I have been hoping for Sun to make Open Windows free since it was
called SunDew, and during that time, I've made it perform many
indescribable acts (both on and off stage), worked with quite a few
companies trying to make it a success, and drained much much more of
my energy into it than I ever knew I had to give.
With horror, I have been following the messages on the network in the
aftermath of the OWPS "free for $1000" disaster... The big problem
was not the $1000. It was the word "free".
In short: If you were a slave, what how would you feel if your master
announced you could go "free", but he really meant he was selling you
down the river for a media cost of only $1000?
The OWPS 2.0 press release used the word "Free" exactly three times,
in two *COMPLETELY* different ways: Twice to describe the cost of the
OWPS source code and license (but not the media, therefor it can't be
freely distributed by MIT on the X11R4 tape, or the Free Software
Foundation). And once to describe the XView toolkit -- which really
is *truely* free, in the same sense that we have been asking Sun to
make NeWS free for years.
Free #1:
Sun Microsystems announced today that the source code for its
OpenWindows(TM) application development environment will now be
available free of charge (cost of media only -- $995).
This use of the word "free" is quite fair and well qualified (you
could try to weasel out by saying "free of charge" meant no static
electricity). The problem is that there is no way to get OWPS 2.0
without the media. So why use the word free if there is no way you
can get it without paying money? In the first paragraph of the press
release, you get peoples hopes up, then dash them with a slimy
marketing maneuver typical of a used car ad. But at least you did not
string them along for long.
Free #2:
"Offering free source code for the industry's most advanced,
comprehensive window environment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to
open systems," said Ed Zander, vice president of marketing at Sun.
I agree that Open Windows is the best window system on Earth, and that
making it possible for anyone to get it for free would demonstrate a
*lot* of good things about Sun, and pay off enormously, in both the
short and the long run. But it's not available to everyone, and it's
not free, so Sun hasn't demonstrated anything positive at all. You say
it's free, but you actually have to pay to get it, if you even qualify
at all. That's the worst thing you could possibly say. If you had
come right out and said it was "only" $1000 to "some" people, and
never used the word free, this might not have been a disaster.
Free #3:
The OLIT toolkit -- based on AT&T's OPEN LOOK toolkit (XT+) --
implements the OPEN LOOK look and feel and supports MIT Intrinsics.
The XView toolkit is also offered free on the X11 R4 tape available
from MIT.
*THAT* was the big mistake. You used the *exact* same word, "free", to
refer to XView. Not only that, but you said "also offered free on the
X11R4 tape available from MIT." What does that word "also" in that
sentence mean? It must be referring to something else that's free, and
what could that be? There is no doubt that the press release tries to
compare the "freeness" of XView with the "freeness" of Open Windows,
and then has the nerve to go on and say that XView is available on the
X11R4 tape from MIT! There is no other reasonable interpretation.
The implication is that OLPS is "free" in the same sense that enables
MIT to give XView away on the X11R4 tape. And according to what I
have been told, that is *NOT* the case.
It is *great* that XView is free, and Sun definitely means for it to
be widely available, easy to get, and freely distributable, as
evidenced by our quick and positive response to the problem raised by
Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation with the wording of
the XView legal notice. (If we didn't clarify the notice, FSF could
not have given away copies of XView, and MIT would have to *remove*
XView from the X11R4 tape.)
For years, we (customers, software developers, and employees) have
been asking Sun to make Open Windows available for free, in such a way
that it could be distributed on the X11R4 tape or through other public
channels, but that has not happened yet. Our concern is *not* that we
just don't want to pay money for it!! The most important thing is that
we can make changes to the source code, and give copies of it to
anyone who wants it, using any media or distribution channel we want.
But we can't, so it doesn't matter how cheap it is. Even if you didn't
charge for media, it wouldn't really be the kind of "free" it needs to
be. It must be unrestricted, like XView.
Were it not for the use of the word "also", it would have only been a
"very deceptive" press release. But because of that "also", in
combination with the inconsistent and misleading use of the word
"free", and the gratuitous reference to the X11R4 tape, I have to say
that it was an *EXTREMELY DECEPTIVE* press release.
The worst part is that the most horrible bit of misdirection takes
place at the *end* of the press release, once the reader has waded
through the obviously slimy marketing maneuvers at the top of the
press release and figured out that Sun is trying to fool him. At this
point, the reference to the fact that XView is distributed on the
X11R4 tape is a slap in the face!
