Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!mcsun!hp4nl!star.cs.vu.nl!ast From: ast@cs.vu.nl (Andy Tanenbaum) Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: Re: Message-ID: <9950@star.cs.vu.nl> Date: 14 May 91 15:27:32 GMT References: <9911@star.cs.vu.nl> <1991May12.143246.18877@MDI.COM> Sender: news@cs.vu.nl Organization: Fac. Wiskunde & Informatica, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam Lines: 33 In article <1991May12.143246.18877@MDI.COM> mitchell@MDI.COM (Bill Mitchell) writes: >If PH doesn't want to deal with the add-ons, perhaps they could distribute >just the stripped-down (PH Copyright?) material, and other distribution >channels could be developed for the rest. I'm not against that. I would be quite happy to have 2.0 be the current 1.6.16 plus POSIXizing as I get that done, plus maybe a few more utilities. I would be quite happy to see some other organization, such as the MINIX Centre in the U.K. make up a supplementary package with extra programs. This could be available by FTP from archives, be sold on diskette to people or something else that was suitable to all parties. More complicated are changes to the kernel, FS, and MM. I am not wild about mucking them up, as I believe I have pointed up before :-) . What might be acceptable is to have the supplementary package consist of diff listings against the then-current PH version. As long as this is not too big, it is workable. What is not ok is to have the supplementary package contain the kernel, FS, MM, or other copyrighted code, neither in source or in binary form. Thus the supplementary package has to remain a supplement, and not become an alternative to the PH version. PH's lawyers won't accept that. Saying that you wil only distribute to people who have a PH version has a low credibility. For this reason, NLMUG is perhaps not the ideal organization, since they are currently in "discussion" with PH's lawyers about various subjects of mutual interest. The lawyers want their copyright to be respected. That really isn't negotiable. If the MINIX Centre or some other organization wants to work on such a supplementary package, I think something could be worked out. Andy Tanenbaum (ast@cs.vu.nl)