Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!lll-lcc!well!hoptoad!gnu
From: gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.headers
Subject: Shipping PD software as part of a vendor's Unix release
Message-ID: <1906@hoptoad.uucp>
Date: Thu, 19-Mar-87 04:29:15 EST
Article-I.D.: hoptoad.1906
Posted: Thu Mar 19 04:29:15 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Mar-87 02:40:28 EST
References: <1061@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu> <394@stracs.cs.strath.ac.uk> <1342@ncc.UUCP>
Organization: Nebula Consultants in San Francisco
Lines: 20

In article <1342@ncc.UUCP>, lyndon@ncc.UUCP (Lyndon Nerenberg) writes:
> This still doesn't help the poor sucker who doesn't have a C compiler
> though. I don't know if there really is a solution here, other than to
> send the mailer source to all the systems vendors with an plea that they
> include it as part of their port.

Sun used to do this with netnews.  They have stopped.  The problem is
that systems vendors only make major software releases every year or
two.  Meanwhile the news software changes out from under them, they are
shipping buggy code whose bug fixes have long ago been fixed and
forgotten, and they get calls from customers claiming that it came with
their machine so the vendor should support it (i.e. document it well,
supply patches and new releases, etc).  All in all, a hassle -- and
putting out a good Unix release is already a 6-month effort at best
(*after* you have made your system work in the lab).  Easier to let
the customers get it from a neighboring system or a mod.sources archive.
-- 
John Gilmore  {sun,ptsfa,lll-crg,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu   gnu@ingres.berkeley.edu
Love your country but never trust its government.
		     -- from a hand-painted road sign in central Pennsylvania