🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec16.132756.20642@gssec.bt.co.uk>, agauld@gssec.bt.co.uk
(Alan Gauld) wrote:
> 
> around)... Since Apple are thus hindering development of quality software he
> doesn't believe they should be able to use "his" (ie GNU) software. I'm not

We're both putting words into his mouth, but I think he objects to
supporting Apple hardware and he also encourages people not to purchase
Apple products, not to work for Apple, etc.  

> sure I agree with him but I do respect his views and ponder the morality of
> porting GNU stuff to Apple platforms when the authors would rather it wasn't
> done... Shouldn't the "porter" just go out and write his own?

Perhaps that's true.  But there's a conflict in that his approach is that
the software should be unencumbered so that anyone can do anything s/he
wants with it and that all changes should be equally unencumbered.  So by
that philosophy, it's perfectly reasonable for people to port it to the
Mac.

Even if there wasn't a boycott against Apple the GNU software (especially
GCC) wouldn't be ported to the Mac OS as a matter of course simply because
their focus is Unix-like machines and it's relatively hard to port some of
the software to the Mac.

Larry Rosenstein
Taligent, Inc.

lsr@taligent.com