Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!apple!well!series
From: series@well.sf.ca.us (Frank Korzeniewski)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386
Subject: Re: Mach from mt Xinu
Message-ID: <23510@well.sf.ca.us>
Date: 9 Mar 91 08:58:10 GMT
References: <6641@saffron1.UUCP> <1991Mar5.232240.19264@mtxinu.COM> <1991Mar6.183453.944@rwwa.COM>
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 61

In article <1991Mar6.183453.944@rwwa.COM> witr@rwwa.COM (Robert W. Withrow) writes:
^From what I understand of your announcement, the services you are
^providing for the purchase fee are:
^
^  1) Paying royalties to ATT,
^  2) Repackaging working CMU software,
^  3) Duplicating it onto floppies and tapes,
^  4) and (although not stated, but I would assume) duplicating the
^documentation. 
^
^The services your *are not* providing for this fee are,
^  1) Helping to solve customer's problems,
^  2) Providing bug fixes. 
^Or, in other words, you are *not* providing support for the purchase
^price.  You *sell* these services for additional amounts.
^

I quote from the documentation supplied with the commercial Mach product
from Mt Xinu:

"Mt Xinu is pleased to provide 30 days of free installation support with
every Mach386 license sold."

What this tells me, Mr Robert Withrow, is that you do not in any way know what
you are talking about.

^Thus, unless you have a different definition for support than I do,
^you do not ``provide supported Berkeley UNIX'' or supported Mach;
^rather you sell *unsupported* Berkeley Unix and Mach, and charge
^additional for the support.  I don't object to your doing this, but I
^wish you would be more forthright in your descriptions.
^
^I personally find $1,000 a little steep for a duplicating service.
^There is an old saw in the software business that, when applied to
^your company, goes like this:
^
^``The software sells for $1,000.  Of course, if you want it to work
^that will be an additional $500 per year.''
^-- 

I further quote from the Mach paperwork:

"Mt Xinu warrents to you (the original Licensee) that the Software will
be in operable condition as described in the documentation, and that the
diskettes upon which the Software is furnished will be free from defects
in material and workmanship under normal use, for a period of ninety (90)
days after delivery to you ("Warranty Period").  You must report all defects
within the Warranty Period to be eligible for warranty service."

I used to work at Mt Xinu, I left there about a year ago.  They are some
of the brightest and most hardworking people I know.  I have seen how
much effort it takes to take software from a research environment and
make it into a commercial product.  I consider your remarks, Mr Robert
W Withrow, highly insulting.  If I ever run into you I will punch you in
the nose.

^---
^ Robert Withrow, R.W. Withrow Associates, Swampscott MA 01907 USA
^ Tel: +1 617 598 4480, Fax: +1 617 598 4430, Net: witr@rwwa.COM

frk       (series@well.sf.ca    Frank Korzeniewski)