[Axiom-developer] Re: [Axiom-mail] contacting Linux distributors

[David MENTRE]

Hello Tim,

root <address@hidden> writes:

> We need to make a coordinated effort to identify and contact the major
> Linux distributors (at least RehHat, SUSE, Debian, etc) to 

As far as Debian is concerned...

> (a) understand their policy for "accepting and blessing" a package

... you need to be an official Debian Developer (a long and not so easy
process)...

> (b) understand their requirements for pacakging (rpm, apt, etc)
> (c) understand their config requirements
> (d) understand their user interface requirements
> (e) understand their support requirements

... and, for (b) to (e), follow the Debian Policy Manual:
  http://www.fr.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ 

That's said, for Debian there are two alternatives:

 1. Camm is an official debian developer, so he might be willing to
    package Axiom
 
 2. A friend of mine wants to make a debian package so he /might/ be
    interested in packaging Axiom. Of course, once made, the package
    will have to be "blessed" by an official debian developer. It's up
    to him now to decide if he wants to do it or no.


> we need to "market" to them that they have a "hole" in their "product
> line" in that they do not have an industrial strength scientific
> computation system. We need to explain that Mathematica, Maple, MuPAD,
> etc. are widely used and that Axiom can be a free alternative.

I personally think that explaining what is Axiom, compared to
Mathematica & Co., is the role of the main page of the Axiom website
(with screenshots, binaries, ...). We will have to present tutorials,
papers, etc.

I have stored all the references posted by Bill Page and links posted by
Jason White. That might be a good start for a web page.

By the way, friend of mine in Gulliver (the local Linux User Group here
in Rennes) and I are willing to provide Axiom's binaries for x86,
PowerPC and Linux-Sparc64.


> I understand that the prevailing "business model" of open source projects
> is "build it and they will come". I want to change that to "build it and
> deliver it to everyone's desktop". Yes, I know not everyone needs it but
> having just one major vendor like RedHat or SUSE would put us in every
> school and business worlwide.

I still do believe that "build it and they will come" is the right think
to do. Of course, we can ease the process by providing pre-build
packages. But I think that developers from major and minor linux
distribution will come if we can show the capabilities of Axiom.


Sorry to be so negative towards your initial proposal.

Best regards,
d.
-- 
 address@hidden