Message-ID: <33409900.434C@fps.biblos.unal.edu.co>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 21:11:28 -0800
From: Pedro Giffuni <pgiffuni AT fps DOT biblos DOT unal DOT edu DOT co>
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: opendos-developer AT delorie DOT com
Subject: The compiling tools
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Hello:
First of all I will state that although I much prefer Caldera over
Microsoft, I don't like what Caldera is doing:
1) I cannot share OpenDOS with my friends, as it is not redistributable,
and I cannot mirror it or have it distributed and updated with my Linux
or FreeBSD CD. Furthermore there is no document that says that GEM can
be distributed with DJGPP once it's ported.
2) The nice amount of software they are licensing (CorelDraw and
Worperfect and others) won't run unless I specifically buy Caldera=B4s
OpenLinux. Since OpenLinux can't be ftp'd, even partially, I find it
very disturbing in relation with the GNU spirit that has always covered
Linux.

Of course this not Delorie's fault, but assuming OpenDOS licensing will
eventually "open", will OpenDOS be kept as a 16-bit OS, or will it run
exclusively on the modern boxes? Will the idea be building it all under
free compilers? I found a free 16-bit assembler (used by the FreeDOS
project) in the following URL:
http://www.dunfield.com/arrowasm.zip
but I have not tested it and I'm not sure either that it will have the
required features.

--Pedro Giffuni S.