Re: Cygwin participation threshold

[Weiqi Gao <weiqigao@a.crl.com>]

Fergus Henderson wrote:
> 
> On 24-Feb-1999, Weiqi Gao <weiqigao@a.crl.com> wrote:
> >
> > Windows is too complicated.  It usually takes a sharp individual a long
> > time (four years?) to become really proficient in Windows.  And that
> > proficiency usually last a very short time (two years).  All of their
> > knowledge would have been gained through the continued (and expensive)
> > subscription to MSDN.  They usually don't feel compelled to contribute
> > to anything.
> 
> That doesn't explain why they contribute more to djgpp than to cygwin.

There is a sense of the "power of personality" in the DJGPP project. 
For example, DJ never complained about not enough people contributing. 
And Eli Zarreskii(?) had never gone into an argument with a user,
contributing or not.  He's been sending out ten pieces of emails per day
for three(?) years now, and fifty percent of them are "Read the FAQ". 
He's accumulated quite a bunch "lose your temper for free" card now!

DOS is also more primitive, simpler, and more UNIX like than Windows. 
And DJGPP is more kernel like than wrapper/call forwarder/translator
like than Cygwin.  It is higher on the Cool scale than Cygwin.  It's
almost the "GNU operating system with the DJGPP kernel".

> > It's the culture.  Groups of Windows developers would sit around bashing
> > Unix.
> 
> But that could well explain it.
> 
> One thing that might help would be better mingw32 support.
> That might encourage people who would otherwise use djgpp
> to use cygwin instead.  But I suppose they still wouldn't
> be likely to contribute to the winsup stuff.
> 
> Someone else also commented that people who use cygwin probably
> run Linux when they can, and so don't get much chance to play
> around with cygwin.  I think that is another very likely explanation.

Historically, UNIX has gathered all the free software writers because it
is accessible and had a free software culture.  DOS and Windows lacks
it.

Here's a challenge: Name as many as you can, any widely spread free
software (in the FSF free speech sense) packages that's originated from
DOS/Windows.  The closest I can come up is an editor called the PFE
(Programmers File Editor) which is a Notepad clone.  But you can't get
the source of it.

The fact that Microsoft "owns" Windows might have something to do with
it.

--
Weiqi Gao
weiqigao@a.crl.com

--
Quote of the day:
  --Which is worse, ignorance or indifference
  --I don't know, and I don't care.

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