Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucla-cs!ucla-ma!pico!barry From: barry@pico.math.ucla.edu (Barry Merriman) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: GnUStep Message-ID: <1991May10.170058.8708@math.ucla.edu> Date: 10 May 91 17:00:58 GMT References: <28289b4d.6175@petunia.CalPoly.EDU> <2829EA3A.25F7@deneva.sdd.trw.com> Sender: news@math.ucla.edu Organization: UCLA Dept. of Math, UCLA Inst. for Fusion and Plasma Research Lines: 67 In article petrilli@wookumz.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Chris Petrilli) writes: [about how unlikely it is to see NeXTStep on IBMs, due to Mach aversion] >The best bet is Next being nice enough to give NextStep to the FSF, >and let us run it on GNU (based on Mach3). Yes, this would be great; they could call it GnUStep. This would not hurt NeXT at all, because (a) it would give their interface much wider distribution, increasing software development (both by enlarging the market, and giving more developers access). (b) A basic GnUStep would not have all the great bundled NeXT user-level software (mail, Mathematica, Websters, Writenow,etc), nor the great NeXT hardware (sound capability, for e.g) so people would still have a motivation to buy NeXT computers. I really think NeXT should get on the ball and do this---it would only help. It should be clear now that IBM has no real intention to switch to a NeXTStep standard, so the idea that IBM would perform function (a) is dead. It happens to the best of them---remember, after 6 years in the biz, Adobe finally was forced to release their font specifications to avoid being crushed by functional equivalents pushed by powerful forces (MicroSoft, Apple). The same will be true for NeXTSTep---if they don't release it (GNU is the perfect channel) the whole world will end up running X or Windows 3.0 (shudder). It would be glorious if Steve Jobs, when announcing 3.0, could stand proudly and say that NeXTStep would now be the standard GUI for GNU. Further, If NeXT doesn't do this, some other more clear thinking company (maybe HP? DEC already did, with X) will realease their own system, which will probably be good enough to where noone would really care about NeXTStep after that. Remeber that competition for market share in hi tech markets is very unstable---whoever get the initial edge usually totally dominates. (Fortunately for us, X is just bad enough to where NeXTStep could beat it, if released soon). Finally, I have a selfish motive: I would like to write some GUI interface stuff on NeXTs, but I can't really do this at the moment, because the target audience (mostly Nuclear Fusion Engineers) use mainly X based workstations. If GnUStep were available, I could do it, and just say ``this runs under GnUStep, available at ftp site...''. Since the programs I develop are important (used to model $10 billion machines), the engineers would have enough motivation to grab GnUStep to use the GUI interface. As it stands though, we will have to slap an X interface on them. Does anyone at NeXT knwo whether NeXT is even considering releasing a minimal version of NeXTStep (including IB, of course) through GNU or some other channel? -- Barry Merriman UCLA Dept. of Math UCLA Inst. for Fusion and Plasma Research barry@math.ucla.edu (Internet)