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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.rmit.EDU.AU!goanna.cs.rmit.EDU.AU.!yallara!ashelton From: ashelton@yallara.cs.rmit.EDU.AU (A Shelton) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.os.linux.advocacy Subject: Re: Historic Opportunity facing Free Unix (was Re: The Lai/Baker paper, benchmarks, and the world of free UNIX) Date: 20 Apr 1996 13:43:34 GMT Organization: Comp Sci, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia Lines: 59 Message-ID: <4lapm6$kpa@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au> References: <NELSON.96Apr15010553@ns.crynwr.com> <3175DBD4.167EB0E7@FreeBSD.org> <4l5f31$ijv@solaria.cc.gatech.edu> <3176D081.794BDF32@FreeBSD.org> <4la318$ah3@sidhe.memra.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: yallara.cs.rmit.edu.au NNTP-Posting-User: ashelton X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 #1 (NOV) Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.development.system:21592 comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc:641 comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc:3262 comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc:3090 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:17520 comp.os.linux.advocacy:45967 >In article <3176D081.794BDF32@FreeBSD.org>, >Jordan K. Hubbard <jkh@FreeBSD.org> wrote: I *do* know I'm over my head, but what the hell.. >The fact is that the successful collaborative software development >projects up to now have been mostly systems level stuff like *BSD, Linux, X, >wxWindows and so on. If we can collect a core team of people who are willing >to manage an *APPLICATIONS* development project using the same >collaborative techniques, then we can tap into the skills of people >who are reasonably good programmers but don't have the mindset to >dig into SCSI driver race conditions and VM paging systems etc... I don't know that system level is the discrimant so much as *core* development. The linux developers (seem to) want a stable and open kernel with all the advanced features they need. After all, you don't have this you don't have any linux. Everyone gains from improvements to the efficiency and power of linux. On the other hand the values of open software seems less important on non-core software. I dislike windows because it gives ms too much power, but if all they could compete with was applications software then I would be looking forward to Word for Linux. The development of apps should be commercial wherever possible, gives linux kernel hackers and wannabe's the chance of making money out of it! It also allows the free software effort the opportunity to concentrate on taking the power of illegal advantage out of the hands of companies. The core OS must be free and open, development tools should be free or have free equivalents, Applications would be nice to have free. all IMHO of course.. >>It would be lovely if a Windows-beating desktop suddenly appeared, >>believe me (and Caldera really doesn't count since all they did was >>license a commercial product which the free software world can't HAVE), fine. If they sell commercial ware for linux at reasonable prices I don't care if it's not open. Although linux lets weird (and really cool) hybrids like Lyx flourish. >>Look, perhaps it's time for all the desktop adherants here to simply >>prove me wrong (or right). Form an OS-independant (so as to attract the >>greatest number of bodies) subproject *right now* who's stated goal is >>to take on Microsoft head-on in the desktop arena. >Let's leave Microsoft out of it. Let's just say that the goal is to >develop free applications software suites that will run on the free UNIX >systems and possibly other OSes as well. Go ahead, make it accessible and wannabe's like me might get brave and dive in... -- Linux, because raw power can be....addictive. Andrew Shelton s9406182@yallara.cs.rmit.edu.au GCS(2.1)-d+H+sw+v-C++UL+>L+++E-N++WV--R++tv-b+D++e+fr*y?