Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 18:56:39 -0700 From: Wes Peters <softweyr@xmission.com> To: "Robert S. Sciuk" <rob@ControlQ.com> Cc: freebsd-sparc@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Freeloading FreeBSD for Free -- NOT! Message-ID: <34973157.79C96A51@xmission.com> References: <Pine.UW2.3.96.971216171836.29252W-100000@fatlady.controlq.com>
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Robert S. Sciuk wrote:
> I detect a minor problem in the Sun involvement in this project (see the
> FAQ sent earlier -- Thanks Jason/Dale ). They seem to want to be driving
> the ultrasparc (64Bit) chip sales with FreeBSD, in which case they should
> put out a PCI board and processors priced cheaply enough to allow us to
> hack together our own (preferably SMP) boxes ... and thus justify their
> investment ...
They're planning on it. Now, when they say competitive pricing, I assume
they mean competitive with high-end Pentium II SMP boards, not competitive
with low-end TX motherboards for $69, with $89 Pentium processors on them.
Caveat Programmor! ;^)
> FreeBSD users on the other hand, typically have access to miled out legacy
> boxes (I know mine is) ... and I'm too cheap to shell out for the Solaris
> 2.6 release, never mind an ultrasparc server. To be sure, my evidence is
> anecdotal, my opinion, and may not be indicative of the `typical' FreeBSD
> user. When Sun finds out about me (and my old IPX) ... will they pull the
> plug?? 8-)
Nah, this is Sun. They're happy to have you running *any* Sun hardware,
because they figure if you like it enough, you'll eventually get your
employer, your customers, or maybe even your wife to buy some *new* Sun
hardware. ;^)
Plus, if you understand who SME's customers are, you'll understand what
*their* thrust for FreeBSD is going to be. I'm toying with the idea of
asking Fujitsu to get involved with this, since I am a (very very small-
scale) customer of theirs. Wouldn't that be cool, to have SME *and*
Fujitsu Microelectronics sponsoring FreeBSD-SPARC development? ;^)
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
http://www.xmission.com/~softweyr softweyr@xmission.com
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