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Date:      Thu, 3 Sep 1998 16:14:28 +0200 (SAT)
From:      Graham Wheeler <gram@cdsec.com>
To:        freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: An Open Letter To The FreeBSD Core Team
Message-ID:  <199809031414.QAA03611@cdsec.com>

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Just my $0.02 worth:

FreeBSD is open source and free to use, so anyone who wants to take it and
test out their research ideas on it is free to do so - and if they pan out,
they can always submit them and perhaps have them included. If there are enough
people who feel that they can do a better job and who have `long term
architectural vision', they can alsways take the existing code base, give it
a new name, and go for it - and time will tell whether their vision is so 
great after all.

I think the FreeBSD team are doing a brilliant job. They have provided,
and continue to provide, an operating system that is highly functional,
performs like greased lightning, and is more stable than any other I know
of. It not only makes a great desktop platform (especially with the Linux
compatability), but it is an ideal server platform on which to base complex
third party products such as those manufactured by my company. Without FreeBSD,
we wouldn't be in business. With FreeBSD, our company was able to start three
years ago on about US$20 and a couple of PCs.

As Jordan points out, a development effort as large as FreeBSDs can only run
on one or both of two things - money, or sufficient enthusiastic demand
from users. As FreeBSD is free, it relies on the latter, and for that to
happen, it has to be useful - whether that be in academic, home, or
business environments.

One final point - for us living in Africa, commercial UNIXes are often
prohibitively expensive for many small organisations, NGOs, academic
departments, and so on. FreeBSD and Linux are real blessings to those in
emerging economies. Believe me, we need FreeBSD far more than people in
Hamburg do. 

I say `thank you' to the FreeBSD core team - your efforts are very much
appreciated.

gram
-- 
Dr Graham Wheeler                          E-mail: gram@cdsec.com
Citadel Data Security                      Phone:  +27(21)23-6065/6/7
Internet/Intranet Network Specialists      Mobile: +27(83)253-9864
Firewalls/Virtual Private Networks         Fax:    +27(21)24-3656
Data Security Products                     WWW:    http://www.cdsec.com/




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