Public Domain Python

[Grant Edwards]

In article <slrn8s2d1k.5rr.wtanksle at dolphin.openprojects.net>, William Tanksley wrote:

>This time it's a little scarier, because what we see is a company which
>has NO ongoing responsibity for Python excercising ongoing authority. That
>IS frightening, even for me.  They have almost no accountability to their
>users now, and will not have any at all in the future -- yet they're
>attempting to excercise authority over our use of a tool which we accepted
>under very different terms.

Gee, a company with no ongoing responsibility for a piece of software, no
accountability to their users (now or future) who tries to exercise
authority over our use of a tool.

That sounds _exactly_ like all of the commercial software vendors I've ever
dealt with.  

The difference is that with things like Python, gdb, etc. 

 1) the quality of the product is a lot better to start with,
 
 2) when bugs are found they get acknowleged and fixed
 
 3) when I buy a new computer I don't have to pay a butt-load of money to
    move a buggy piece of node-locked crud to a new machine.

 4) if other people stop supporting the product I at least have the
    choice of supporting it myself if I want to. 
    
I've been doing real-time embedded software for 15+ years, and I just
finished my first project using 100% open-source development tools.  My
experience is that open source tools completely outclass commercial tools in
every respect.  Better tools, better service, better documentation.
    
-- 
Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  I want the presidency
                                  at               so bad I can already taste
                               visi.com            the hors d'oeuvres.