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From: jdudeck@polyslo.calpoly.edu ("John R. Dudeck")
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.iso.x400
Subject: Re: MHS documentation on-line ??
Message-ID: <26f93522.5fa1@petunia.CalPoly.EDU>
Date: 21 Sep 90 00:00:48 GMT
References: <9009200545.aa20609@ICS.UCI.EDU>
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In an article ALGOLD%LNCC2@cunyvm.cuny.edu (Alexandre Leib Grojsgold) wrote:
>"I've got some advice for anyone interested in obtaining documentations
>for the Open System Interconnections: Bring your checkbook, it's not
>cheap!. Be prepared to pay $1 or more a page, wich adds up to several thousand
                                       ^^^^^^^
>dollars for a reasonably complete documentation for these critical standards"

Shouldn't that be like $100/inch?  We just bought the X.400 Blue book,
which is about 1" thick, and cost almost $100.  It has 628 pages.  That comes
to more like $.15 a page.

>"... because of their cost, OSI documents are acquired only when absolutely
>needed. The result (...) is that faculty and students (...) are woefully igno-
>rant of ISO specifications and protocols."

I believe this is true.  It is impossible to find any ISO specs in our
university library.

>Don't you believe that something should be done to change this situation ?

Is there anything that CAN be done, short of getting the powers that be to
change their policies?  Doesn't copying constitute violation of copyright?

--
John Dudeck                                  "Nothing is foolproof, because
jdudeck@Polyslo.CalPoly.Edu                        fools are so ingenious."
ESL: 62013975 Tel: 805-545-9549                       -- quote from PC Mag.