"Emerson, Tom # El Monte" wrote:
>
> Strong supporters of the "open" source already know this, but I thought it
> interesting to point out:
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mark Bixby [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Subject: Freeware BIND/iX upgraded to 8.2.2p3 plus Patch 4
> >
> >
> > What's New
> >
> >    * November 11, 1999
> >         o Upgraded to the official 8.2.2p3 production release (plus Patch
> >           4) which compiles "straight out of the box" on MPE. This version
> >           fixes the vulnerabilities documented in CERT Advisory CA-99-14.
>
> And that advisory begins:
>
> >CERT Advisory CA-99-14 Multiple Vulnerabilities in BIND
> >
> >   Original release date: November 10, 1999
> >
>
> which means many of you are hearing about the fact that this is ALREADY
> FIXED even before you knew there was a problem and/or what the problem
> was...

Well, that is the kind of response time I always hoped my vendors were capable
of back when I was a customer.  :-)

> p.s.  Equally interesting is the caveat at the end of the message:
>
> > Please note that HP now bundles BIND/iX with MPE/iX 6.0 or later.  The
> > version of BIND/iX currently shipping with MPE/iX 6.0 is 8.1.1.  HP
> > provides official support for the bundled version of BIND/iX
> > only and will
> > properly disavow any knowledge of  the unsupported freeware
> > version you're
> > reading about on this web page.

Freeware software available from bixby.org is:

- tested on only one machine (mine)
- tested in a limited configuration
- tested for a limited time

Supported software available from HP is:

- tested on many internal HP machines
- tested in varied configurations
- tested by formal test suites
- goes through internal quality assurance and code reviews
- tested on some customer machines on a pre-release basis
- supported by the HPRC after the HPRC has been trained in the new
functionality

So it's understandable why it takes awhile for new releases to be supported.

- Mark B.