[comp.realtime] VxWorks licensing

dove@rocket.uucp (Webster &) (08/10/90)

We have used VxWorks here since 1986.  We have been very happy with it
since it takes care of all low level functions we need (NFS, rlogin,
telnet, sched, I/O) it looks (almost) like UNIX (I have often converted hundreds of
lines of UNIX C code with only some header changes and the replacement
of a few timing related functions like getitimer).  

Their software support has been great.  When I had some problems last
year with the VME TCP backplane driver (used to pass TCP/IP to boards
across the backplane that lack enet interfaces) I was readily given the
source and I sent back my fixes.

Unfortunately, there is one area in which I have recently become
dissatisfied with Wind River.  Perhaps a year or two ago, Wind River
lawyers came up with the idea of restricting a development license
($15,000) to a specific "project".  While the definition of "project"
is not at all clear, the pessimistic view is that any time you start
something new you pay an extra $15,000.  I find this pessimistic
definition unnacceptable in an environment were we frequently get
$20,000 jobs to do some experimentatiion.  I am trying to come to an
accommodation with WRS over this because we love their software, but
so far I haven't gotten very far.

Web

--
Dr. Webster Dove				Dr. Webster Dove
Experimental Computing Systems ('X')		Lockheed Sanders Inc.  
Signal Processing Center of Technology		144 Daniel Webster Hwy.
Lockheed Sanders Inc.				Merrimack, NH.  03054  
						
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