Why [not] X?

[Mike McDonald]

>From: "Dwight Hughes" <dhughes@intellinet.com>
>To: "Mike McDonald" <mikemac>, <lispos@math.gatech.edu>
>Subject: Re: Why [not] X?
>Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 21:46:31 -0500
>
>| From: Mike McDonald <mikemac@titian.engr.sgi.com>
>| 
>  [ mildly amusing messages snipped ]
>| 
>|   Actually, his initials are, *ahem*, MRM. :-) I just think you guys
>| have dived off the high board head first with Henry and Fare judging
>| the dives. Only problem is no one bothered to check to see if there
>| was any water in the pool!
>
>Well, I like to know I'm going to Disneyland, even if I have to hitch
>a ride to get there :-). I certainly think Henry is talking sense, and 
>even Fare does from time to time <g>, but getting there is not trivial.
>These ideas are for where we will go, not where we must begin, but we
>need them too.

  I think Henry and Fare have good ideas. But I don't consider them
very practical. If you look at the experience people have (based upon
their "Duty Roster" postings), very few have any experience in
kernels. (They all want to do kernel hacking though.) Most have only a
small amount of experience in Lisp. Almost none have every used a
LispM. With this lack of experience, I don't believe anything will
come out of a nebulous, ill defined project that is trying to do
everything perfect the first time and from scratch.

>We really do need to get a more concrete plan of how to *begin* and
>what LispOS 0.0.0 *must* contain -- not what LispOS 1.0.0 *will* contain.
>I'm preparing a message to the list that addresses that -- let me know
>what you think (not that you ever held back before).
>
>-- Dwight

  Well, if you go back about a thousand messages, you'll find my ideas
on how to procede.

  Mike McDonald
  mikemac@engr.sgi.com