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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!harvard!talcott!panda!genrad!decvax!bellcore!petrus!karn
From: karn@petrus.UUCP (Phil R. Karn)
Newsgroups: net.ham-radio.packet
Subject: Re: Essay for the Digital Committee
Message-ID: <711@petrus.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Dec-85 13:59:10 EST
Article-I.D.: petrus.711
Posted: Thu Dec  5 13:59:10 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Dec-85 17:03:11 EST
References: <559@mit-eddie.UUCP> <73@ky2d-2.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Communications Research, Inc
Lines: 40

> Dave and all other high level planners -
> 
> Fellas  its like this: You are 6 months to a year behind
> schedule on long haul high speed "backbone" systems. It will
> take several years to get them all up and running. If you 
> start now, it will be too late to prevent the furious mess
> that will occur when all those TNC2 clones are unwrapped on 
> channukah and christmas mornings! The sad result of that will
> be that many will give up on packet as being "too slow" and
> "too unreliable" "no good for dx" etc. The flea mkts. will
> be flooded with TNCs and we will never be seen again!
> I have a message for all of you:
> While I enjoy reading these essays and arguements (some of
> which are so steeped in jargon I can barely follow them),
> they AREN'T GETTING THE NETWORKS BUILT!! We don't need it
> PERFECT fellas, we need it TUESDAY!   - Bob   >>

Lots of things ARE going on in the way of packet development. I am working
on a portable TCP implementation in C which is undergoing debugging at the
moment.  I also plan on bringing up the BRL Gateway or something similar on
a small cheap machine like the 820 or any of the various networking
controllers now under development.  I have already written an AX.25
implementation for the 820 that will serve as the foundation for the
gateway.

Note that my last three sentences began with "I". That's because, to my
knowledge, I'm the only person doing all this work.  Since you agree that
work needs to be done, how about taking your hands out of your pockets and
helping out instead of just griping? There's no money in this business, and
there's other things I have to do to earn a living, so there's plenty of
ways you could help.

Remember, folks, this is a hobby, and it's also supposed to be an EDUCATIONAL
one. If all you want is reliable communications without bothering with
the gritty details, go buy it from AT&T or GTE or any other common carrier
and pay for the privilege. I'd like to learn something along the way,
and I like to think that SOME other hams feel the same way.

73,
Phil