Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!udel!haven.umd.edu!uvaarpa!vger.nsu.edu!manes
From: manes@vger.nsu.edu ((Mark D. Manes), Norfolk State University)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re: Information on Amiga Technical Reference Seri
Message-ID: <1062.2853935b@vger.nsu.edu>
Date: 10 Jun 91 18:57:31 GMT
References: <21956@cbmvax.commodore.com> <1603@glyph.kingston.ny.us> <1991Jun3.140107.945@csc.canterbury.ac.nz> <mykes.3136@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG> <1057.284e0dbf@vger.nsu.edu> <91158.110654GHGAQA4@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be>
Lines: 64

In article <91158.110654GHGAQA4@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be>, GHGAQA4@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be (Tyberghein Jorrit) writes:
>>I am glad that you put a smiley on the end.  The last thing we need is
>>apublic domain version of the kernal.  In fact, I am against Commodore
>>releasing the SOURCE CODE to the operating system.  That would be a
>>complete disaster.
> 
> Please explain what is so bad about releasing the source code ? I
> don't see your point.

Releasing source code would create a nightmare for Commodore and their
dealers.  Consider the possibility of a friendly persoon putting out
a hacked version of the operating system and it becoming semi-popular.
What should Commodore do?  Adopt it?  How would Commodore support it?
Would it still be owned by Commodore?  What is a dealer to do when 
he orders software for the Amiga?  Does he make sure it just runs on
Commodore's operating system or the more popular 'hacked' AmigaDOS?
How can Commodore create new machines?  Will Commodore need to get
permission from the authors of the hacked operating system to support
it?  If they don't support it, will Commodore have to put up with
tons and tons of messages from usenet saying that they were idiots
for not including the 'obvious enhacements' that the hack provided?

What we would have is a nice can of worms of which
no developer would have a chance of making their software work 
reliably on all of the amiga computers.

I don't need to mention how wonderful this would be for virus 
writers.  

If you don't intend to modify the operating system, why release
the source code?   What would the advantage be for Commodore to
release it?  Sure I am as interested as the next guy, but I can
easily see the dangers, can't you?

If knowledge is the reason, you can gleam the knowledge you need to 
program the Amiga from the RKM's and the tons of source code that
is available.  

> 
> 
>>ARP was bad enough, a public domain kernal... ack!!!
> 
> What's bad about ARP ? In my opinion ARP was a very good thing. Of
> course I don't need it anymore since I have AmigaOS 2.0, but still...
> 

Without starting up the old Mark vs. Larry Phillips argument again
(Whatever happened to Larry anyway?) about ARP.  I will say that the
intentions of ARP were peaceful, and did produce some nice things, but
in my opinion ARP (the command set) did more to hurt the Amiga than it
did to help it.

I like arp.library, but that is it.

>                     Jorrit Tyberghein

 -mark=
     
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 | \/     |   Mark D. Manes   "The Most lopsided deal since ..."
 | /\  \/ |   manes@vger.nsu.edu                                        
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