Xref: utzoo comp.sources.d:2120 news.admin:2186
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!pilchuck!ssc!fyl
From: fyl@ssc.UUCP (Phil Hughes)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d,news.admin
Subject: Re: binaries on the net
Summary: I agree, I would rather pay $3 for a floppy disk than deal
	 with a binary on the net
Message-ID: <1220@ssc.UUCP>
Date: 16 May 88 15:32:24 GMT
References: <1574@looking.UUCP> <22099@bu-cs.BU.EDU> <392@pan.UUCP> <4577@hoptoad.uucp>
Organization: Slugland, USA
Lines: 27

In article <4577@hoptoad.uucp>, gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) writes:
> jay@splut.UUCP (Jay Maynard) wrote:

>                         Binaries are just throwaways; change CPU or OS
> and toss 'em.  Don't tell me an IBM PC binary good today will be good
> forever...I know better.
> ...
> I don't think the net should be a medium for "free" (==> other people
> pay for it, not you) distribution of binary software.  There are plenty
> of IBM PC user groups, BBS's, Fidos, and companies that charge
> $3/floppy for PD software, doing that.  It should be a medium for the
> continuing evolution of software (and programmers).  

Although I have nothing against free software, net distribution of
binaries is not free.  As a usenet node we pay for that distribution
every day.  As far as I know there are no MS-DOS or Apple users down
stream from us but I hesitate to chuck all the binary groups as I expect
there would be someone who cared somewhere.  In the mean time, we use
an Atari ST to generate graphics for the classes we teach and to do
flyers and ads.  The public domain software we have for the Atari
came from the old $3/disk vendors.  I would rather send $3 to someone
for the disk than deal with watching for the binary I want, extracting
it, transfering it, unpacking it and attempting to find out what system
screwed up on the transfer so the binary is useless.

-- 
Phil    uunet!pilchuck!ssc!fyl