From: jliddle@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Jean Liddle) Subject: Re: What would people think of binary-only software on Linux? Date: 6 Mar 1993 16:19:24 GMT
I too think that shrink-wrapped software for Linux would be a nice
addition to the growing base of (very excellent) free software. For
example, there is a commercially available Sim City for X which runs
on Sun SparcStations. I would definitely pay $30-$40 bucks to have this
game running under X on Linux. On the other hand, you couldn't offer me
enough money to run an MS-Windoze like WM under X.
I think it is important, though, that licensing agreements take into
account the rapidly changing nature of linux, and that such software
(a) be offered only once Linux stabilizes at ver. 1.0 and (b) offer
free (or very, very cheap - eg cost-of-disk) upgrades to maintain
compantibility with future major versions of Linux (e.g. Linux 1.10 or
2.0, whatever the next "stable" version would be after 1.0, and so on).
("stable" as in unchanging - linux is already solid as a rock compared to
other systems I use - I continue to be in awe of the quality of work
Linus, H.J., and everyone else is producing. Hopefully I'll stop having
to work 16-20 hour days and actually contribute something to this enterprise
before much longer ...)
anyway, just my $.02 worth...
Jean.
-- Jean Liddle Computer Science, Illinois State University e-mail: jliddle@ilstu.edu ============================================