*BSD News Article 2495


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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Path: sserve!manuel!munnari.oz.au!uunet!kithrup!sef
From: sef@kithrup.COM (Sean Eric Fagan)
Subject: Re: AT&T sues BSDI
Organization: Kithrup Enterprises, Ltd.
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 21:06:54 GMT
Message-ID: <1992Jul25.210654.2518@kithrup.COM>
Keywords: BSDI AT&T
References: <83@ampr.ab.ca> <1992Jul23.173415.11587@nebulus.ca> <1992Jul25.014246.11533@klic.rain.com>
Lines: 56

In article <1992Jul25.014246.11533@klic.rain.com> keithl@klic.rain.com (Keith Lofstrom) writes:
>dennis@nebulus.ca (Dennis S. Breckenridge)  [ and others ] write:
>>Send your $1000.00 to BSDI and get a source license now.
>I just did so.  There are a number of reasons why this is a good idea:

Alternatively, you could grab a copy of 386BSD, use that, and distribute as
many copies as possible to your friends.

Since there is no difference between what BSDI is doing and what the
Jolitzes are doing, other than the fact that BSDI is chargning money, which,
from the standpoint of the suit, is pretty irrelevant, having all those
copies of 386BSD out there, which has been publicly announced and talked
about as much as BSDI's product, without any move on USL's part to stop the
distribution or use, helps BSDI.

That is, because the two are the same, if there is any trade secret or
copyright violation going on, USL would have to go after both, or lose its
ability to protect its "trade secrets" or copyrights.

Then, of course, you could send $1k to the Jolitzes instead of BSDI, and
know that they could use the money a lot more than BSDI could, especially if
USL *does* go after them.

>2)  BSDI could use the money.

BSDI will do fine in the suit without the money, although it is true that
they could always use more money.  Who can't?  The Jolitzes could, as well.
You could also order a copy of Net/2 from CSRG, and *they* can use the money
far more than BSDI can!

>4)  BSDI probably has investors.  

Other than the founderrs, I don't think so.  Kolstad has either stated
outright, or implied heavily, that there are none.  Uhm, "self-financed
company" were the words he used at the first BSDI BOF, I believe.

>Buy a copy for yourself.  Your friends.  Your Mom.  Your Dog.  ;-)

Buy a copy of Net/2 from CSRG instead, and get a copy of 386BSD.  For
yourself.  Your friends.  Your mom.  Your Dog.  ;-)

As much as I dislike the suit between USL and BSDI, I hate seeing it turn
into a bunch of advertisement for BSDI on the net.  The same moral
objectives can be accomplished by helping the Jolitzes, or running the BSD
single-server available from CMU for Mach 3.0, or by merely distributing
copies of the Net/2 tape, and any derivatives thereof, to as many people as
possible.  If you order it from CSRG, include a letter saying that you do
not have a USL or AT&T source license, so that there will be something on
record showing that USL permitted UCB to continue to distribute copies of the
Net/2 tape to people or organizations without such.

-- 
Sean Eric Fagan  | "My psychiatrist says I have a messiah
sef@kithrup.COM  |  complex.  But I forgive him."
-----------------+              -- Jim Carrey
Any opinions expressed are my own, and generally unpopular with others.