lindsay@gandalf.cs.cmu.edu (Donald Lindsay) (11/26/90)
In article <1990Nov16.234227.3246@cs.cmu.edu> spot@WOOZLE.GRAPHICS.CS.CMU.EDU (Scott Draves) writes: >If the ideal display were announced tomorrow, >paper would still exist because you can't get information from publishers >in digital/on-line form. This isn't being rectified as we speak, either. Actually, it is. The ACM has announced its first CD-ROM, a single disc containing eight years worth of Computing Reviews. Other CDs are to follow, from ACM and from the IEEE. It's simply the logical extension to all those Technical Reports available by FTP. I wouldn't mind devoting a cubic foot of my house to (say) everything that the ACM ever published in its entire history. If optical tape ("digital paper") catches on, they might even publish the works on a single 50 GB cartridge. I'm a year behind on some topics: a CD-of- the-year club would work out nicely. The downside is that ACM wants $799 for one CD. Since the fabrication cost is perhaps $2 per CD, this is clearly cost-recovery. We should let our societies know that we expect this service, and that we expect a price curve, down towards $2. -- Don D.C.Lindsay
sysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) (11/26/90)
In article <11191@pt.cs.cmu.edu>, lindsay@gandalf.cs.cmu.edu (Donald Lindsay) writes: >The downside is that ACM wants $799 for one CD. Since the fabrication >cost is perhaps $2 per CD, this is clearly cost-recovery. We should >let our societies know that we expect this service, and that we >expect a price curve, down towards $2. So what format are the papers in? Were they scanned in or are we talking simple ASCII text? Compilation of the works cost someone a certain amount of time and energy, plus the initial mastering of the disk (some number greater than $2 bucks). Now, having _Jane's All the World's <fill in favorite weapon's system>_ @ $799. Yes, I'd be tempted.... %%%%% Signature v1.1 %%%%% Doug Mohney, Operations Manager, CAD Lab/ME, Univ. of Maryland College Park * Why do VMS system managers get more sleep and less ulcers than their * * UNIX(TM) counterparts, despite the sophistication of UNIX? *