Date: 14 Dec 1997 02:09:41 -0000
   From: "Brian J. Fox" <bfox@nirvana.datawave.net>
   To: ghost@aladdin.com
   CC: fsb@crynwr.com
   Subject: Re: gdb
   
      Date: Sat, 13 Dec 97 17:31 PST
      From: "L. Peter Deutsch" <ghost@aladdin.com>
      CC: cmaeda@alum.mit.edu, bb@wv.com, bfox@nirvana.datawave.net, 
           devnull@gnu.org, fsb@crynwr.com, jla@arceneaux.com
   
      > How responsive are the vendors to fixing the tools?
   
      How responsive are freed software vendors to fixing the tools?
      How much will they charge to fix the tools?  How many times will
      they charge that amount to different customers?  (cf the comment
      about FSF sometimes "lucking out" and being able to charge a
      large amount for delivering something that they had already
      done)
   
   This isn't quite fair.  I think that Len's point is that with freed
   software, you can get any competent programmer to fix the bugs,
   instead of being forced to rely on the vendor.  

Thanx, Brian.  You saved me the keystrokes.  I had assumed too much
shared context.

                                                   In addition, it is
   my experience that maintainers of free software are much more
   accessible than maintainers of proprietary software.  Having
   removed some layers of bureaucracy from the equation allows the
   programmers to respond more directly to the end-users (something
   which terrifies most software businesses).

And frustrates many programmers in proprietary software bsuinesses who
wish they had more contact with the end users.

   Brian

best -len