Posted By
TLC
on 2007-03-31
20:39:31
|  Re: Beta version of new emulator is now available
Having read back the responses for the last couple of hours while I've been away, well... What could I say? ...I'm happy that now it's over, but I feel a slightly bittering taste in my mouth nevertheless.
My original intent with pushing the envelope was to tip this matter over. I haven't known how it will turn out at the end, but it's usually better to make a clean breast of things.
At the start, I really liked that István was working on an opensource, multiplatform emu for the Plus/4... something that a couple of us have been waiting for long. ...And it's not just about the technical side, although I'd obviously prefer a nice, enhanced emulator for Linux (and Coyote would probably welcome a similar one for MacOS-X, as he hasn't had PCs for ages). What (for me) is more important that I prefer programs whose creators don't ask who you are, instead, you're explicitely given all material -- including the source that you can potentially learn from -- to play with just as you like, should you be anyone. For the C64, there have been projects like that around for ages (VICE, for example). For the Plus/4, there aren't (and never were). ...With all due respect, I don't consider VICE -- at its current emulation accuracy -- such an emulator.
Sure, István's social capabilities don't seem to be like of that of the top level, but for me that's pretty much indifferent, as long as respect is kept and technical issues can be discussed. He also said he really won't give a damn and respect someone just because he's respected by a couple of people.... and unlike you'd expect, I guess he was right. Neither would I do that. (He didn't mention personal respect, which should always apply, though).
I'm wondering about István's motives; he really wouldn't have needed to accuse anyone by theft, considering his programming and researching potential (remember, his TED engine considerably approached the accuracy of that of Yape's, and this is _not_ just a question of time and effort; considering the work of discovering the really deep parts of the TED, this takes actual talent... I don't think that I need a proof here, but if you doubt that, go and try doing it yourself). But he did, he did it like he did (hipocritically), and that was a key issue. With those motives in mind, he was really unsuitable for the position that he set himself into (to be a leader of a real opensource project). But I didn't want to say that myself; I wanted him to say that instead. He could as well have told me that he was a right one, if he wanted (or if he was). And I also couldn't step out of this case having left a pistol in his hand kept to Gaia's head; I mean him having the possibility of keeping on accusing Gaia of theft whenever he just wants, knowing that he could never prove not doing that (with his code being of closed source), let alone support this "opensource" project by any means.
Note, though, that this is just a partial victory.
It didn't solve but one issue. And whilst István turned out to be uncapable of leading a real opensource Plus/4 emu project, noone of us got any better by this a single bit, and we also don't have someone who is.
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