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From: andrew@jung.harlqn.uucp (Andrew Watson)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: free versions of complex software (Re: So let's talk about FSF)
Message-ID: <ANDREW.88Oct5134036@jung.harlqn.uucp>
Date: 5 Oct 88 14:40:36 GMT
References: <780@proxftl.UUCP> <600@sering.cwi.nl> <2133@stpstn.UUCP> <492@optilink.UUCP>
Sender: news@harlqn.UUCP
Organization: Harlequin Limited, Cambridge, UK
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In-reply-to: cramer@optilink.UUCP's message of 23 Sep 88 16:16:07 GMT

In article <492@optilink.UUCP> cramer@optilink.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) writes:

   > Yeah, sure, but the source won't compile, and it costs you more
   > programmer $$ to make it compile than it would cost you to buy
   > the unbuggy commercial product to begin with.
   > 
   > Anthony A. Datri,SysAdmin,StepstoneCorporation,stpstn!aad

   This whole discussion can be boiled to the immortal epigram, first coined
   about BSD 4.1 UNIX, "Free university software is too expensive to use."

Hmmm ... well I'd be half inclined to agree with you, except the the the other
(Unix) option really isn't much better - I am of course referring to System V.

Can anyone give me a good reason why all these big corporations licence System
V, only to have to port to it large parts of 4.1/2/3 just to make it usable?
I'm talking about sockets, the Fast File System, all the TCP/IP utilities,
symbolic links ... and then they're *still* left with a system with a lousy
short term scheduler that truncates all file names to 14 characters!

Another thing - back in the old days, with v6, v7 & 4.x, even if the software
wasn't really "supported", one at least had the reassurance that the Research &
Development community, the people with new ideas who were rolling back the
frontiers, who knew the real requirements up there at the leading edge (things
that will be commonplace in about 2 years) - these people were using the same
system that you were. And now? AT&T are busy selling us system V, while their
labs use version 8, which may never be commercialised, and in any case IS BASED
ON BSD 4.2 - nothing remotely to do with system V.

I rest my case.
--
			       Regards,

                                   Andrew.

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