Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!canon.UUCP!laukee
From: laukee@canon.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.windows.news
Subject: Re: sun's commitment to NeWS
Message-ID: <9003071155.AA05836@aida.canon.co.uk>
Date: 8 Mar 90 13:45:34 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 58


I now have two poster-sized NeWS-makers messages on my wall.

To the left, John Gilmore's "friends of NeWS may as well know truth" expose;
To the right, James Gosling's "much greater commitment" retort.

(I won't quote them here, if you don't know what I'm talking about just
hit 'n').

Well, a couple of things still worry me.

John says not to believe Sun even if they promise to fix all the problems
tomorrow. 
James says that significant extra resources are now available for NeWS, and
that the X11 bias is set for redress.

John claims that the NeWS team has disintegrated, while James talks about
consolidation [of the NeWS team] under a single organisation.

John currently views NeWS [xnews] as a lose, and James says that tNt is set to
become a real product and that Sun, and others, will be releasing NeWS-based
applications Real Soon Now. [Though not, presumably, Grasshopper?]

James hints at the standards / innovation bifurcation in consideration of the
X11-NeWS debacle, while John talks about Sun's continued political and
organisational faux pas.

It is clear that The Two Faces of Sun has created an awful lot of confusion
and mistrust by users and developers, [John, I guess, speaks for many of us].
But in trying to fathom out the truth we ought to ask ourselves who James
speaks for.  He works for Sun, and I noticed no disclaimer (good sign).  He
works on NeWS - and indeed, he started the sunDEW project at Sun (looking very
good).  He might be said to represent the good side of Sun, (technically
driven, innovative, with [and here I plunge into supposition] that sense of
"bugger the standards, I want the best" kind of belief in NeWS). Now we're
cooking.

What does this mean for NeWS?  If nigh-on anyone else had posted the message
instead of Gosling I think we'd all do best to follow John Gilmore's advice
and file it in the trashcan.  As it is, I guess Gosling has twice the
investment in NeWS that any of us has.  I tend to believe him when he talks
about Sun's renewed commitment, and though I have misgivings about the
facilitation of NeWS development through consolidation into a single
organisation (could be read, "push them out together before we sink the boat"),
but let's face it, Sun is too large to be non-factional, and if what we hear
is true then *this* time the clever money rides with the NeWS group.

*Now*, does anyone want to tell us about this X11/NeWS summer launch, and
what's this mysterious OpenWindows 2?

[The opinions expressed here are not necessarily shared by my employer]
-------------
David Lau-Kee
Canon Research Centre Europe,
17/20 Frederick Sanger Rd, Surrey Research Park, Guildford, Surrey, GU25YD, UK.
NRS: laukee@uk.co.canon, INET: laukee%canon@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
UUCP: laukee@canon.uucp, PATH: ..!mcsun!ukc!uos-ee!canon!laukee
Tel: +44 (0) 483 574325 Fax: +44 (0) 483 574360