On Wed, 11 Nov 1998, Joseph Dal Molin wrote:
> "This may be one of those things that comes on explosively - like a nuclear
> reaction. It seems to me that a number of factors in the evolution of
> computing, predominant of which is the growing scale of the internet, are
> coming together and nearing a point of critical mass where the benefits of
> open source software become blindingly and overwhelmingly obvious."
>
> Yes! There is a convergence of factors that will lead to explosive growth
> (IMHO). We are experiencing what is perhaps a second or third order effect
> of the internet, downsizing, rebellion against the Microsoft monoculture
> (ecologically speaking) etc. I'm academically trained as an ecologist... and
> OSS evolution has all the trappings of the kind of organic exponential
> growth you see in nature.
Hello Joseph,
I (mis)spent alot of time trying to convince Progress, Inc. to port to
Linux. They were unimpressed with my arguments (they are shifting from
being a primarily unix based rdbms to an NT appication.) I run PROGRESS
(ver 7.3C16 - i.e., the SCO port) on a Linux box under iBCS2 emulation.
It runs *faster* under emulation on Linux than on native code (I have a
SCO box, same specs, sitting next door.) The mercurial Mike Jagdis does
a *great* job with SCO internals. But Progress refuses to either port
or support running the SCO version on Linux. Despite the fact that many
DBAs do this (excellent article by Peter Struijk in Linux Journal detailed
the install and setup process.)
And yet, I expect one day to get a call from my account manager telling me
about this wonderful new product line...
Awhile back I lobbied Sybase to port SQL Anywhere and their tech people
were calling and expressing interest - right until they dropped it.
My sales rep at Oracle lobbied his superiors on my behalf after I hounded
him...and got nowhere. Time went by...and then due to an alleged
`groundswell of support for Linux within the last week' (beg pardon???)
Oracle announced Oracle8 for Linux. This release followed closely on,
not only a groundswell of support, but Informix releasing a linux port.
A week later, Sybase starting giving away eval copies of Adaptive Server
for Linux.
The world does turn.
The bottom line: I also think Jim is correct about a sudden reversal.
When, is the salient question...
If the courts decide to end the monopolistic `arangement' M$ has with
computer manufacturers, Microsoft diskettes and cds will become so much
particulate detritus. Do you 'spose we can convince them to make
their install media biodegradable in anticipation of this eventuality?
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