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Re: GNU Win32? Not anymore.



From: Klee Dienes <klee@mit.edu>
> There is a mailing list for the software, <gnu-win32@cygnus.com>.

OK - I'll get subscribed.

> Writing a replacement winsup library will be tricky, but is not all
> that enormous an amount of work --- there are, after all, not all
> that many syscalls out there to emulate.

I agree. However, isn't the LGPL-ed version we have sufficient?
We can support that rather than replace it.

> Cygnus is not our enemy

I agree. I just want some insurance for further lapses.

> I think Cygnus has made a serious lapse in judgment in their
> handling of the winsup licensing

Yes.

>  Cygnus has done a tremendous amount of work on
> the GNU toolchain to support Windows NT as part of their Cygwin32
> work, all of which is released under the GPL, and has done an
> enormous amount of work to support free software in general.  

OK, but for this we are paying the price of never, over at least 4 years,
having the Pentium optimizations merged in. I personally stuck out my neck
to get Intel to put work into a GPL-ed compiler, and was really bummed by
this. Ask others who would like to get code into GCC - DEC with the Alpha,
etc. It's not possible any longer, and has not been for years.

There are a number of situations where people hold GPL-ed software close
for their own monetary gain. Another case is the Linux kernel sound drivers,
where you can not get a patch in if it provides a facility that is in the
commercial sound-driver package.

I'm perfectly willing to support Cygnus when they make free software.
When they make free software become non-free, expect me to do whatever
I can to keep it free.

	Thanks

	Bruce
-- 
Bruce Perens K6BP   bruce@pixar.com   510-215-3502
Finger bruce@master.debian.org for PGP public key.
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