On Wed, 8 Dec 2004, Louis Guillaume wrote:

> And I have to explain, which I've done fairly well, in writing in my
> proposal (still in draft).

If you'd like any help, feel free to send it my way and I can share my
comments.

> . Does anyone provide telephone support for NetBSD (or specific
> implementations thereof?)

My company, Puget Sound Technology, does. The company has been existence
for a few years. We also provide email-based assistance and professional
NetBSD training.

There is also a webpage that lists different consultants via the
www.NetBSD.org website.

> . What about specifying appropriate hardware for the job and being
> involved in the configuration/implementation?

Definitely.

> I'm hesitant to post to the list asking for bids on a specific project,
> but I am not unwilling to do so. Is it ok to do something like this? The
> netbsd-jobs mailing list is practically unused, and I don't know what to
> think of that.

netbsd-jobs sounds good for that.

> I really don't want this project to go down the RedHat road just because
> they have the kind of support that is acceptable. Considering a
> successful NetBSD implentation, there may be room for other services to
> be using NetBSD. But we must first convince, or "sell" the product to
> the powers that be. But how?

Maybe build a list of interesting strengths:
- notable uses
- compare with number of security advisories with other operating systems
- portability of hardware
- portability of software
- portability of software using pkgsrc
- recent IP speed records
- point to testimonials about stability and reliability -- we more of
these.

Maybe the advocacy list can help with this ...

 Jeremy C. Reed