[svlug] Re: NT 5.0 Beta 1 Facts

[Nate Smith]

On Mon, 15 Dec 1997, Jurgen Botz wrote:

> Isn't it?  Progress is slow, but more Unix software Companies /are/ porting
> to Linux.

true, although usually these ports are `unsupported` and remain a curiosity to
the companies involved.  the big push these days is to get your code running
under nt.. the linux port is still done in the back room, after the rest of
the work day is done.  sure, this could change.  NT 5.0 is delayed (and will
probably be pushed back again) which is a good thing for the free software
people, as a whole. esp linux.

> The guy in charge of porting Oracle to new platforms is one of my diving
> buddies... I've been at him about porting to Linux; my argument is that
> Linux is a more popular platform and has more of a future than, say, SCO.
> He doesn't disagree, but inertia is a powerful force with a company the
> size of Oracle.  Still, I think chances are good.

interesting.. keep at him! a commercial db running under linux would be a big
win, imo.  in upside about 3-4 mos. ago, the interviewer asked larry about
linux/freebsd, etc.  he made some comment about the increased quality of GPL
code, which is a promising thing to hear.  we'll see.  we're still likely
to see that sco port for a while yet.

> Yup, Red Hat is the one to do it.  Their product is getting very 
> professional.  The key development is going to be for Red Hat to 
> start providing real official support, i.e. phone support, contracts,
> etc.  They'll be able to charge good money for this and if they do
> it right within months they'll surpass BSDI, then SCO, and suddenly
> Linux will be viewed as "commercial grade" platform.

agreed.  we'll have to see if they can pull it off.  i would even argue that
red hat also has a good chance of surpassing solaris as the unix platform of 
choice, if it can be played right.  sun has no long term cpu story.. i 
suspect sun's talking to intel right now about using merced/IA64 in 
the future.  they've already announced the port.  will be interesting
to see how well linux runs under merced (i would assume smooth instruction
translation, but you never know..)  linux is certainly a better intel
unix than slowaris x86..  could be interesting, but i think we're in
for some interesting tricks before this is done.  linux will need to 
continue its `adapt & overcome` tradition in order to survive.

> *shrug*... you can't win with superior technology alone, but then the
> goal is not to win but to survive... time will do the rest.  Meanwhile
> the body of GPL'ed code keeps growing in quantity and quality, and 
> every year I have less need for commercial software.

indeed.  i believe someone mentioned the gimp a few messages ago?  those
berzerkeley guys are going crazy on that thing, and it's damn good.  i can't
argue w/ you about the quantity and quality of free software. it's a free
software revolution.  red & black banners... bakunin/proudhon/kropotkin 
rhetoric for the geeks.  yet, the man still wants commercial software, 
`official` support, 24x7 phone.  all the free software in the world isn't 
going to change that problem until someone bites the bullet.. as mentioned 
above 

> *grin*... take it easy Nate.  Yours optimistically,

hey, i'd lose punk points if i were too optimistic. dead before redmond.
nice to see you on the svlug list jurgen, i should have known :-)

-- 
-Nate Smith <nate at engr.sgi.com>  //  http://reality.sgi.com/nate
 SNS SysAdmin  //  Silicon Graphics, Inc.  //  Mountain View, CA 
 (650) 933-4619(v)  //  (650) 528-1032(p) // -C8H10N4O2-



--
echo "unsubscribe svlug" | mail majordomo at svlug.org
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ to unsubscribe