Subject: RE: Linux on Amiga? From: nmspillers@ualr.edu Date: 14 Apr 1993 09:58:09 GMT
'Lo Larry,
>GNU software is a major component of Linux. Please consider the FSF's
>wishes wrt porting any of the GNU software to A.p.p.l.e. platforms.
>Here are a few excerpts:
>
>From /usr/local/lib/emacs/etc/APPLE:
>
>> Some of you may be considering using, buying, or recommending Macintoshes;
>> you might even be writing programs for them or thinking about it. Please
>> think twice and look for an alternative. Doing those things means more
>> success for Apple, and this could encourage Apple to persist in its
>> aggression. It also encourages other companies to try similar
>> obstructionism.
>>
>> [It is because of this boycott that we don't include support for Macintosh
>> Unix in GNU software.]
Look, I understand the FSF position regarding Apple, *but* I am still playing
around with porting Linux to the Mac platform along with other motivated people
(much more motivated than I am, as a matter of fact :-).
The point is, there are a lot of folks out there with Macs. They are not
encouraging facist computing, nor are they a member of Apple's "Evil Empire"
and wander around with a Borg-like mentality--"My user interface will
assimilate you, resistance is futile". They merely bought a nifty, well
built machine that fills their needs, why punish them? Shoot, most of 'em
don't even *know* about the FSF or GNU or any boycotts!
The last thing I need to hear is, "Ohhh, you're doing a *bad* thing,
you'd better stop it". I don't consider a Mac port wrong in any way shape or
form. Besides, if the FSF doesn't like Apple's legal tactics regarding their
user interface, what would be better than giving everybody a viable alternative
to that Mac OS that Apple is so protective of?
Ironically, the biggest stumbling blocks have been the lack of *useable* FSF or
GNU tools to get the job started in the correct spirit--free tools used to
develop a free OS. Actually, there *is* quite a lot of GNU stuff ported to
the Mac, my only beef is that gcc needs the MPW to run under. Irregardless, I
think I've solved that problem and I'm charging on.
I want to learn, I want to do something worthwhile and give a little back to
the computing community that has helped me so much, and I think this is a good
way of achieving these aims. . .
By the way, this is *not* an announcement of *anything*! I'm just starting
out, I don't expect anything anytime soon--Heck I don't know how far I'll get or
if I or others will even come close to such a beast in this decade!!!
So much code, so little free time :-)
nate
nmspillers@ualr.edu
"Life is a never-ending learning curve. . ."