Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 12:17:15 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Diekhans <markd@Grizzly.COM> To: brett@lariat.org Cc: sprice@hiwaay.net, jkh@zippy.cdrom.com, seth@freebie.dp.ny.frb.org, advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Netscape browser Message-ID: <199903192017.MAA19634@osprey.grizzly.com> In-Reply-To: <4.1.19990319114734.00b794b0@localhost> (message from Brett Glass on Fri, 19 Mar 1999 11:58:47 -0700) References: <4.1.19990319103804.00a8ec60@localhost> <4.1.19990319114734.00b794b0@localhost>
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>From: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> ... >If it is pointed out that FreeBSd has an installed base that is, >by some measures, 66% that of Linux, they'll be interested if they >otherwise have nothing to lose. What is the source for this number? I have never seen anything that indicated that it is anywhere near this high. >And they have a LOT to gain if they can use BSD-licensed code >verbatim in their apps. Which has little to do with a native freebsd port. The cost of the small amount of work required to port most chunks of code that an application might want to use to Linux is tiny compared to the manufacturing, marketing and support costs of another platform. >a few changes you'll need to make -- plus more testing. So >it's better to target FreeBSD. Your app will still run on Linux >perfectly well via the emulator." No, it will not. The user most likely doesn't have the emulator, some action will have to be take to get it installed and running on their system. Since it is almost certainly more than a LKM (libraries, etc), this is not an easy thing to manage. Why would a Linux vendor include a FreeBSD emulator unless the demand generated by the apps only being available for FreeBSD was there? >I agree that this is a good idea. Let's do that too! But let's >also get FreeBSD emulation into Linux. If we don't, we're >missing a huge opportunity. It seems to be a opportunity to spend precious resources pursing a real long shot when there are many things that have a higher probability in producing good results. >We need to do more than that. We need to provide them with >a practical strategy for application development that allows >them to compile and ship native code for FreeBSD with the >assurance that they'll be able to get good sales volumes. >The FreeBSD emulator for Linux is the selling point that will >close the sale. A practical strategy for application development would be just that: a development environment that lets a single source generate native binaries for both Linux and *BSD. Not that I am proposing this, as it will still need market pressure to get it adopted and incure costs for support and manufacturing. >Only if FreeBSD emulation >is available on Linux can we capture that first port. How do we make it available on Linux? Requiring the application vendor to include it on their CD-ROM adds a large support cost. They would need strong market pressure to do this. In my personal experience, Linux emulation has been one of the best faetures in terms of promoting FreeBSD to individual users. If one could just compile and use Linux drivers, it would have helped in couple of situations (no proposal here). It has been a huge benefit to getting my own work done, and in the long run, that's what most end-users really care about. Ultimately, if FreeBSD doesn't help me get my work done better than other environments, I am going to drop it. Mark To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
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