FreeLists / openbeos / [openbeos] Re: Open BeOS

[Kevin Czapla <czapla@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: "J. Grant" <jg-lists@xxxxxxxx>
> Even the meaning of GNU clearly indicates that it is not Unix, or even based
> on any Unix code or philosophy.

Entirely on the contrary, the GNU project was launched (in earnest) in
early1984 by Richard Stallman for the very purpose of creating a functional
replica of Unix that would be freely usable, freely distributable, and
freely modifiable by all.

Consider the following statement, which is the second sentence on the home
page at http://www.gnu.org:
"The GNU Project was launched in 1984 to develop a complete Unix-like
operating system which is free software: the GNU system."

The recursive acronym GNU (for "GNU's Not Unix") is very much
tongue-in-cheek. At the time (early 1980s), Stallman was reacting from an
ethical position against the restrictions inherent in the proprietary
licenses imposed by the corporate "owners" (read: usurpers) of Unix. Indeed,
GNU (as originally conceived) is *not* Unix, but rather is *free* software
-- which, by and large, and by design, is functionally identical to Unix.

I encourage you to review Stallman's paper "The GNU Project" at:
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.html

His motivations for initiating the project are clarified in that paper, and
the origins of the GNU name are discussed briefly.

In a very real sense, the present efforts of the OpenBeOS project to create
-- largely on the basis of published API specifications -- a free,
non-proprietary functional equivalent of the proprietary BeOS run perfectly
parallel to the efforts of the GNU project to create -- largely on the basis
of the POSIX specifications -- a free, non-proprietary functional equivalent
of the proprietary Unix operating system, beginning nearly twenty years ago
now. The fruits of the GNU project are clearly visible today in the
ineluctable march of the penguin. The fruits of the OpenBeOS project are
likewise clearly visible today in the creativity and productivity of the
OpenBeOS developers and in the dreams of BeOS enthusiasts everywhere.

Finally, let me state again for the record: BeOS is not a Unix (mercifully).

Best wishes and happy hacking,

Czeslaw