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From: jet@karazm.math.uh.edu (J Eric Townsend)
Subject: Re: Sun User's Group & COPS
Message-ID: <1991May14.234340.15041@menudo.uh.edu>
Keywords: $$
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Organization: University of Houston -- Department of Mathematics
References: <25429@as0c.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: Tue, 14 May 1991 23:43:40 GMT


Before I start, I should mention that I'm pres of the Houston
User Group for Suns, the LUG that's actually compiling the CD
for SUG.

In article <25429@as0c.sei.cmu.edu> df@sei.cmu.edu (Dan Farmer) writes:
>I asked them, and they said that they were going to sell this CD for $250.
>I have no idea if this is standard for these kinds of things, but that
>seems *very* high 

Well, seeing as most places charge $150+ for distribution of a 150Mb
1/4" tape, I think it's farily reasonable.  True, individual cost
of CD's in production is around 6-10, but there's mastering and
time costs involved.  As I understand it (that is, what a
SUG board member explained to me), SUG is not trying to make a
profit on the CD, just as they didn't try to make a profit on
previous year's "SUG Tapes".  (I've heard rumors that SUG actually took
a loss on the earlier tapes.)

The target audience of the SUG CD-ROM, IMHO, is sites who don't
have Internet/Alternet connections but who want to be able to
get all sorts of neat goodies.  To buy GNU and X11R4 tapes (two
items on the CD-ROM) would cost you well over US$425 ($150 for GNU,
$275 for X11R4 tapes, but it appears you have to spend $400 
for "tapes, manuals and book", see your X11R4 docs).

I don't believe it is the intention of SUG to in any way rip off the
sun-owning public by overpricing "free" software.

> Heck, they could have probably just slapped my stuff on the CD and 
>I'd have never said a word, since cops is free anyway, but since they 
>asked me to sign a legal disclaimer, now I'm interested in this.

SUG did that for various reasons -- I'm pretty sure the most important
one was the Berne conventions that cause all work to be copyrighted
by default.  By obtaining a legal statement from you, SUG prevents
itself from being sued (as opposed to relying on information in a
README file, which wouldn't stand up well in court).


>p.s.  If you're interested in cops, you can get it via anon-ftp at
>cert.sei.cmu.edu, ~ftp/pub/cops/1.02.  All for the price of an ftp connection.

Har.  Have you priced those lately?  Jeesh.  I'd rather buy a 911
and fill it with 8mm tapes.

--
J. Eric Townsend - jet@uh.edu - bitnet: jet@UHOU - vox: (713) 749-2126
Skate UNIX or bleed, boyo...(UNIX is a trademark of Unix Systems Laboratories).
[As soon as my Amiga 3000 arrives, it'll be Skate Motorola time!]