wnp@dcs.UUCP (Wolf N. Paul) (07/21/88)
In article <243@belltec.UUCP> dar@belltec.UUCP (Dimitri Rotow) writes: > >Your right, we do emphasize the *complete* part in the ad ... The reason we >do so is that our publication of UNIX is the *only* UNIX you can buy which >is genuinely complete and uncut ... the usage of "complete" was intended to >refer to the fact that you get *all* of UNIX, including *all* of the >development tools, RFS, Streams, TLI, and everything else. I think that's >unique enough to want to emphasize in an ad, but not at the cost of >risking people getting a misleading impression. If the flames continue >we'll change the ad ... any suggestions on how to get across the idea that >you get *all* of UNIX whilst retaining the disaggregation of media, license, >and docs? If you agree that the wording in the ad is ambiguous, why wait to see if the flames continue? And it's not all that difficult to change: just add a line of small print right after your big, bold headline like this: U N I X S Y S T E M V R E L E A S E 3 F O R 8 0 3 8 6 F R O M $ 1 9 0 C O M P L E T E ! (2-user license only; Media Kit $ XX , Docs $ XX extra) Buy the complete Intel/AT&T UNIX system V/386 product created for Intel Corporation and certified by AT&T on AT compatibles, for only $145 for the 2 user license, and only $275 for the unlimited users license. Media kits are available for $XX and Manuals for $XX. The price includes all development tools, C Compiler, link kit, vi, and all other UNIX utilities, files and programs, including Remote File System, Streams, and TLI. 386/ix AT device drivers from Interactive Systems assure AT compatibility. One low price buys all of UNIX. ... One of the major weaknesses of the current ad is the fact that the price of the media kit is not mentioned at all. >We'd be happy to sell you just a license, except that you cannot copy your >friend's diskettes [AT&T's rules, not ours]. Since AT&T imposes profound >restrictions on the physical duplication of UNIX media we believe that we >must sell at least one copy of physical media to each licensee in order to >have a defensible case in court with AT&T. Weeeellll -- in that case, you need to say so in the ad (assuming that the media kit costs $45): U N I X S Y S T E M V R E L E A S E 3 F O R 8 0 3 8 6 F R O M $ 1 9 0 C O M P L E T E ! Buy the complete Intel/AT&T UNIX system V/386 product created for Intel Corporation and certified by AT&T on AT compatibles, for only $190 for the 2 user license with media kit and only $320 for the unlimited users license with media kit. Additional CPU licenses without media kit are only $145 and $275, respectively. The price includes all development tools, C Compiler, link kit, vi, and all other UNIX utilities, files and programs, including Remote File System, Streams, and TLI. 386/ix AT device drivers from Interactive Systems assure AT compatibility. One low price buys all of UNIX. ... Even when quoting the price of license & media kit combined, your product is still by far the cheapest, so why be less than candid and honest about your prices? You're not gaining anything and risk losing your reputation. -- Wolf N. Paul * 3387 Sam Rayburn Run * Carrollton TX 75007 * (214) 306-9101 UUCP: killer!dcs!wnp ESL: 62832882 DOMAIN: wnp@dcs.UUCP TLX: 910-380-0585 EES PLANO UD
jeffh@weycord.WEYCO.COM (07/31/88)
Personally, I think the add is mis-leading. If $145.00 does not provide "ALL OF UNIX" then it's a bullshit add. Jeff (Spectra Software) Harrell