From:	Stan Shebs <shebs AT andros DOT cygnus DOT com>
Subject:	Re: Cygnus Cygwin32 Press Release 1/21/97
11 Feb 1997 19:57:23 -0800 :
Distribution:	cygnus
Message-ID:	<xd7mke4qxo.fsf@andros.cygnus.com>
References:	<Chameleon DOT 855593853 DOT garp AT software6 DOT opustel DOT com>
	<32FFEEF4 DOT 7EC9 DOT cygnus DOT gnu-win32 AT netcom DOT com>
X-Newsreader:	Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34

jqb AT netcom DOT com (Jim Balter) writes:

> [...]  Cygnus apparently no longer
> shares the FSF philosophy towards free software. [...]

The real situation is more complicated than that.  Cygnus is not the
FSF, nor is the FSF part of Cygnus, and nor is Cygnus part of the FSF.
There have always been issues where Cygnus is at odds with the FSF.
We do highly confidential work for companies whose processors are
still being designed, we did a Mac port back when the FSF boycotted
Apple, we distribute a version of GDB with tcl/tk built in.  We've
been doing these kinds of things for a long time, often over the FSF's
explicit objections.

Cygnus and the FSF do share many views about free software, but the
FSF's goals are more purely promotion of the idea, while Cygnus' goals
are more to make money from the idea.  Both are valuable; the FSF
stands for something that inspires programmers and users, while Cygnus
acquires millions of dollars per year and puts it into actual GNU
development, much of it on unglamorous internal stuff that would never
get done otherwise.

							Stan Shebs
							Cygnus Support
							shebs AT cygnus DOT com

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