jay@splut.UUCP (Jay Maynard) (11/14/87)
In article <939@hao.UCAR.EDU>, woods@hao.UCAR.EDU (Greg Woods) writes: > I suggest that it is more reliable and more cost efficient to send mag > tapes via traditional shipping methods. That way, those who benefit > from the transmission pay the cost of it instead of us. There's only one problem with this, Greg: I can't stuff a DC2000, or a 9-track tape, into the 5-1/4 inch drive that represents the only removable mass storage on my system. I'd be happy to pay for someone to send me a stack of floppies, but there are precious few out there that can write either 1.2 meg or 360K floppies in cpio format that my Microport system can read that have the tape drives as well... Don't get me wrong: I greatly appreciate the backbone's generosity. Until wel can come up with a way to get stuff from the VAXen that some folks (not necessarily you) think that all the world runs to the rest of the machines in the real world, this will continue... -- Jay Maynard, K5ZC (@WB5BBW)...>splut!< | uucp: uunet!nuchat!splut!jay Never ascribe to malice that which can | or: academ!uhnix1!--^ adequately be explained by stupidity. | GEnie: JAYMAYNARD CI$: 71036,1603 The opinions herein are shared by none of my cats, much less anyone else.
root@uwspan.UUCP (John Plocher) (11/16/87)
+---- jay@splut.UUCP (Jay Maynard) writes in <244@splut.UUCP> ---- | > I suggest that it is more reliable and more cost efficient to send mag | > tapes via traditional shipping methods. | There's only one problem with this, Greg: I can't stuff a DC2000, or a | 9-track tape, into the 5-1/4 inch drive +---- Jay, and others with Microport Unix systems: You can (for $1300) get a complete external 60Mb DC600A QIC-32 streaming tape system from Bell Tech (software, drivers, support, the whole 9 yards...) For $675 you can buy a 60Mb DC600A QIC-32 Everex system, add Microport's own drivers and SW, and get the same thing. This tape format is also used by Sun, Xenix, and others. If you need to send/get something, what are the chances of your calling up the party that has what you want and setting up a DIRECT uucp connection (you know, you call her machine yourself, on your dime)? Microport is even thinking about setting up a 386 system with login and uucp dialup access for those who want to dl usenet sources. BTW, the packages posted to the net will each fit on a small number of 1.2Meg disks, usually one. You could send someone a postage paid mailer with a disk in it + $10.00 or so for the bother and he could make you a copy. Still cheaper than emailing it! (1.2 Meg at 1200 baud = 2+ hours @ $8/hr) There are *many* ways to do what you want; the best of them don't involve stepping on the toes of those who provide a free lunch for the rest of us. (Thanks Erik, Greg, Mark, George, Rick, Henry, et al; next time I guess I should spring for desert? :-) -John -- Email to unix-at-request@uwspan with questions about the newsgroup unix-at, otherwise mail to unix-at@uwspan with a Subject containing one of: 386 286 Bug Source Merge or "Send Buglist" (Bangpath: rutgers!uwvax!uwspan!unix-at & rutgers!uwvax!uwspan!unix-at-request)
gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) (11/16/87)
woods@hao.UCAR.EDU (Greg Woods) wrote: > I suggest that it is more reliable and more cost efficient to send mag > tapes via traditional shipping methods. That way, those who benefit > from the transmission pay the cost of it instead of us. jay@splut.UUCP (Jay Maynard) wrote: > There's only one problem with this, Greg: I can't stuff a DC2000, or a > 9-track tape, into the 5-1/4 inch drive that represents the only removable > mass storage on my system... They both have valid problems. Greg has the problem that random people are spending his modem time and disk space to get their work and play done. Jay has the old familiar find-the-common-medium problem, exacerbated by the IBM PC market's slowness to supply standard cartridge drives. There is a fix for both of these problems. Jay clearly has a modem, or he wouldn't likely be on the Usenet. The fix is for Jay to set up a uucp link with whoever he wants to move large sources with. I do this for people to pick up copies of the GNU C compiler occasionally, and believe me, if somebody wants a 2 meg piece of software, they are usually willing to go to the effort to set up a uucp link with you. If they aren't willing, it's OK by me that they not get the software from me; I guess they didn't want it enough.. I agree totally with Greg about sending large sources through other peoples' machines. Set up a direct link and don't piss off the middleman! -- {pyramid,ptsfa,amdahl,sun,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu gnu@toad.com Love your country but never trust its government. -- from a hand-painted road sign in central Pennsylvania
billw@killer.UUCP (Bill Wisner) (11/18/87)
>I agree totally with Greg about sending large sources through other >peoples' machines. Set up a direct link and don't piss off the middleman! This strikes me as an opportune moment to note that I can arrange for a UUCP login on killer if anybody wants to grab anything from my archives of comp.sources.unix, comp.sources.games, comp.sources.misc, and various other miscellaneous stuff. Send me mail if interested. (Plug, plug) -- Bill Wisner, HASA "A" Division ..{codas,ihnp4}!killer!billw "I don't mind at all.." -- Bourgeois Tagg