Howdy,
This is to address a question posed by a recent article on OSNews.com
title Timeline of Zeta Developments
(http://osnews.com/story.php/17628/Timeline-of-Zeta-Developments).
In the paragraph before last of this article, the authors "elicit"
several questions in relation to the recent events involving ZETA,
including this one:
"Are the recent talks between Access and Haiku a mere coincidence?"
I am not totally sure of the intent of this question, but it does invite
to speculation, perhaps to a possible involvement of Haiku in the recent
events surrounding ZETA. In order to avoid any such speculation and the
potential misinformation that it could lead to, I would like to set the
record straight. I sent this information to the authors of the article,
but only a little note that does not give the whole picture was added to
the article, so here it is.
So, are the recent talks between Access and Haiku a mere coincidence?
The answer to this question is a resounding YES. It is pure coincidence.
I know this first hand, as getting permission from ACCESS for the
reproduction of the BeBook and the Be Newsletter was my idea, and I was
the one who handled *all* communications with David "Lefty" Schlesinger
of ACCESS regarding this particular matter on behalf of Haiku.
The "talks" started by an email that I sent to David "Lefty" Schlesinger
on October 13, 2006. The *sole* purpose of this email was to request
permission from ACCESS Co. to legally publish the BeBook and the Be
Newsletters on the Haiku website.
My communication with David in connection with this request took place
via email over a time span of approximately 6 months, during which David
routed Haiku's request through the ACCESS legal department, and later
provided the requirements for disclosure of the documents. The process
came to a (happy) conclusion with the recent announcement titled "ACCESS
Co. Releases BeBook and Be Newsletters" published on the Haiku website.
That's all there is to it. Some people may enjoy conspiracy theories and
intrigue plots, but there was nothing of what the above-mentioned
question in the article may intend to imply. I am also aware that some
BeOS fans still dream about the possibility of the BeOS code being open
sourced, but let me make this crystal clear: there was *absolutely
nothing* discussed in that respect during my email exchange with David.
I hope this does clarify the extent of the recent talks between Haiku
and ACCESS beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Koki
