Rem@IMSSS (10/30/85)
Anybody interested in microfiche of PCNET archive? See messages below, originally sent to INFO-PCNET (Frank Wancho suggested copying them here too). %% ORIGINAL MESSAGE ANNOUNCING UPCOMING FICHE, BEFORE I FINISHED PROCESSING Date: 21 Aug 1985 1451-PDT Subject: PCNET archives on microfiche soon To: INFO-PCNET%MIT-MC@SCORE I will soon be creating Computer-Output-Microfiche of all the PCNET files I can find. This will include (1) all the major files online at MIT-MC a few months ago when I made preliminary conversion of them, (2) all the PCNET-related files I had on the Datacomputer at the beginning of 1980, (3) any random PCNET-related files that I backed up at SU-AI from 1980 to 1984, minus a few files that were lost due to unreadable SU-AI tapes. Group (1) is a little more than five full fiche. Groups (2) and (3) I haven't yet made preliminary conversion so don't know how much. Each fiche costs me $3.50 for the master plus $0.25 for each copy. If any of you might want your copy of this set of fiche, I'll charge you the $0.25 per fiche-copy plus your share of the $3.50 original plus postage. (I.e. I make no profit from this.) Anybody with microfiche readers interested in getting the fiche set? Contact me by net mail now and I'll let you know more info as it develops. %% UPDATE AFTER PROCESSING DONE AND MASTER FICHE DONE Date: 28 Oct 1985 1328-PST From: Rem@IMSSS Subject: Last call for PCNET fiche To: INFO-PCNET%MIT-MC@SCORE The Computer-Output-Microfiche of PCNET files has been made and looks good. On twelve little pieces of plastic are virtually all PCNET-related files that ever existed, from the founding days in 1977 up to the latest MIT-MC files as of this year when I FTP'd the files to IMSSS to make the fiche. My cost has been $3.50/original (total $42) plus $.25/copy ($3 per copy set), i.e. $(42 + 3*n) where n is the number of copy sets made. I'm still looking for other people to share costs, somebody who would rather have this compact memory of PCNET instead of a bulky incomplete set of paper listings or a lot of disk space tied up permanently. Reply to REM@MIT-MC.ARPA or REM%IMSSS@SCORE Hurry, I need to know in a day or so how many copies to order. %% CURRENT STATUS AS I SEND THIS MESSAGE I have received four (4) requests for copies from INFO-PCNET people, plus one other tentative, so the cost will be split at least 5 ways (myself plus 4 requests), or at least 6 ways if somebody from PROTOCOLS wants a copy too. Cost would then be ($42 + $3*6)/6 = $42/6 + $3 = $10 per copy. How much do you usually pay for a set of reference manuals and other cruft totalling 2393 pages? (Note that this is the original PCNET, designed to link all brands of computers large and small into a network for personal and other arbitrary use, not the later trademark-infringement of similar name by Orchrid Technology that runs on the so-called "IBM PC" only.) -------