Tape 001 - Clip 1

Miacheal Toy All Hands

MT sitting on a chair, taking with speaker phone next to him.

OK we've decided that the 1:30 meeting is now starting, next to me in the chair is the inestimable Jamie Zawinski. I have a list of things I want to talk about, uh, because I think it would be helpful to you, if what I'm talking about isn't

helpful to you, we can talk about something helpful or leave the room.

Uh, product plans, I just wanted to review the product that this commitee thinks it's shipping in the next six months, were doing a maintenance release every quarter, we'll probably definately do a 4.6, we may very likely do a 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, whatever, until we ship some other release that people really like, (laughter) we do a dot release of that one and the first test of whether we do will be if people like will be 4.5 for the net release that happens this summer, but to tell people sort of generally accept some other release other than 4.* as the interresting release we'll be continuing to release on a 4.* basis.

I was checking the client, uh, user agent data that they publish once a month, and contrary to popular opinion we are not in a market, in a user agent share nose dive. It's pretty much flat at between 57 and 60% just kind of twiddling there. If you got to the server clients last market.

Anyway, another interesting thing is that break down browsres by version and March is the month that the most run Netscape browser is the 4.* browser, so we finally flipped the switch and barely have more people running 4.* than 3.*, and that's been going down over time, so so that's good, or bad depending on what you think that means...

...create server revenue, and that has implications for what the people in this building are working on, but the release is not driven by the people in this build its driven by the server people, needing to make revenue, and so we're doing a release based on the assumption that if these people did other thins we would fail to do that and we can't fail to do that.

server people, needing features to make revenue, and so we're doing a release based on the
assumption that if these people did other things we would fail to do that and we can't fail to
do that. So there's that release and that's currently called 4.5, and then there's the release
which is ...you're clicking Jamie ...
oh, well, I'm just turning down these client market share people telling them they
they should break it down by UNIX platform too. (laughter)
urn, and then there's the release that is the thipg~we;~re·actuanybetfing,that:ils.;rNet
server these features out for the web site people, I mean if you do that, that's good, but the
definition of this release has to be quote "5-0" code name 5-0 is what we're going to call it,
is the first "Bet on the Net" release, and that is it's definition. There are other things tlia
at rramework like provide features for the web site, etc. bmhhis is the
body, (laughter).rI'm·being filmed, §o...that's Mike Homer deciding that in order to make
the announcement earlier make sense, that we had to deliver something in the same quarter
that we made the announcement, which is a good thing from integrity, like standing up and
saying we're going to do something really interesting 9 months from now, people just '\\.
don't get excited about it.
...and not have the thing 331 be a distraction from that. I think we're pretty much dialed
on that, urn, map. It may be a 5% distraction or 10% distraction, but it's not too bad. That

