Re: [craigl@promise.com: Getting A Patch Into The Kernel] (fwd)

Andre Hedrick (andre@linux-ide.org)
Wed, 13 Jun 2001 10:57:12 -0700 (PDT)


On Wed, 13 Jun 2001, Rob Landley wrote:

> Well, you're maintainer and I'm obviously not, but it's nice to hear you've
> kept an open mind on this issue. :)

I have seen one version and I got physically sick.

> > All I want is the API rules to the signatures and we have them now.
> >
> > We do not need their driver.
>
> Reinventing the wheel can be fun. Richard Stallman's been doing that for

Assuming that the first thing presented was a round one and not the
flat-sided square that is being misrepresented.

> > Stating/Implying that Linux Maintainers do not care about "quality".
>
> "Quality" is a loaded word in marketing circles, due to ISO nine zillion and

We all know this, and it was their intent to slap around the idea that we
lack quality.

> You are aware that you were speaking to a marketing person from Promise,
> correct? (He admitted it and everything. We didn't even have to use
> thumbscrews. Kind of a waste to get them all out and oiled and everything in
> that case...)

No, because marketing people have at least three faces.

> > Oh it gets much worse, but I want to see if the sales for Promise have hit
> > hard enough to break their linux-unfriendly additude.
>
> The dude came hat in hand into the linux-kernel mailing list asking how he
> could play nice with us, (apparently honestly not knowing,) and you bit his
> head off.

Like I said, he is a lamb in a slaughter house that Promise created.
It was just this year (late-April) that Promise came "HAT and Hand" and
"Knife in the Other" and I got suckered again.

> I don't think sales have hit hard enough to overcome THAT just yet. But I
> could be wrong...

36 Apr 10 James Baker - PTE (9,744) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
37 Apr 11 support@promise.co (1,243) Re: RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
38 Apr 11 Daron Keith (10,549) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
39 Apr 11 support@promise.co (1,243) Re: RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
40 Apr 11 James Baker - PTE (11,069) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
41 Apr 11 Daron Keith (33,973) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales

#41 was a VIRUS sent to me to Damage and or Destroy my work.

42 Apr 11 James Baker - PTE (2,944) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
43 Apr 11 support@promise.co (1,243) Re: RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
44 Apr 11 support@promise.co (1,249) Re: RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
45 Apr 11 Billy Harrison (4,691) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
46 Apr 11 support@promise.co (1,249) Re: RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
47 Apr 11 Daron Keith (6,967) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
48 Apr 11 Billy Harrison (7,323) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
49 Apr 11 support@promise.co (1,249) Re: RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
50 Apr 11 Billy Harrison (10,213) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
51 Apr 12 James Baker - PTE (2,339) RE: lack of Linux support hurt sales
52 Apr 12 James Baker - PTE (1,524) Update <subject change>

> > Mind you the came begging for help because their sales are off, and I was
> > willing to help on the terms of GPL/GNU and mine. But GPL/GNU was to big
> > to choke down.
>
> Okay, THERE is the problem. Halfway through the message. Why not start with
> that next time?

Because I am a lamer in email and prefere face to face.

> If the problem is that the code will not be made available under the GPL,
> then of course that IS an insurmountable problem for getting it included in
> the kernel. But it's entirely possible that our marketing friend didn't know
> that. It's entirely possible he doesn't know what the GPL -IS-. (If you've
> been sharing a private conversation with him that hasn't been CC'd to the
> list, than obviously I could be wrong about this...)

I am sorry to chuckle but people have lost their jobs at Promise over
working with me to bring that company closer to GPL. The guys that this
has happened to I offered to help them out but they managed on their own.

> > When the sales hurt enough and they have not choice, I will reconsider.
>
> No, hopefully THEY will reconsider. You couldn't get Linus to accept non-gpl
> code either.

No, I will reconsider, since we are assuming that they are coming back
with two hats, one in each hand. This one hat one hand thing hurts.

> > Breathe, because you die before I change my position, if you are hold a
> > breath.
> >
> > I do not trust Promise, and three years of their general arrogance is more
> > than enough.
>
> I honestly doubt that the suit who just wandered through has a clue what the

They do not wear "suits", thanks for the laugh!

> GPL is. He's not a lawyer, and he doesn't write free software. If he really
> was trying to help, and he was new to this, woudn't it be a nice first
> impression to clearly say "this licensing issue is blocking the inclusion of
> your code" so he knows what the problem is rather than "we're biased against
> promise, so we're going to pick on you and call you names?"
>
> > Mind you that at one point I had two people in the San Jose
> > office that were friendly be they are now gone.
>
> If you've approached every new person from promise this way ever since, I'm
> not exactly suprised you haven't met more like them. (I honestly hope that
> the previous sentence was a harsh and unfair assessment, and that you haven't
> been doing that.)

It is unfair, because I got screwed by Promise just this past April.
It was the last time and I told them that fact.

> No corporation is truly a monolithic entity. It's just a bunch of disjointed
> individuals who spend a lot of time in meetings filling out forms. You can
> deal with them as a faceless professional with a known set of duties, or you
> can try to deal with them as a human being.

In this case you are wrong and I wish you were not.

Lastly, I gave this fellow my mobile cell-number and told him that I do
not want his driver, I want honesty and that I am mad and tired of the
story-line and "Broken Promise's" that they send and sell.

So Craig, my phone has not rung or your story has not changed.

Regards,

Andre Hedrick
Linux ATA Development

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