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Xref: sserve comp.unix.misc:10660 comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit:5233 comp.unix.bsd:13178 comp.windows.x.i386unix:6034 biz.sco.general:9682 Newsgroups: comp.unix.misc,comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit,comp.unix.bsd,comp.windows.x.i386unix,biz.sco.general Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!sgiblab!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!uknet!gdt!aber!fronta.aber.ac.uk!pcg From: pcg@aber.ac.uk (Piercarlo Grandi) Subject: Re: SCO market share In-Reply-To: sheldon@iastate.edu's message of Mon, 20 Dec 1993 22: 55:44 GMT Message-ID: <PCG.93Dec23192932@decb.aber.ac.uk> Sender: news@aber.ac.uk (USENET news service) Nntp-Posting-Host: decb.aber.ac.uk Reply-To: pcg@aber.ac.uk (Piercarlo Grandi) Organization: Prifysgol Cymru, Aberystwyth References: <1993Dec11.012449.99@kf8nh.wariat.org> <2ec989$knu@vanbc.wimsey.com> <2efuku$4vj@rhombus.cs.jhu.edu> <9312142221.aa02201@fags.stonewall.demon.co.uk> <2f4qd0$k9f@slab.mtholyoke.edu> <sheldon.756428144@pv141b.vincent.iastate.edu> Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1993 19:29:32 GMT Lines: 30 >>> On Mon, 20 Dec 1993 22:55:44 GMT, sheldon@iastate.edu (Steve Sheldon) said: Steve> Here at Iowa State this is even the trend. In the past the Steve> university had the source code to DEC's Athena, and fixed and Steve> patched as bugs cropped up, then relaying those patches back to Steve> DEC. Now, they've gotten to the point where they want to plug Steve> DEC's software in, have it work, and if it doesn't work report Steve> the bug to DEC, and have DEC fix it. Unfortunately DEC does not fix it, not now, nor ever. DEC have other problems than trying to fix bugs that affect one or a dozen customers. Steve> It really is a lot easier for a company like DEC to keep on staff Steve> a couple dozen programmers who know their operating system inside Steve> and out, I doubt that DEC has as many as a couple dozen programmers who know any operating system inside and out, and if they have they surely are not putting them onto customer support. They are developing new features, those sell machines, not correcting bugs that might afflict only one or Steve> perhaps a dozen users. Steve> then for each and every university or company to keep on staff Steve> one or two people, in addition to their regular support staff, to Steve> fix operating system bugs. This is the theory, and it is a sensible theory -- unfortunately the reality of the marketplace is that manufacturers believe that sales do not depend on after sales bug fixes -- they depend on benchmarks and features.