[comp.os.vms] CD-ROMs with DECUS software

VERKADE@CTSS.CO.UK (Herman Verkade) (09/01/90)

In the DECUS US Chapter newsletters I have seen announcements of various
CD-ROMs with DECUS software. I have tried get hold of them, but the DECUS
office here (in the UK) tells me they are not available, because of `some
legal problem'. Does anybody know more about this?

Herman Verkade

) (09/04/90)

In article <900901162055.000009F1@MARVIN.CTSS.CO.UK>, VERKADE@CTSS.CO.UK (Herman Verkade) writes:
> In the DECUS US Chapter newsletters I have seen announcements of various
> CD-ROMs with DECUS software. I have tried get hold of them, but the DECUS
> office here (in the UK) tells me they are not available, because of `some
> legal problem'. Does anybody know more about this?

Wild speculation:

There are several things in the DECUS library that are restricted to US-only
distribution. Things like Spice and anything with DES encryption. Most of the
CDs are just collections of tapes DECUS sells. It's possible that the CD(s)
you are interested in contain one or more of these.

Rand P. Hall                    UUCP: {uunet,wang,ulowell}!samsung!hubdub!rand
Merrimack College                     rand@merrimack.edu
N. Andover, MA        "Carrying a spare is negative thinking" -- Norris Weldon

VERKADE@CTSS.CO.UK (Herman Verkade) (09/12/90)

In article <ted.3381@nieland.DAYTON.OH.US>, ted@nieland.DAYTON.OH.US (Ted Nieland) writes:
>In article <31806.26e4edc7@ccavax.camb.com> bruce@ccavax.camb.com writes:
>>In article <900901162055.000009F1@MARVIN.CTSS.CO.UK>, VERKADE@CTSS.CO.UK (Herman Verkade) writes:
>>> In the DECUS US Chapter newsletters I have seen announcements of various
>>> CD-ROMs with DECUS software. I have tried get hold of them, but the DECUS
>>> office here (in the UK) tells me they are not available, because of `some
>>> legal problem'. Does anybody know more about this?
>>
>>Don't know for sure, but some DECUS s/w has historically been restricted
>>because of the export licensing of anything involving DES.
>>
>  (Material Deleted)
>>
>>In the meantime, if you can read 4mm DAT or 8mm Exabyte, and ask nicely,
>>you may well find someone willing to pop one in and let it spin for you.

>The CD-Roms are not allowed to be sent out of the country due to ITAR regulations.
>A program I submitted to the SIG tapes for the past couple of years includes
>DES code (which I got from Sweden), but cannot be sent out of the country under
>the current impression of the regulations by the DECUS Lawyers.

Maybe it's time to move the Library out of the US into Europe?? :-)

>The DECUS Library committee is working on the problem to see if the regulation
>can be bypassed under publications laws (the code has been "published" on
>Usenet and the Internet).  The Library would love to send the CD-Roms to 
>other chapters and have done so with the ones that do not restricted software
>on them.

That implies that there are CD-ROMs that are available outside the US. Which
ones are those? And why does DECUS in the UK say that no CD-ROMS whatsoever are
available.

>If the ITAR regulations are enforceable on the CD-Roms, however, anyone 
>caught sending a copy of the CD-Roms on 8mm or DAT would be in violation or
>U.S. Law.  The best thing to do at this time is let the lawyers finish up
>their work.

Anybody still offering? :-)

>For Future Reference, the Library is going to try and to a better job of
>screening software going on the CD-Roms to make sure they won't have such
>problems again.  We don't think that most people would mind taking a 
>program off the CD-Rom (with an explanation) in order to make the CD-Rom
>more distributable.

How often are CD-ROMs released? I have only seen it mentioned once in the SIG
Newsletter (But that one was labelled #5 or so). There has recently been
another tape collection. Is that one going to be on CD and, if so, would that
one become available outside the US? To me CD-ROMs are the ideal solution,
since I have an RRD40 sitting on my desk and I can easily store CD-ROM. Tapes
involve more work, they are slower and a lot more difficult to store.

BTW: What happens to the tape collections? Are there special non-US versions of
those without any of the `offending' software?

While on the subject of CD-ROMs: What is going on within DEC? In the UK they
started advertising CD-ROM distributions for VMS in October last year. It took
them until June this year to get me changed from tape to CD. Three weeks ago,
I got the VMS microfiche update with a nice letter stating that they are now
also available on CD-ROM. I phoned DEC and nobody knows a thing about it.
I have given them the order numbers in the letter, I even faxed them a copy
of what they had been sending out and still no reply what-so-ever. Is DEC
really committed to CD-ROM or are they just trying to impress people with
advertising stuff they haven't got?


In article <31806.26e4edc7@ccavax.camb.com>, bruce@ccavax.camb.com writes:
>If you have access to DECUServe (the N.A. DECUS BBS), there are many
>notes about CDROM production and DECUS CDROM pricing and ethics and on and on.
>Try the TALK_TO_THE_BOARD 12.*, and VMS 425.*. The war is NOT over, and
>we may well get CDROMS priced down where they should be.

That's another thing that doesn't seem to be available outside the US.

Well, a bit of moaning and shouting does make one feel a *lot* better :-)

Herman Verkade