Scott Herman, in reply to Jim Wowchuk, wrote:
 
> Don't underestimate the GNU products. They are not shareware. They are, for
> the most part, extremely successful collaborative efforts, the product of
> more accumulated expertise than HP, ATT, IBM, or even MicroSloth afford to
> assemble.
>
> As for support, the GNU products are supported by a group whose commitment
> to quality efficiency, and usability is unsurpassed. They are supported by
> their users as well as their authors, collaborating and cooperating in much
> the same way we do here, by the same means. When GNU C++ is ported to MPE/ix
> it will be supported by us, you and me, and anyone else who uses it. We will
> not lose support because someone lost or changed our 'handle', or because
> the institution we work for didn't pay it's bill on time. We will not pay
> for support, and Jim, I can guarantee that if you call me, I will not
> threaten to bill you on a 'time and materials basis'.
 
My preference, support wise, would be for the HP product.  Our situation
is such that if a compiler does not work, we must have the bug addresses
and in very short order.  My experience with GNU tools is slight, but
I believe I would receive a fix sooner from HP than from a ill defined
colaborative cluster of unknown programmers.
 
Ya gets what ya pay for.
 
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The thoughts expressed herein are mine and do not reflect those of my
employer, or anyone with common sense.