R-beta: help in rsept

[Bill Simpson]

On Wed, 28 Jan 1998, Robert Gentleman wrote:

> I guess I can't duck this issue any more. For a variety of reasons I
> have not been able to get R for Windows updated. There is a better
> than 50% chance that I will not do so before the end of Feb. (this
> is important because classes start after that and I will have even
> less time). 
>
> I will be spending much of the next three weeks trying to get a port
> done and if it goes well then I will release it. However, the changes
> to R over the past 3 months are very substantial and I doubt that
> three weeks (1/2 time) will be enough to achieve a reasonable
> copy.
> 
> 
> On to Ron's problem. Unfortunately R recieves no funds and hence we cannot
> really develop it at the speed we would like to. The Windows and Mac
> versions often lag well behind Unix (sometimes years as is currently
> the case with the Mac version). Anyone developing software for their
> students is advised to use the version of R for development that they
> intend to have their students use. While Ross, myself and the entire
> development team put a large amount of effort in to R development
> it will never be enough. We don't want people to have bad experiences
> but there are limits to our abilities and available time.
> Please remember that we get almost no credit and no remuneration for
> out activities in this area.
> 
> robert
To R developers (Ross, Robert et al.):
I think R is great.
I also think it is fit and proper that you set your platform priorities.
I also think unix is the right one to concentrate on, since R is GPL'ed in
the spirit of Linux.  Why port free software to nonfree operating systems?

To R users on non-unix platforms:
If you are not happy with the current state of affairs with R on your
platform, you should probably switch platforms!  I mean that seriously.  I
switched from Mac to Linux (on intel) so I could use the more recent R
versions.  It has been a great move.

Bill Simpson

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