Date: 7 May 99 07:03:29 PDT From: Jesus Monroy <jesus.monroy@usa.net> To: Jordan K.Hubbard <jkh@zippy.cdrom.com>, stox@enteract.com Cc: advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: The Old Guard and Sheer Magic (Was: Re: [Re: linus on BSD ]) Message-ID: <19990507140331.16646.qmail@nw179.netaddress.usa.net>
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Well, Jordan, I'm finally doing as you requested.
I read you message and now I'm going to take a shower.
See you in 60 minutes.
=2E..........
Musch better, now......
"Without harmony in the state, no military expedition
can be undertaken; without harmony in the army, no
battle array can be formed."
--The Art of War; Chapter 7, pg. 30
Sun Tzu
tranlation by James Clavell
ISBN: 0-385-29985-0
Before starting, let me say that it was my intention to
NOT write to these channels. For as I see it, these channels
are weak and without substance. However, my notion is not
quite correct as many people who I used to know now seem
only to be here.
None the less, let us continue..........
"Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@zippy.cdrom.com> wrote:
> > [reasonable summation of Linus's position elided]
> >
> > 1) We must not cede the desktop, but trumpet it. We're damn good =
> > on the desktop, we're even better on the server. Linux and NT
> > are disappointments when moved from the desktop to a server
> > roles, FreeBSD is a joy.
> =
> Well, here's where I must beg to differ with you. As I've noted in
> past postings to this advocacy list, my personal predilection for
> focusing on the server market stems from a combination of two factors,
> not just one:
> =
> a) My disinclination to charge machine gun nests and other positions
> of strength which I have the option of flanking.
>
The natural formation of the country is the solder's best ally;...
Pg 53.
> b) My fundamental disappointment with the FreeBSD *community's*
> commitment to the desktop. I don't see joy, I see gaping
> holes in what we offer and have always offered.
> =
>.......[SNIP].........
> =
> Do I see people out there who are finally willing to *do the work* of
> making FreeBSD a credible desktop solution or do I simply see the
> usual array of faces wondering when it's going to happen by sheer
> magic? :-)
> =
When asked why I got into computers I usually don't have
a straight answer or one that I can recall. However, I
do recall why I came to *BSD and UNIX.
Overwhelmingly, I saw hope and opportunity. While I've
seen $$ come and go, very little of it has passed =
through my hands. This, never the less, does not despair me.
I can recall my first TRUE venture in to *BSD was immediately
after one of Bill Jolitzs talks on the upcoming 386BSD articles
that was SCHEDULED to be released. I was estatic(sp?) to learn =
that work on the (never implemented) floppy driver was incomplete. =
I found my niche, my goal, =
my new turning point in life. I was charged. As years passed
and as luck (or destiny) would have it Bill was upset
when I told him that some of his writings (The Basic Kernel)
were "ramblings".
I learned this after "THE 1.0 Meeting" at SUN in one of the
most crowded, publicized and contraversial(sp?) meetings ever
for SVNET (now strangely, the PC portion of that group is SVLUG).
I remember distinctly Lynn Jolitiz standing up
and remarking that "at least we have documentation, unlike
some other RED CD-ROMs in release". (At the time FreeBSD had
a red release cover.) This promptly was followed by two (2) people
stomping out of the room. I was to learn, years later, that one
of those persons was Jordan. (Life is funny)
Later Lynn confessed she was talking about SUNs release
not FreeBSD, which also had a red cover. It was too late. =
The damage was done.
This meeting was in stark contrast to the 0.0 install-a-thon
which John Sokol and I remember quite well. This meeting
had 60 people show up. Four (4) were listening to a =
speach about some new Apple media type (I think Quicktime),
the rest were copying diskette with an array of laptops
and desktop machines. Mind you, there were only 4 sets
of diskettes (with source) total and a few of the diskettes
seem to be corrupted.
To make matters worse we were all thrown out and
asked to go in the hallway.
Why does this matter? How does this contrast to today?
Back then we were charged that we would finally have
an opportunity to topple AT&T. Yes, the same AT&T
that weeks earlier had lent us there conference rooms
(for years mind you), was now, at least our common foe.
Years past with the settlement and other embattle issues,
but here is nail that is resting, waiting, hoping to seal
the coffin on UNIX and *BSD. =
=
If some of you will recall, one of our foes after 0.1,
besides AT&T was BSDI. Now I'm not here to castigate(sp?)
BSDI, but here are the facts. =
In, or around 1993/94 M$, came to BSDI and asked them
for a TCP/IP stack that they could use without royalties.
They said yes; $2 Million was the settlement price.
Anyway you look at it neither FreeBSD, nor Linux, nor
Win95, nor the Internet would be anywhere nears the
size the collective is today, if this deal had not happened.
The resulting prospect was AT&T, IBM and other large
conglamorites have toppled. The world is very different
from years ago and I know for a fact that FreeBSD
has had an impact on the world as we know it today.
=
The truth, as I see it, all of you have changed the world,
but now the laurels of advancement are tearing weaknesses
into heart of progress.
---
I know this is long winded, but I'm almost done.
---
Along the way to 1.0, one of my suggestions was a
better medium of communications. Someone suggested
WWW vs. WAIS,gopher,ftp or newsgroups.
Well, much to my surprise the better medium is here;
and what do I see?!? Infantil diatribe on ancient
methodigize of communications. =
Now, don't get me wrong, but I like typing as a form of
communications just like the rest of you, but what I see =
in the form of alternate communications is pathetic. =
We know, at the present, that FreeBSD is more
popular with ISPs and in foreign countries.
However, I have yet to see a network diagram,
a state machine or a reference chart (matrix).
Are you people morons or what?
Do I really have to rant like a raving lunatic
for some of you to wake up. This is more than
pathetic. My six year old niece has learned
that color are nice and she can get a message =
across, especially to GrandMa and GrandPa
who are better at speaking spanish than english.
Now I know LSD was invented a Berkeley, but do
we have to export that with the kernel as well.
---
I am not a bot.
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