The Hurd

[Eneko Lacunza]

Hi Marcus,

El mar, 19-03-2002 a las 00:54, Marcus Brinkmann escribió:
> > 	Don't you see that the GNU system has been greatly helped by Linux?
> > Linux helped it with more testing, more popularity, more developers...
> This remains to be seen.  The FSF almost was diminished to irrelevance by
> the growth rate of "Linux" (actually GNU/Linux), and althoughmany people
> started to use the system (and some contributed back to it), people did not
> talk about freedom anymore.  Which is really most important, because our
> freedom is threatened and constantly under heavy attack, to the point that
> it is in some and might become in all parts of the world illegal to write
> certain free software (that violates software patents).

	Marcus, I really think that you undertake the importance that Linux has
had in the spread of Free Software ideas. I can see it with myself: I
first looked at Linux because it was free and it was unix. Then I
realized about the Importance of Free Software. Even here, in Spain, the
group that most is doing to support Free Software is a Linux users
association (Hispalinux, with more than 1,500 associates), while FSFs
local chapter does almost nothing but publish some texts to internet.

	And please, I hope you're not trying to say that the attacks that is
receiving Free Software, are due to Linux.

> > 	And what? This is (maybe) a sad thing, but I think that Linux has done
> > an excelent work.
> I think he could have done a much better job.  Don't get me wrong, this is
> not to diminish the job Linux developers have done.  But maybe this gives
[...]
> Also, Linus could have done a better job of encouraging only free software,
> for example by disallowing non-free binary drivers.  Instead concurrenting
[...]
> Things like free software, user freedom, cooperation, code reuse, and
> compatibility are very important for the Hurd system.  And I think we are
> doing quite well in this regard.  These paradigms might come at a cost,
> which might be the (lack of) immediate availability of a feature, or a
> temporary performance penalty.  If we succeed with the other goals, I
> think we can comfortably look into the future anyway.

	Of course all things can be done better, the same way that Hurd could
have done better in its beginings. Anyway, I think you should try to see
that some of the trade-off done in Linux has helped greatly to it's
popularity, and consequently, to get more developers and users.

	It's difficult to see whether these trade-offs will alienate the Free
Software concept or not; time to see what happens.
 
> > I would want to do lots of things, but unfortunately a day only has 24
> > hours. Currently I'm more interested in promoting and defending Free
> > Software, that developing new innovative system designs. I think this
> > also can help the Hurd and other innovations. 8)
> Of course.  I hope I didn't bore you, and maybe I was able to show how
> these two goals sometimes can come together.  I certainly hope that although
> probably off topic, it was at least an interesting read to some people here.

	Of course, you didn't bother me, don't worry. I think it is good we can
have such discussions here, because we can learn a lot from each other's
experiences. I think it is important that some hard-GNU people can
understand much people is now in the Free Software side thanks to some
pragmatic and not-so-pure things, like Linux.

Regards

-- 
Eneko Lacunza

  # Por un mundo con conocimiento libre #
Apoya el Software Libre - No a las patentes de software

http://www.hispalinux.es - http://www.es.gnome.org
http://www.fsfeurope.org - http://sincanon.hispalinux.es