rconn@Brl-Mis.ARPA (06/26/84)
From: Rick Conn <rconn@Brl-Mis.ARPA> You are right about the Ampro Little Board -- it is running ZCPR3. The same ZCPR3 is available to be licensed commercially and from SIG/M. The release to SIG/M, however, is not to the public domain, but rather to the ZCPR3 User Community - if I release it to the pd, I lose all rights to it. You will not find any reference to the pd in any of the ZCPR3 files or documentation - it is not in the pd, and I have a copyright pending on it with the US Gov't. However, you can acquire it thru the regular sources - SIG/M, BBSes, etc - and it is fine with me if you use it. If you are a commercial user who wants to include it in your product, obtaining a license from Echelon is preferred. The money made from this (the cost of a license is very low) is used to support Echelon and its activities, such as the ZCPR3 BBS, and a percentage of the profit goes back to me (in support of my further activities). I don't plan to make much money from this - I mainly hope that Echelon makes enough to continue its activities with ZCPR3. If you are a non-commercial user, Echelon offers you an option thru which to acquire ZCPR3. You can get ZCPR3 thru Echelon, SIG/M, a BBS, etc. All are alternatives for you. What I like about Echelon which the others do/may not offer is: 1. Echelon has a phone number, thru which you can place orders 2. Echelon will be providing technical support (probably for a minor fee) if you have questions and/or problems installing ZCPR3 et al 3. Echelon will be supporting a BBS which you can use for bug reports and to obtain support/answers to questions; I am tied into Echelon and this BBS 4. Echelon has promised a FAST turnaround on orders; they have contracted with a professional disk copying service and have set up things so they can respond quickly to the users 5. I am relieved of the burdon of support and questions from each user individually - this is a huge time sink - but I am still in contact with the users, et al, if problems come up with the system 6. Echelon has some excellent people behind it - Frank Gaude (who wrote DISK7 and COMM7) and Joe Wright (who is known for his expertise in writing BIOSes, such as the Ampro BIOS) - who can provide good technical support 7. Echelon has a staff to handle details and answer the phone; they are not technically-oriented, but they can take orders and do other things 8. Echelon has facilities to handle distribution of the ZCPR3 book (they will be the first to have it when it comes out). Computer clubs and other organizations, such as bookstores, are also welcome to negotiate with Zoetrope for sales rights, so the book will also not be exclusive to Echelon. These services provided by Echelon are available to commercial and non- commercial users. I like Echelon, but am not directly related and cannot be held responsible for their actions (so if you have a problem with something they did, such as send you some disks, contact them and not me). If they respond like they say they will, I think we can all benefit from them. I view this as an experiment at this time (support like this has not been available to the users before), and am interested in seeing how it works out. I will post info on how to access Echelon and Zoetrope in a day or so. Rick