Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!xanth!lll-winken!uunet!mcvax!hp4nl!botter!star.cs.vu.nl!ast
From: ast@cs.vu.nl (Andy Tanenbaum)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: MINIX 1.3 upgrade kit now available from P-H
Keywords: MINIX upgrade
Message-ID: <2233@ast.cs.vu.nl>
Date: 31 Mar 89 20:36:16 GMT
References: <2151@ast.cs.vu.nl> <46558@linus.UUCP> <46925@linus.UUCP>
Reply-To: ast@cs.vu.nl (Andy Tanenbaum)
Organization: VU Informatica, Amsterdam
Lines: 29

In article <46925@linus.UUCP> jcmorris@mbunix (Morris) writes:
>1.  There is no printed documentation with the update package.  
True.  Since this is an upgrade kit, it is presumed you already have MINIX
up and running.  In that case, all you have to do is mount the disks and
see what is on them.  There are some READ_ME files in various places too.
Basically, the upgrade kit simply contains all the 1.3 sources in full (no
cdiffs), plus the binaries of the compiler, patch, and ELLE.

>2.  The shrink-wrap license (which is specifically for MINIX; it's not the
>    usual boiler-plate text) seems to withdraw the permission P-H previously
>    gave for limited redistribution of the MINIX machine readable material.
It is macro-driven boiler plate.  They put MINIX in as parameter 1 and added
my email address near the end so you will bug me and not them.  There has been
no change in the distribution policy.  I don't think their lawyers quite
understand what is going on, and based on my limited experience with them so
far, I am not planning to explain it to them in the foreseeable future.

Andy Tanenbaum (ast@cs.vu.nl)

P.S. I just received my own set of the upgrade disks today, but I haven't
had a chance to open the package yet and see what's in it.  It comes in a
plain white wrapper instead of the yellow box.  Dumb as it may sound, not
waiting for the company that manufactures the yellow boxes to produce n boxes
saved about a month.  Although many hackers think of software as pure
intellectual content, with the physical representation being irrelevant, 
contracting out to get someone to make boxes (different sizes for the 5.25"
PC and 3.5" Atari disks), putting stickers on them, doing the shrink wrapping,
etc. are all distinct steps, which is why it takes so long between my giving
them the disks and their shipping them.