Message-ID: <8D53104ECD0CD211AF4000A0C9D60AE3DAADD1@probe-2.acclaim-euro.net> From: Shawn Hargreaves To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com Subject: Re: DJGPP: the future is... ? Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 13:41:29 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.0.1460.8) Content-Type: text/plain Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com Wes Kurdziolek writes: >If you're a Slashdotter like me, you'll notice that Apple has started >an Open Source-ish program With an emphasis on "ish" :-) Although it is very cool to see them even considering doing something like this, giving away only those portions of their OS that were originally taken from BSD is hardly a very significant contribution to the rest of the world. I'm afraid that they are mainly doing this because it will make them look cool, and not understanding that just becuase some open source projects can be hugely successful, that doesn't automatically mean that hundreds of people will start working on your program just because you put the sources on the net, if you don't also have a convincing reason to make them want to do this. >> Wish 3. >> A stable X-Windowing system-compatible GUI for DOS. > >I'd like to see that, too. Anyone else interested? I posted earlier about >my trying to organize the writing of a windowing system w/ Allegro, but >if a group of people want to port X, I'd happily agree to take a major >part in it. Heck, I'll coodinate it if you want. Fun, fun, fun! A DOS version of X strikes me as being much more useful than writing a new system from scratch. A window manager is only as good as the programs available for it, and personally I'd much rather see a DOS version of the Gimp than yet another GUI system without any apps. A lot of people do seem to want to write their own window managers from scratch, sometimes for good technical reasons like efficiency or meeting a specialised need, but I think in other cases more because of the "not invented here" syndrome. If you decide to make your own system rather than porting X, why not contribute to one of the several existing projects listed on http://www.talula.demon.co.uk/allegro/addons.html, such as DEGUI, WHAM, JAWS, PAW, or Uniforms? Shawn Hargreaves.