Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!bischeops!nick
From: nick@bischeops.UUCP (Nick Bender)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Motif -> Open Look look & feel
Summary: *commercial* support available for GNU software
Keywords: Perspective
Message-ID: <410@bischeops.UUCP>
Date: 6 Jul 90 20:59:19 GMT
References: <9006291804.AA06484@flatirons.Central.Sun.COM> <1990Jul4.145214.6357@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Lines: 43

In article <1990Jul4.145214.6357@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>, reha@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Reha Elci) writes:
> 
> No! There are NO exceptions to the rule! GNU emacs, from a company's
> perspective is NOT a viable answer; as good as it is for hackers. When I
> get a tape from FSF, it comes with NO guarantees. Well, that is the whole
> point; a company wants packages which come with guarantees. When free
> software comes with 7x24 software support and guarantees, then I will
> alter my position on this issue.
> 

I hate to burst your bubble, but support is now available for most of the
GNU stuff. Here is a blurb from info I received from them:

    Cygnus support has been supporting free software for major
    companies and laboratories since January, 1990. Our initial
    product, _Leveraged Support_, provides large sites with
    significant cost savings while giving them access to our
    world-class free software developers. We have recently expanded
    our support offerings with Core Support, which provides similiar
    benefits on a smaller scale.

The address:

    Cygnus Support
    814 University Ave.
    Palo Alto, CA 94301
    +1 415 322 3811
    FAX 415 326 1669


As for the need for quality, GNU emacs is far and away the best editor I
have ever used. And gcc is regularly sited for producing smaller and
faster optimized object code. And flex and bison are recognized to be
more powerfull than lex and yacc. And look at the portability of this
stuff - emacs runs on damn near anything resembling U**x.

Freeware and other hacks are one thing, but in general I have found FSF 
code to be of high quality. I would have no problems recomending it to
any commercial company, especially with the support available from Cygnus.

Nick Bender
nick@bis.com
uunet!bischeops!nick