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Tape Michael Toy All Hands Meeting 3/5/98
server people needing features to make revenue and so were doing release based on the
assumption that if these people did other things we would fail to do that and we cant fail to
do that So theres that release and thats currently called 4.5 and then theres the release
which is...youre clicking Jamie..
oh well Imjust turning down these client market share people telling them they
they should break it down by UNIX platform too laughter
um and then theres the release that fe thing were actually betting thatciet
Development is the place where NetscÆjie is going to be able to get enough outside
developers that we can keep ahead of Microsoft in terms of doing the right things and in
the long run thats going to be the wSo the definition of 4.5 is revenUethe ddfhii$n
of this other release has to be what do with the Net it cant be we have to get thSe
server these features out for the web site people mean if you do that thats good but the
definition of this release has to be quote 5-0 code name 5-0 is what were going to call it
is the first Bet on the Net release and that is its definition There are other things
1öi1ffdóifrffiAffAhºvklllprovide features for the web site etc fiis is the
Bet on the Net release and thats its purpose inje
In that universe the source 331 thing which was Mike Homer pulling number Out4fhis
body laughter..Im being filmed so...thats Mike Homer deciding that in order to make
the announcement earlier make sense that we had to deliver something in the same quarter
that we made the announcement which is good thing from integrity like standing up and
saying were going to do something really interesting months from now people just
dont get excited about
..IæWiiöfiive the thing 331 be distraction from that think were pretty much dialed
on that um map It may be 5% distraction or 10% distraction but its not too bad That
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Tape Michael Toy All Hands Meeting 3/5/98
kind of sanitizatjon would never ever make sense Because we have to do sanitization in
order to ship by
Rumor slashing All right keep sitting in rooms where sentences get said like well
know because see it happening that the mail and news people dont want to participate in
free source world That they dont get it they want to go off and continue down the
proprietary universe and that upsets me and urn thats just bad thing to keep saying
And the thing that were driving to thats the thing that the bug list reflects our progress
towards urn and that is what eight days away seven days away its very very soon
Urn in the last week lots of bugs have been closed but its uh you know pouring stuffS
and stuff coming out at the same rate so were down about 10 over two days even thó%gh
quite few bugs have been closed we are down 3Oish from the beginning of the week
We need to be substantially down because know that theres always or 10 bu
wont go away and until see the bug list down to the or 10 lev know were nd
where near shipping so we need to be down around to 20 level at the end of this week so
that can be pretty sum that were down to the or 10 level early next week so that we can
beat up on the last or 10 bugs at the end of next week Theres ton of bugs that ar
open theres lot of reasons for bugs being open hope Im gonna address some of those
next But thats the time map
OK verification process The verification process that am currently inventing goes like
this we have set of practices that we have decided on in series of meetings as result
of our experience Some of this is written down and sorne of it is ..I want to document
those practices so that when we say moved code out left this kind of rnarker put
copyright notices all the things that are the standard practice that we have created for
sanitizing source code Ijust want to write it Im not inventing anything new Imjust
documenting this is what we do to source file in order to rnake it clean. So there will be
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document that is here as standard practice and then theres always exceptions for why
when look at these thing had to do something funny that didnt feel comfortable with
Oh to file source 331 bug Its just bug with target
fix version set to SRC 331 If you
file if you create bug with bug splat it doesnt let you set the target fix version cause
thats violation of our process for other releases to let the filer set target fix date But
for source 331 thats not vio Theres two ways you can file source 331 bug
You can go to bug split file the bug and then when it says filed the bug you click on
the
bug number and the youll et the target fix version and hit command Or if you go to 331
splat you get the same it looks just like bug split except that the enter bug page has
place to set the target fix version Which is also source 331 So every bug you enter there
unless you do something special ends up being source 331 bug
Verification process So we document the practices theres list of places where you did
something different than the standard practices or you did something weird and youre not
comfortable with urn as all as bugs assigned to me you can review...a body of people
that Netscape this has nothing to do with people in this roorn Netscapedeeides howthh
risk they want to take they want to have lawyers the want to have 1awr lawyers
whoever Netscape want us to elect and Im trying to get that body together to tQthe
verifiers sit down and say heres what we did heres the problems we experienced-this
the source this is the state of the source code as we know it And they go cant live with
that and then we go away and they tell the body system OK am happy So the body
says theyre happy..
is it delayed on yours laughter
Nobody tells me these things...OK so then therell be private Beta and hopefully..
side conversation
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Tape Michael Toy All Hands Meeting 3/5/98
JZ About the user agent thats really complicated question Because it ties into what
were doing about version numbers mean so far in our history the version
numbers have been set by marketing right and so we need something little more
meaningful for that than that
Ml That essential correct we need to say this is how you parse version our user agent
strings in any universe ..well file bug on that..
Were still working on that source 331 but theres great fear and loathing about
what might life will be like on April first and whether understood how Id
accomplish things on that day
LT Take responsibility for it Certain areas of the tree say know what going on in the
tree and everything people who are working with them so that whenever you check in it
will be under more tight control like we are toward the end of development cycle like
when you get your code reviewed before you check it in Umthere we are
going...theres going to be one repository this much we have And its going to be
owned eventually by Mozilla.org So when you check in to your tree youll be checking
into
part of the tree which Netscape owns which is going to be the NS crib tree and
theres going to be an tree uh which is gonna be owned by Mozilla.org Uh all the
parts that are used to build the free client are going to be there So there will be tinder
boxes that. .work with it so your like will be pretty much will be practically the same
except that the responsibility will be because there will be more people participating your
responsibility will be more strict about breaking the tree Youll have to be lot more
careful about breaking the tree
There are two builds that Ive been working on one like the pre-build needs to slow to pile
with your change and the pre-build plus all the three party stuff also needs to build..
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