Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ucbvax!jade!eris!mwm
From: mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: GNU Ramblings, Unix thoughts.
Keywords: Gnu Unix Operating Systems Compatibility Support
Message-ID: <6476@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 7 Jan 88 09:00:59 GMT
References: <153@mozart.UUCP> <1351@sugar.UUCP> <850@elmgate.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@jade.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer)
Organization: Missionaria Phonibalonica
Lines: 44

[Ok, I give up. I'm going to reply....]

In article <850@elmgate.UUCP> ram@elmgate.UUCP (Randy Martens) writes:
<- From a professional standpoint, as someone who makes their living
<working with computers, I cannot afford to use anything except tested,
<supported, standardized products. Period.  Anything else is foolish.

And you'll be able to get that from GNU. Just like you can buy a
tested, supported and standardized Unix for the IBM PC, even though
neither AT&T nor IBM sell such a creature. Just like you could buy
4BSD for a VAX before DEC sold Ultrix, and you can buy SysV for a VAX
after AT&T has dropped support for the VAX.

Companies have already formed that sell either SysV or 4BSD for
hardware that it wasn't otherwise available for. They make money
selling *support*, not the OS (a years costs about what the OS does,
and buying the OS comes with a non-trivial fraction of a years
support). They provide real support (I've used it), ranging from
reading manuals over the phone to fixing kernel problems. They've even
supplied source patches I've handed them, though they couldn't see why
it would make a difference.

Being able to start a company without having to spend the cost of 10
to 20 workstations to get a license from AT&T can only cause more of
them to form. New hardware companies get the same benefit.

You don't see those companies forming. I do. I've been aproached about
joining startups that plan on supporting or porting GNU as soon as it
becomes available.

The key question is the standardization of the product. If GNU is
either SVID or Posix ("The nice thing about standards is that there
are so many to choose from."), it won't be any worse than "real" Unix.
I expect it be one of the two. That GNU Emacs & X have avoided turning
into a multiplicity of variants causes me to expect the GNU OS to do
the same. All it takes is a central authority willing to work with
people who would otherwise produce variants.

	<mike
--
Tell me how d'you get to be				Mike Meyer
As beautiful as that?					mwm@berkeley.edu
How did you get your mind				ucbvax!mwm
To tilt like your hat?					mwm@ucbjade.BITNET