nobody@tekecs.GWD.TEK.COM (-for inetd server command) (03/01/89)
In article <8400010@gistdev> dlp@gistdev.UUCP writes: >there's no excuse for 'not knowing anything about it'. I am sick of seeing >notes that basically say 'I got a real bargain deal on <hardware>, but the >guy I got it from couldn't tell me anything about it, and of course I didn't >ask any questions, let alone call the police. Can I get the docs for it >from the net for free? Thanks loads, suckers.' I'm also sick of seeing >notes about bargain deals on <hardware> at auctions, swap meets, etc. This sort of flaming doesn't seem to be in the spirit of cooperation that I think this news group is all about. It seems to me that no one is looking for a free ride, they are just looking for pointers to information. I don't see how asking about pointers to hardware documentation differs from asking about documentation for software or anything else. People routinely exchange man pages and README files via e-mail, why should hardware docs be any different? Naturally, each user should consider the cost of transmitting such documents, and use paper mail where the cost might otherwise be prohibitive. The comments in the quote above seem to presume that all undocumented hardware is stolen. I really must take exception to this assertion. The author of the above remarks may not have realized that the PC has become so widely used that disks, boards and other components are becoming a commodity. Used parts are beginning appear from reputable dealers just like used parts for automobiles. Like automobiles, the original owner may not have kept all the documentation for a given part, or they may have never had it in the first place, for legitimate reasons. (e.g. PC's, like automobiles, are sometimes sold as a pre-configured package, the system integrator does not always include all component documentation.) I maintain that one of the intended functions of this news group is to help people gain knowledge about the use and maintenance of PC's. With this in mind, I feel that the exchange of information about hardware, used or otherwise, is appropriate and should not be flamed. If my interpretation of what is appropriate for this news group is wrong, please let me know. I don't want to violate network etiquette, so correct me if I am wrong, but please, do so in a rational tone and with an open mind. stank US Mail: Stan Kalinowski, Tektronix, Inc. Information Display Group, Interactive Technologies Division PO Box 1000, MS 61-028, Wilsonville OR 97070 Phone:(503)-685-2458 uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,allegra,uw-beaver}!tektronix!orca!stank
jlh@loral.UUCP (Physically Phffft) (03/02/89)
In article <8400010@gistdev> dlp@gistdev.UUCP writes: > >there's no excuse for 'not knowing anything about it'. I am sick of seeing >notes that basically say 'I got a real bargain deal on <hardware>, but the >guy I got it from couldn't tell me anything about it, and of course I didn't >ask any questions, let alone call the police. Can I get the docs for it >from the net for free? Thanks loads, suckers.' I'm also sick of seeing >notes about bargain deals on <hardware> at auctions, swap meets, etc. So what high-crime-rate ghetto did you just crawl out from? Last month I posted a question on the hardware in my system here at work, the previous owner went on to greener (I hope) pastures and nobody could find any documentation on the system. There was a card in it with the company name Irwin on it and nothing else, I didn't even know what it was until net people informed me Irwin makes tape backup systems. I'm sure the company bought it, and not from some guy in a long coat with XTs on the left sleeve and ATs on the right. Have you ever been to an electronic swap meet? How about an auction where they clear out the inventory for a company that went tits up? Or how about good ol' Fred, who thought he'd use his AT to balance his checkbook, then left it in the closet for two years. Lets be honest, I'd say most people who want hardware info got their hardware legitamatly (sp), not off some crazed crack fiend whose main source of income is the hot burglary. Jim -- Jim Harkins jlh@loral.cts.com Loral Instrumentation, San Diego
peter@apexepa.UUCP (Peter Palij) (03/04/89)
In article <1918@loral.UUCP> jlh@loral.UUCP (Physically Phffft) writes: >In article <8400010@gistdev> dlp@gistdev.UUCP writes: >inventory for a company that went tits up? Or how about good ol' Fred, ^^^^^^^ belly up is a less sexest way of saying the same thing.... -- ----------------- Peter Palij uunet!apexepa!peter Apex Software Corporation peter@apexepa.uucp Phone: (412) 681-4343