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From: terry@cs.weber.edu (Terry Lambert)
Message-Id: <9505182326.AA28490@cs.weber.edu>
Subject: Re: (fwd) Re: Mma for Linux, when?
To: dufault@hda.com (Peter Dufault)
Date: Thu, 18 May 95 17:26:24 MDT
Cc: hsu@freefall.cdrom.com, chuckr@Glue.umd.edu, hackers@freefall.cdrom.com
In-Reply-To: <199505182301.TAA09455@hda.com> from "Peter Dufault" at May 18, 95 07:01:30 pm
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> IMHO, the right thing to do is to work on our Linux emulation so
> that we can run the Linux Mathematica port and not try to push
> Wolfram to do a native FreeBSD port.  Everyone planning to send a
> mailing off to Wolfram please stop and consider what you can do to
> support full Linux emulation under FreeBSD.  Wolfram really doesn't
> want to do another port to a Unixy clone, and I don't see why we
> have to make them.
> 
> The major distinguishing characteristic of FreeBSD versus Linux is
> the BSD copyright.

The major distinguishing feature for commercial software should be that
there is a commercial OS whose binaries run: BSDI.

A BSDI port should be in their normal business interest, if it doesn't
already exist.

The problem with Free OS ports (Warner Losh should back this) is the
rapid ABI changes obsoleting the port and shortening its viable market
lifetime.  Neither a native FreeBSD /NetBSD nor a Linux port would
address this issue.


					Terry Lambert
					terry@cs.weber.edu
---
Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present
or previous employers.