'something'  (eg.. creating new widget ideas and code for
> OSF) in return for 'free' Motif. ....no?

If Motif were freely available lots of free types *would* be spending
time creating new widgets and other code for it.  I can be so sure of
this because similar things are constantly happening with software that
is free: X, Xt, XView, gnu-emacs, gcc, etc....

					der Mouse

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