AT&T and Unix

[John McNamee]

>Date: Mon, 14-Jan-85 12:47:43 PST
>From: Lauren Weinstein <vortex!lauren at RAND-UNIX.ARPA>
>
>Oh I see, I must have misunderstood you.  What you were saying, I guess,
>is that if *YOU* don't like the price of something, you feel fine
>about stealing it, or at the very least trying to find some "quasi-legal"
>loophole for ripping it off.
>
>I hope they watch you when you're in department or jewelry stores.

I dont think the department or jewelry store analogy holds up. If I were to
steal something from such a store, the net result would be that I would have
it and they would not. If a get a copy of a Unix tape, I have it and AT&T
still has it. Furthermore, AT&T has not lost a sale to me because I would
never be able to buy it in the first place. This sounds like a excuse for
software ripoffs of any sort, and in a way it is. With me it is a question of
degrees. I dont think this excuse holds up when the software is priced
reasonably. If somebody used this as an excuse for pirating a $50 program I
would probably give them hell for it. But we aren't talking about small
amounts here. We are talking about FOURTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. No individual
can afford to pay that much.

You are saying that only big corporations and educational institutions should
be able to modify Unix. Small users should all go to their binaryendor when
they want something changed. THAT STINKS. Standard Vendor Support has been
discussed in Unix-Wizards before. If your problem is shared with enough other
users it may get fixed sooner or (more likely) later. If you want something
special, either forget it or hand over huge sums to pay for your changes. The
small user with special needs is locked out.

When the computer needed to run Unix cost over $100k it was OK to charge $40k
for the sources. Only the big guys had the required computers and they were
used to paying that much. Now anybody can run Unix on a PC/XT (badly, but it
can be done) or on a PC/AT. When the hardware costs under $10k it just isnt
reasonable to charge $40k for the operating system.

I'm sure you will continue to think I am a common thief and I know that I
will continue to think I'm not that bad. Nothing either of us can say is
going to change the others thinking, so how about addressing the real issue in
all of this:

	What good are all the benefits of "cheap" Unix and the ease of
	modification to binary only people (who are either already the
	majority of Unix users or soon will be)?

You said nothing on the subject. Does your silence mean you agree that small
users are left out in the cold (but that they deserve their fate because they
cant afford a $40k source license)?
--

				John McNamee
			..!decvax!philabs!sbcs!bnl!jpm
				jpm at BNL.ARPA