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From: louie@trantor.umd.edu (Louis A. Mamakos)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: NeXT and sources (really "Do we need OS source?")
Message-ID: <3050@haven.umd.edu>
Date: 5 Jan 89 19:28:00 GMT
References: <8812220917.AA10582@decwrl.dec.com> <29954@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> <1438@cps3xx.UUCP>
Sender: news@haven.umd.edu
Reply-To: louie@trantor.umd.edu (Louis A. Mamakos)
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Lines: 35

We need source.  Our computing environment is rich and varied enough that
stock vendor software is often not sufficient.  It is often the case that some
features are missing (e.g Domain Name server support), and we need to add 
these features to make the systems usable in our environment.

We don't expect the sources for free; we are willing to pay (a reasonable) cost
for them.  We don't expect the sources to everything.  

We can proably do without the source to NeXTStep and Display PostScript.
We do, however, need the source to the Mach/UNIX kernel and the generic
UNIX utilities.

We don't expect NeXT to support our modified software.  We do expect them to 
fix bugs in their stock, out of the box software.

One of the factors used in choosing between multiple vendors of say, 
workstation systems, is the availability of source code.  Our organization
tends to buy DEC hardware; one reason is that source code is available in a
timely fashon after a release.

I have a NeXT box on my desk, and a DEC VAXStation 2000 over on the table.  The
NeXT box is neat, but I can't even regenerate a new kernel (even from binaries)
on this machine.  Why would I want to do this?  Can *you* think of a way to
change the timezone that the machine thinks I'm in?  And that's just for
starters.  Never mind about adding device drivers.

We don't consider a NeXT box to be in competion with Macintosh class machines;
they are in competition with the DEC and SUNs of the world, and those vendors
supply source.  The academic market place doing research needs source code.
NeXT says they are marketing to the academic.. let them back that up with
some action.


Louis A. Mamakos  WA3YMH    Internet: louie@TRANTOR.UMD.EDU
University of Maryland, Computer Science Center - Systems Programming