From kragen@dnaco.net Sun Sep  6 17:28:19 1998
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 17:28:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kragen <kragen@dnaco.net>
To: systalk@ml.org
Subject: Re: [ST] Is it just me ...
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On Sun, 6 Sep 1998, George Bonser wrote:
> RMS has an OK concept, it just goes a bit overboard in his zeal to promote
> it and shoots from the lip a bit too often.  

Says George Bonser.  :)

> My personal opinion was that it was his waste of time on things that are
> not needed that allowed GNU to languish behind Linux.

I've sometimes thought the same thing.  M-x doctor.

> Now that Linux has
> hit the mainstream a version of HURD is FINALLY available. After what, 10
> years we get the first release?

The first alpha releases started happening in 1995, about 11 years
after the project was announced.  Has there been a "useful" release
yet?

> Lesstif is still a dud,

Somewhat true.  I'm not sure what that has to do with RMS or GNU.  Most
Motif-using free software can build with Lesstif these days, though.

> Wine is still languishing 

Not really true -- but, again, what does that have to do with RMS or GNU?

> and will not even run some of the most basic win3 programs,

Still true.  Which ones are you thinking of?

> if it was not for Linux, nobody would even know what a GNU was.

Well, essentially every Unix system I ever used had some GNU tools
installed on it, simply because they were so much better than the
standard versions.  Of course, I started using Unix in 1992, pretty
late in the game -- you probably have more historical perspective than
I do -- but Linux wasn't yet a viable OS for most people for another
year after that.

> RMS hasn't done nearly as much for GNU as Linus Torvalds has.

If it weren't for GNU, Linux would probably still be under the "free
for non-commercial copying" license Linus originally put it under.

Kragen (who uses vim a lot)

-- 
<kragen@pobox.com>       Kragen Sitaker     <http://www.pobox.com/~kragen/>
I don't do .INI, .BAT, .DLL or .SYS files. I don't assign apps to files. I 
don't configure peripherals or networks before using them. I have a computer 
to do all that. I have a Macintosh, not a hobby. -- Fritz Anderson


