: > > I also sent a simple patch for setup.S that did not break anything,
: > > but fixed a bug with some bad Acer BIOS. The bug is still present in
: > > the BIOS, and also in the 1.3.62 setup.S. Maybe we need more
: > > charisma.
: >
: > Make it available and get people testing it. Or maybe someone wants to
: > get Linus a secretarial assistant ...
: You know, that is a REALLY good idea! Isn't there still some
: unallocated money kicking around that Linux International development
: effort thing (I may have misremembered the actual name of the project)?
I've thought about this too, even to the point of trying to get SGI to
fund it. Keith Bostic used to do this job for BSD - which is one of the
primary reasons BSD "hangs together" as well as it does - Keith would
massage everything that came through until he liked it. Linus is doing
that job as well as development as well as whatever encompasses the rest
of rest life.
: Just hire some CS undergrad/grad student that knows C and Linux
That won't work. You need a pretty high caliber person because:
a) they have to be able to recognize "art", which is another way
of saying that they have to be able to see good stuff and pass
it through, or see bad stuff and bounce it back w/ suggestions.
A college student (well, most college students - hi Dave) can't
do that.
b) They need enough people experience that they don't fall into the
power trap - if someone is screening, it is easy to turn
that into "I have the power so you kiss my ass or it doesn't
get in". Sun's architecture committees are like this, and
the BSD groups seem to have quite a bit of this as well.
Linux doesn't, and it is primarily because Linus is so mellow.
He'd need an equally mellow and egoless assistant.
There are probably other requirements, but this gives you an idea. Know
anyone that fits?
----- Larry McVoy, lm@sgi.com, http://reality.sgi.com/employees/lm, (415) 933-1804 Copyright 1996, all rights reserved. Microsoft Network is prohibited from redistributing this work in any form, in whole or in part without license. License to distribute this work is available to Microsoft at $500. Transmission without permission constitutes an agreement to these terms.