I was very surprised to read this thread because it's
the first time I've heard of these problems.
Here are a few answers:
1. About the PPC port and why we pursue it.
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.
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.
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.
3. About the donations page versus the Club.
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.
I hope these answers helped clear up many questions in
this thread. Thank you everyone for your continued
support and interest in Mandrake PPC.
Jacques Le Marois
CEO & co-founder MandrakeSoft
Xavier de Cardenas wrote:
>
> I also agree with what is being said here, but is this
> mailing list the forum to do it in? Shouldn't these
> emails be going to the management?
>
> I just hope that the good intentions of these emails
> don't get lost on this list. I mean if PPC port is
> being over looked do you think that "they" are even
> looking at this list?
>
> Might I suggest sending email to either:
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> I'm not sure if there are any better places to send
> it, but maybe someone else on the list has an idea.
>
> Its good that some people are putting torwards PPC
> port, but make sure your message is heard. On this
> list you are preaching to the choir.
>
> My 2 Cents,
>
> Xavier
>
> --- Michael Marcucio <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> wrote:
> > There has to be some other reason why Stew can't
> > have access to modify what
> > he needs to modify. If there isn't another reason
> > why Mandrake is doing this
> > then it looks to me that they are shooting
> > themselves in the foot. What
> > reason would they have not to have the best PPC
> > distribution out there?
> > Personaly I think Stew is doing a great job putting
> > together a great
> > distrubition, fixing bugs quickly, and offering
> > technical support! It looks
> > like he is doing the job of three men... Mandrake
> > dosen't have to throw tons
> > of money at this project to be successful, that just
> > need someone who has
> > the knowledge, tools, and privilages(access) to put
> > it together.
> >
> > I gave my vote(donation) to the ppc port and I hope
> > that anyone that gained
> > in any way from this project does so also..
> >
> > thanks,
> > mike
> >
> >
> >
> > >Ben Reser said:
> > > > If you feel the same way please speak up.
> > Perhaps if enough of us
> > > > speak up about this issue Mandrake will either
> > realize there is a
> > > > market for the product or realize the mistake in
> > not allowing Stew to
> > > > update the distribution. Furthermore, I
> > encourge you all if you
> > > > haven't already done so to make a donation to
> > Mandrake and flag it for
> > > > the PowerPC Port. You can do so here:
> > > > http://www.linux-mandrake.com/donations/
> > >
