Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 15:44:33 -0800 (PST) From: Archie Cobbs <archie@whistle.com> To: jkh@time.cdrom.com (Jordan K. Hubbard) Cc: julian@whistle.com, hasty@rah.star-gate.com, mckusick@McKusick.COM, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: kirk's soft-update integration.. Message-ID: <199802052344.PAA11373@bubba.whistle.com> In-Reply-To: <240.886636132@gringo.cdrom.com> from "Jordan K. Hubbard" at "Feb 4, 98 03:48:52 pm"
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Jordan K. Hubbard writes: > Julian wrote: > > I am mostly done with the patches. > > and I have changed the new code to work with FreeBSD. > > Whistle owns this work, however the patches will probably > > make their way back into -current at some stage. > > the new code itself will possibly have to be fetched by each user, > > maybe kirk might set up a 'sign-to-get-it web page or something. > > I really do also get the feeling that the intervention of whistle in > this matter has only vastly overcomplicated the situation for the > average user. As amancio says, why can't we just ftp the files from > someplace? I've asked Kirk about the method that OpenBSD used and he > didn't seem to have any objections to what they're doing, so why will > FreeBSD's support require a signature in blood before we can do the > same thing? Just to clarify once again and completely squash any last remainders of misinformation... What Julian is referring to is simply that when you write code on company time, you must clear it with that company before you go giving this code away for free. We intend to do this as soon as it's finished (which it't NOT yet, so just hold your horses :-) and this shouldn't pose any problem. FreeBSD will get without restriction the necessary patches and "stub" code which allow anyone with the actual soft update code (which will be separate files available on the FreeBSD ftp site) to simply drop them in to FreeBSD and have the full benefit of soft updates. Because of Kirk's license, these files can't be included under the normal FreeBSD license. As long as you're not going to turn around and sell the code as a commercial entity or whatever, you can simply ftp the relevant files from whereve Kirk has put them, cvs update your FreeBSD tree, and away you go. What Whistle is doing is not overcomplicating things, but rather we're giving away for free the work we've done that enables any FreeBSD user to simply "drop in" soft-updates code from Kirk. This work is non-trivial. Kirk's code has been around for a while, and for all of that time any other hacker has been welcome to patch FreeBSD to get it to work. We're simply taking the initiative here. Finally, we at Whistle are -hackers just like everybody else... and we are fortunate to work for a company that is cool enough to understand the value of free software like FreeBSD. It is always our intention to contribute back as much as possible. Kirk's license makes contributing back this particular code a viable business decision. He deserves all the credit. -Archie ___________________________________________________________________________ Archie Cobbs * Whistle Communications, Inc. * http://www.whistle.com
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