9fans archive / 2000 / 05 / 77 /    prev next

From: Jim Choate ravage@ein...
Subject: [9fans] Re: Plan 9 future
Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 18:39:02 -0500 (CDT)


On Fri, 5 May 2000, G. David Butler wrote:

> It is "open" now, and how much attention has it attracted?  Linux got
> attention because the ~5,000 ISPs found it was an inexpensive way to
> run their servers.  Can they use Plan 9 for that?

I can attest to this. I've known of Plan 9 almost since day 1. I've also
been involved with Linux since '92. If you look in the back of a 1st or
2nd ed. "Running Linux" you'll find my system listed as a mirror and I am 
also the founder of the Central Texas Linux User Group in 1994. I was
FORCED to select Linux over Plan 9 solely because of the licensing with
respect to my consulting. I currently run 14 machines in my home office,
mostly running Linux. They are ix86, Sparc, RS/6000, Amiga, and Atari
(solely for file transfer capability, no dev). I've also converted several
hundred people to Linux over the years I truly wish I could have given
them Plan 9 instead.

Had the Plan 9 license not been non-commercial I'd have been using it. If
Plan 9 is going to release Open Source then my current plan is to jump to
that and start developing there. I also hope to start a Plan 9 user group
when that happens as well.

> But enough complaining!  After 4 long years of negotiating with
> Lucent I (as a representative of a corporation set up for this
> purpose) have finally secured a redistribution license for the '95
> and (if there is one) the upcoming release of Plan 9.  I cannot
> discuss the financial details of the agreement (except to say it
> was expensive).  But it makes it possible for end users worldwide
> to get a sublicense to use Plan 9 commercially.

Where do I buy a license?

> I have a few ideas of how to proceed with this new tool, but I'm
> hoping to gather a bunch of feedback at USENIX.  Do you all think
> one BOF session going to be enough?

I'll be working on an anonymous remailer and the replacement of DES as the
default encryption mechanism. I'll also be using it with my robots and
rockets (packet radio).

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