Newsgroups: comp.text
Path: utzoo!telly!eci386!woods
From: woods@eci386.uucp (Greg A. Woods)
Subject: Re: Price of DWB 3.1
Message-ID: <1990Nov21.024930.7171@eci386.uucp>
Reply-To: woods@eci386.UUCP (Greg A. Woods)
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc.
References: <1990Nov5.022533.29625@nixtdc.uucp> <16706@letni.UUCP> <1990Nov15.211043.21640@cbnewsl.att.com> <2971@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 90 02:49:30 GMT

In article <2971@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> tut@cairo.Eng.Sun.COM (Bill "Bill" Tuthill) writes:
> I think this is finally the end of troff.  Hallelujah!  Thank you
> AT&T for finally driving a stake through its heart.

Well, it's clear where your predjudices are....  :-(

> Here are your choices:
> 
> 	DWB 3.1 (with Picasso)		$30,000
> 	Frame 2.1 (graphics included)	$ 2,500
> 
> Admittedly DWB 3.1 includes source, but who needs source if you
> have support?  It's hard to imagine that any troff VAR would sell
> DWB 3.1 for significantly less than $2,500-- they don't now.  So
> when Frame comes out with a great table package, what advantage
> could troff offer?  A rebarbative input syntax, perhaps?

Excuse me?  Where did you get your facts?  I can buy a fully blown,
supported, DWB-2.0 for my 386, 3b2, risc, vax, ncr, sun, next, etc.
for about $275 from at least one source, and get supported jetroff or
devps for about another $200.  SoftQuad's sqtroff starts at ~$975.
Elan's troff is somewhat less than SQ's.  DWB-2.0 from ISC was ~$200.

I recall that DWB-2.0 was ~$20,000, and the additional $10,000 is for
Picasso if I rememer right.  Regardless, any increase in price would
only be in line with recent increases in other AT&T licenses.

What's a source license for Frame cost?

When Frame runs on character terminals (and/or my 5620), I'll buy it.
Out of my own pocket even!
-- 
						Greg A. Woods

woods@{eci386,gate,robohack,ontmoh,tmsoft}.UUCP		ECI and UniForum Canada
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