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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
- Path: sparky!uunet!utcsri!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!sysmark
- From: sysmark@helios.physics.utoronto.ca (Mark Bartelt)
- Subject: Re: Status of OpenGL?
- Message-ID: <BrqLos.In9@helios.physics.utoronto.ca>
- Sender: news@helios.physics.utoronto.ca (News Administrator)
- Reply-To: mark@cita.toronto.edu
- Organization: University of Toronto Physics/Astronomy/CITA
- References: <1992Jul8.142348.15109@meteor.wisc.edu> <n1srgp4@fido.asd.sgi.com>
- Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 11:38:52 GMT
- Lines: 35
-
- [ Kipp Hickman, writing about OpenGL ]
-
- >Finally, I am almost 100,000,000% sure that it will be free to IRIS owners
- >as (in my personal opinion) it would be really stupid otherwise.
-
- I suspect that most (all?) of your customers would agree. However, please
- be reminded that the mere fact that something is stupid doesn't necessarily
- preclude the MBAs with pinstripe brains from doing it.
-
- Recall that for many months prior to its release, SGI was telling customers
- that Explorer would be free. Then, as the release date drew near, we were
- suddenly told that we'd have to pay for it. Lots of people raised a fuss,
- and SGI backed off from that idea, fortunately (though we still have to pay
- through the nose for the documentation!).
-
- Then there's DPS: SGI took the particularly obnoxious approach of including
- it with IRIX for people who purchased new systems, but old loyal customers,
- on full support contracts, had to pay for it if they wanted it. They didn't
- back off on this one, unfortunately. (Except for a few customers who raised
- a stink, and managed to get it for free anyway, thus confusing the issue even
- more.)
-
- I think what this means is that we'd all better phone our salescritters every
- few weeks, reminding them that we *expect* OpenGL to be free, so that we don't
- end up with another DPS-like attempt to nickel and dime us into the poorhouse
- (or into the arms of one of SGI's competitors).
-
- And even your 100,000,000% level of certainty doesn't do much to persuade me
- that we can feel confident. (Why do images of George McGovern come to mind?)
-
- Mark Bartelt 416/978-5619
- Canadian Institute for mark@cita.toronto.edu
- Theoretical Astrophysics mark@cita.utoronto.ca
-
- "Clothes not busy being worn are busy drying." - Dylan, on laundry day
-