On Sun, Mar 24, 2002 at 10:36:32PM +0100, Jacques Le Marois wrote: > I was very surprised to read this thread because it's > the first time I've heard of these problems.
Well it's not like this is the first time I've mentioned these issues on this list. It seems to be the first time anybody has taken any notice. > The PPC port is like various other MandrakeSoft > commitments to the community. We launched the PPC port > not as a money making project but as a contribution to > an Open Source project where we felt there is a need. > Both Stew and David Baudens work on the project on a > part-time basis. This is similar to our level of > commitment to other projects, such as the Linux kernel > and KDE. I applaud MandrakeSoft for doing this. > Is there a future for the Mandrake PPC port? > > In the short term, yes. We are committed to delivering > 8.2 PPC just like we did for the 8.0 PPC version. > > As for the long term future of the PPC port, this > depends on a couple of factors: > - Is there a strong community of users and developers > behind Mandrake PPC? > If the answer is yes, then as with any Open Source > project, the PPC port won't have any problem in the > future since there will be always a strong community > of people behind it even if MandrakeSoft ever drops > its support. This is the power of the Free Software > model. The stronger the community behind Mandrake PPC > is, the more sustainable the project becomes. > - In the future, will MandrakeSoft continue the same level of financial > contributions to the port? This depends on the financial health of the > company, or if the PPC port can generate enough revenue for the company. This is nice to hear and certainly makes a lot of sense to me. > 2. About the technical problems. > > I was very surprise to heard those problems. It's not our habits to make > development harder to do. The fact to not be able to directly delete > file or regenerate hdlist is not normal. > > I just made several calls to learn what's really > happening. As I understand it, there was a failure > with the compilation cluster. Before the failure, > there were no problems; but after the failure, the > special PPC read/write access disappeared. The Cooker > system is built with many automated tasks that are > intended to help avoid errors and to improve quality > control. It should not be difficult to fix this > problem quickly. I guess the 8.2 i586 rush plus a > mis-communication prevented this problem from being > addressed. Nor Frederic Bastok (who manage Stew), nor Warly (who manage > Cooker) know there were a problem! Concerning the special PPC machine, > Apple has taken back one machine and the other has had a failure this > week. Great. But I don't think the issue was a big secret. But it doesn't really matter. I'm just glad that it's getting fixed and that's utimately what the point of my email that started this thread was for. > It's better to show your support with Club membership > instead of using the donations page. Donations are a > one-shot deal -- Membership in the Club allows you to > benefit from much higher interaction with the people > at MandrakeSoft. I think it would be a good idea in > the future for us to add to the Club an option so that > Mandrake PPC fans can register their numbers. My suggestion of a donation was based upon the fact that the Club doesn't reflect interest in PPC. -- Ben Reser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://ben.reser.org What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy? - Ghandi
