Subject: cygwin.dll comments
From: [email-masked] (Jerry Alexandratos)

14 Feb 1997 08:38:50 -0800
Approved: [email-masked]
Distribution: cygnus
Message-ID: <[email-masked]>
Reply-To: [email-masked]
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Original-To: [email-masked]
Content-ID: <[email-masked]>
Original-Sender: [email-masked]

Sorry to keep adding to this, but I just felt like I had to say
something.  First, I applaud Cygnus for their decission.  Now before
everyone jumps all over me, please let me explain myself.

First, I always prefer software that's free (being a student does that),
and that I have source code for.  In a perfect world, that would always
be the case.  Unfortunately, as the proliferation of Microsoft shows, we
don't live in a perfect world.

Now, I have two part-time jobs.  The first is for the university I
attend.  Hey, an educational institution--we're the definition of free
software.

My other part-time job is for a commercial company.  Granted whatever we
work on is usually for us.  But some of the stuff we develop we sell to
other departments.  Some things we would prefer to keep to ourselves
(the company's big on secrets).  My boss is hesitant to allow us to use
GNU stuff even if that's what others and myself are the most comfortable
with.  I think many companies feel this way.

My ideal is to one day be able to work on one platform and compile for
another (the true beauty of gcc) no matter where I'm working.  Speaking
of which, Cygnus, you could stand to improve your FreeBSD support--Linux
isn't the only free UNIX out there.  8)

Anyway, I'd prefer to pay to not be able to release source and use tools
that I find more robust.  This attitude can only help the entire
gcc/gnu/fsf/cygnus effort. Right now, the real world wants nothing to do
with it.  Let people pay for the privilege of using the tools that the
rest use for free.  Unfortunately, there is something to be said for
commercial credibility.

        --Jerry

8) Jerry Alexandratos                %  "Nothing inhabits my    (8 
8) [email-masked]         %   thoughts, and oblivion (8
8) [email-masked]  %   drives my desires."    (8
-
For help on using this list, send a message to
"[email-masked]" with one line of text: "help".