OWPS 2.0 is *not* free to go on X11R4 tape. Or at least, that's what
you've told me, and I am very sorry about it. So why did you mention
the fact that XView was on the X11R4 tape? It is highly commendable
that Sun has actually given XView away for free. And it really paid
off. If we hadn't, Motif would have creamed us. The same argument,
that freedom catalyzes success, applies to Open Windows as well, but
unbelievably, there are still people at Sun who just haven't figured
it out yet. But even though they won't give Open Windows away for
free, they still want to *SAY* they give Open Windows away for free.
This is why the customers, software developers, and employees are
pissed off. Many of the most important ones will be at Sun Users
Group, all next week! There is an Open Windows "birds of a feather"
meeting Tuesday night, 5:45-7:00. I am almost afraid to show my face.
I really really hope you have an explanation for what happened
together by then. It's going to go over like a lead brick if nobody
from Sun can give any answers. The worse thing in the world you could
do would be to repeat the same old marketing hype. Do *not* try to
explain to people that Open Windows is "free". Avoid that word like
the plague, unless you *really* mean it.
-Don
PS: Enclosed is the press release:
SunFLASH Vol 23 #12
November 1990
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Package Includes Window System and Toolkits
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- November 13, 1990 -- Sun Microsystems
announced today that the source code for its OpenWindows(TM)
application development environment will now be available free of
charge (cost of media only -- $995). This means that hardware and
software developers will now have a cost-effective way to incorporate
OpenWindows -- including the easy-to-use OPEN LOOK(R) graphical user
interface -- into applications developed or ported to many platforms
from different vendors.
The package includes code for the X11/NeWs(TM) Window System, OPEN LOOK
toolkits, and OpenFonts(TM) with its TypeScaler(TM) technology. Before
today, only OpenWindows binaries were available from Sun.
"Offering free source code for the industry's most advanced,
comprehensive window environment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to
open systems," said Ed Zander, vice president of marketing at Sun.
Advanced Imaging Model
The X11/NeWS Window System that is part of the source package combines
a fully compliant X implementation with Sun's NeWS(R) technology, which
offers the most advanced PostScript(R) imaging model available today.
NeWS lets developers work with interactive, on-screen PostScript
graphics -- particularly useful for commercial applications such as
desktop publishing and multimedia.
Also part of the source code package is OpenFonts -- Sun's
nonproprietary font technology, which includes 57 scalable fonts.
OPEN LOOK Toolkits Provide Portability
The keys to OpenWindows' portability are two OPEN LOOK toolkits,
XView(TM) and the OPEN LOOK Intrinsics Toolkit (OLIT). XView is Sun's
X-based toolkit that gives developers an easy way to design new
applications with the OPEN LOOK graphical user interface, as well as to
migrate the 2,800 existing kernel-based SunView(TM) applications to the
networked window environment of OPEN LOOK and X.
The OLIT toolkit -- based on AT&T's OPEN LOOK toolkit (XT+) --
implements the OPEN LOOK look and feel and supports MIT Intrinsics.
The XView toolkit is also offered free on the X11 R4 tape available
from MIT. OpenWindows is a standard part of the industry's leading
UNIX(R) operating system, UNIX System V Release 4 from AT&T.
Since OPEN LOOK toolkits will be available for a range of platforms,
developers can standardize on a single graphical interface. Toolkits
from Sun and other vendors are available now or will be offered within
three months for UNIX workstations from Digital Equipment Corp.,
Hewlett-Packard and IBM, for VAX/VMS systems from Digital.
Availability
OpenWindows source code will be available January 1, 1991 on magnetic
tape for $995 (which includes the cost of media and documentation)
through Sun distributors. The source license is included at no cost.
There are no royalties for distributing applications developed with
OpenWindows. Hardware vendors will pay nominal royalties for systems
they resell that run the OpenWindows environment.
Sun Microsystems, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a
leading worldwide supplier of network-based distributed computing
systems, including professional workstations, servers and UNIX
operating system and productivity software.
###
OpenWindows, XView, X11/NeWS, OpenFonts and TypeScaler are trademarks
and NeWS is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. OPEN LOOK
and UNIX are registered trademarks of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc.
PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. All other
products or services mentioned in this document are identified by the
trademarks or service marks of their respective companies or
organizations.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Cathleen Beall Garfield (415) 336-6536
Diana Murray OpenWindows Licensing Manager (415) 336-1567
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++