Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 12:32:55 -0700 From: Donald Wilde <dwilde1@thuntek.net> To: Brian Adkins <brian@lojic.com> Cc: advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: FreeBSD Support (was Re: Netscape browser ) Message-ID: <36F7EC67.F274AE67@thuntek.net> References: <4.2.0.32.19990322181857.03eb8d90@localhost> <4.1.19990322230145.00f92480@mailbox.iwaynet.net> <4.1.19990323101745.01513a50@mailbox.iwaynet.net> <4.1.19990323140144.0150c0c0@mailbox.iwaynet.net>
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Brian Adkins wrote: > > At 11:37 AM 3/23/99 -0700, Donald Wilde wrote: [snip] > >The VHS vs. Beta would apply if we had a 'bottom line' and payroll to > >worry about. We don't, therefore we can make our choice on the basis of > >merit. Betamax _is_ better, but it's gone because Sony couldn't justify > >supporting it. We have no such problem. As you said, the rules of the > >game are totally different, and _we_ are Bill Gates' worst nightmare, > >even if he doesn't know it yet. > > EXACTLY! There is no "bottom line" here, it's a volunteer effort and > volunteers will work on the platform they *want* to - it's very different > than the OS/2 scenario. There is much more synergy between the free OS's > than there ever was, or will be, between commercial OS's - I think that's > continually being overlooked here. > Most of us are well aware of the synergy here. Although there are rabid LINUXen and Daemons both, most of the serious people who are not commercially tied to one or the other are well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of both ( / all: we can't forget Net and OpenBSD either). I have friends in our users' group who run Linux and are happy with it. Noneltheless, they come to me and other FreeBSD users for help. > And another thing, what's the big deal about providing a native port? If > companies are smart they isolate their platform dependent code into very > small portions and the administrative overhead of supporting several open > source operating systems is diddly squat. I had to port a medium size app > (80,000 LOC) that ran on BSDI, AIX, HPUX, Solaris, and others to Windows NT > > If it's not *that* difficult to write serious code that runs on Windows NT > and UNIX (and I've done it), surely it can't be that difficult for a > company to maintain a Linux & FreeBSD. Man, you've got fork() on both of > them - count your blessings :) It's the support that is the problem, not the code. Most peons that man telesupport lines don't know what a minimize button is, let alone the differences between install tree locations. Corporations don't gamble on OSen with small user bases, especially one that prides itself in giving away the store. Many of them realize that we're ultimately their worst enemy... > > Maybe a better thing to do than providing a FreeBSD emulator on Linux is to > put together a killer support team (this may already exist) for helping > companies expedite porting their apps to FreeBSD - maybe a special mailing > list for ISV's who are porting (call it Gold Support or something :), > really good "How to port your <other os> app to FreeBSD" document, use of > the "Works With/Designed For FreeBSD" marketing stuff etc. Just a thought. A good thought, and it's -- I think -- part of the 'Support Contract' initiative that's in progress now at The FreeSBD Mall. I know Jordan and Bob (WC CEO) both are committed to helping ISV's support FreeBSD natively or under emulation. Contact Christopher Mann (webmaster@freebsdmall.com) if you'd like to offer your services. -- Donald Wilde "Bringing the Internet to everyone!" Wilde Media 1380 Rio Rancho Blvd. SE #117 voice: 505-771-0709 Rio Rancho, New Mexico 87124 e-mail: dwilde1@thuntek.net To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
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