Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!genrad!teddy!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!jpm@bnl.ARPA From: John McNameeNewsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: AT&T and Unix Message-ID: <7313@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Mon, 14-Jan-85 14:47:40 EST Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.7313 Posted: Mon Jan 14 14:47:40 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 20-Jan-85 01:39:31 EST Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA Organization: Ballistic Research Lab Lines: 25 I'm happy that you two are able to obtain Unix source code at a reasonable price. AT&T wants $40k from me. Maybe if AT&T were doing something nice for me I might not think about holes in their license. I'm just a single hacker, not connected to any university that got Unix cheap, so it costs me the full $40k if I want the sources legally. All your comments about how easy it is to change Unix, how enlightened AT&T is to make it available cheap, and how much better off we all are because AT&T is like this: THEY DONT APPLY TO PEOPLE WHO ARENT AT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND CANT AFFORD $40,000. While there is some argument that everybody is better off because Berkeley got Unix cheap, that isnt enough to satisfy me. When I get Unix running on my own desktop machine I will want to make changes to the system that will require sources. Since paying $40k is out of the question, my only choices are to (1) steal the sources, (2) do without, or (3) scrap Unix and use something that I can get sources to. If GNU works out then #3 will be a real option, but right now it isnt. Being of low moral standards I would probably choose #1 over #2. I'm not alone in this thinking. Lots of people have stolen source tapes so they will have it when they need it. So before you start saying how nice AT&T is, think about who they are being nice to. To you they may be giving cheap sources, but they are saying "Let them eat binaries" to the rest of us. -- John McNamee ..!decvax!philabs!sbcs!bnl jpm@BNL.ARPA