sonny@charybdis.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) (12/27/90)
Shareware includes some of the most useful, affordable software in the DOS world, BUT... I am continually amazed at the quality and quantity of DOS software that is ENTIRELY free to the individual user. But often you will have to search through mountains of mostly-shareware archives at the four corners of the earth to find it. And in my experience it seems that some of the really nice packages often are not widely known. That is remarkable. (For example, I only recently discovered AHED, a quite nice free editor with WordStar-compatible commands -- something I had sought a long while.) Surely there is an archive site somewhere with an area devoted exclusively to Public Domain and Free software, and I simply do not know of it. Certainly, users would be grateful to find such a site. If you know of such a site, please tell me. Thanks. _____________________________________________________________________________ Bob Davis, UofALA alum \\ INTERNET: sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com | _ _ | Harris Corporation, ESS \\ UUCP: ...!uunet!x102a!trantor!sonny |_| |_| | | Advanced Technology Dept.\\ AETHER: K4VNO |==============|_/\/\/\|_| PO Box 37, MS 3A/1912 \\ VOICE: (407) 727-5886 | I SPEAK ONLY | |_| |_| | Melbourne, FL 32902 \\ FAX: (407) 729-2537 | FOR MYSELF. |_________|
sonny@charybdis.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) (12/28/90)
In article <5156@trantor.harris-atd.com> sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) writes: > > Shareware includes some of the most useful, affordable >software in the DOS world, BUT... > > I am continually amazed at the quality and quantity of >DOS software that is ENTIRELY free to the individual user. But >often you will have to search through mountains of mostly-shareware >archives at the four corners of the earth to find it. > > And in my experience it seems that some of the really nice >packages often are not widely known. That is remarkable. (For example, >I only recently discovered AHED, a quite nice free editor with >WordStar-compatible commands -- something I had sought a long while.) > > Surely there is an archive site somewhere with an area >devoted exclusively to Public Domain and Free software, and I simply >do not know of it. Certainly, users would be grateful to find such >a site. > > If you know of such a site, please tell me. > > Thanks. E-mail responses to this posting of mine highlight my problem in locating TRUE Public Domain and FREEWARE (NOT SHAREWARE -- I say again: NOT SHAREWARE) archives. I am now receiving, via E-mail, things like a complete listing of ALL FTP SITES ON THE INTERNET. I appreciate your attempt to help, but, Friends, I already know of the Infinity of Internet ftp sites! I know and love: SIMTEL, CHYDE, GRAPE, WUPD, etc., etc., etc. The problem, as I stated in my original posting, is that one must wade thru a veritable MOUNTAIN of software titles to discover a PD or FREEWARE title of true usefulness. Surely a savvy archive manager has already recog- nized the value and usefulness of GOOD, TRUE PD and FREE stuff in the DOS arena, and has consequently established an area in her archive as a repository of NOTHING but FREE stuff. Right? Where at IS it? THAT's the question. _____________________________________________________________________________ Bob Davis, UofALA alum \\ INTERNET: sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com | _ _ | Harris Corporation, ESS \\ UUCP: ...!uunet!x102a!trantor!sonny |_| |_| | | Advanced Technology Dept.\\ AETHER: K4VNO |==============|_/\/\/\|_| PO Box 37, MS 3A/1912 \\ VOICE: (407) 727-5886 | I SPEAK ONLY | |_| |_| | Melbourne, FL 32902 \\ FAX: (407) 729-2537 | FOR MYSELF. |_________|
hv@uwasa.fi (Harri Valkama LAKE) (01/06/91)
In article <1991Jan5.223144.7942@beach.csulb.edu> dlittlej@beach.csulb.edu ("Darren Littlejohn") writes: >Here is a million of 'em. Knock yourself out. >Darren Littlejohn...future great person and benefactor of all humanity. NO, NO, STOP THE PRESS! This is ages old. This list is updated monthly and we have Jon Granrose who maintains this list has just sent us the newest version. You can get it from his mail server or by using ftp or our mail server from chyde.uwasa.fi We have it as pc/doc/ftpsites.lst -- == Harri Valkama, University of Vaasa, Finland =========================== P.O. Box 700, 65101 VAASA, Finland (tel:+358 61 248426 fax:+358 61 248465) email: hv@garbo.uwasa.fi hv@nic.funet.fi harri.valkama@wmac00.uwasa.fi Anonymous ftp chyde.uwasa.fi (128.214.12.3) & nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100)
sonny@charybdis.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) (01/07/91)
In article <1991Jan6.141927.22377@uwasa.fi> hv@uwasa.fi (Harri Valkama LAKE) writes: >In article <1991Jan5.223144.7942@beach.csulb.edu> dlittlej@beach.csulb.edu ("Darren Littlejohn") writes: >>Here is a million of 'em. Knock yourself out. >>Darren Littlejohn...future great person and benefactor of all humanity. > >NO, NO, STOP THE PRESS! This is ages old. This list is updated monthly >and we have Jon Granrose who maintains this list has just sent us the >newest version. You can get it from his mail server or by using ftp or >our mail server from chyde.uwasa.fi > >We have it as pc/doc/ftpsites.lst > >-- This list of ftpsites is a good list, and I recommend it to all. HOWEVER, as I said in a prior post here, this is not what I sought in my original post that began this thread. I seek an archive which specializes in STRICTLY Public Domain or Freeware DOS software. NOT SHAREWARE. An archive with an index that somehow flags PD or Free stuff would be nice. When I purchase Shareware or Commercial software I want to do so armed with the knowledge of the capabilities of the Free software it has to beat. There seems to be an erroneous, deep-seated, widespread belief (one could almost say universal belief, from what I have seen) that EVERYTHING available by anonymous ftp is in the Public Domain. From the informed user's standpoint, it would be wonderful if archive indexes flagged software as: 1. PD (anyone can use, modify, sell it even, without paying anyone anything) 2. Freeware (Copyrighted but free to the individual, noncommercial user. Commercial users often have to pay.) 3. Shareware (Free distribution and trial use, but if I like it and continue to use it, I pay for it). From all evidence, even software authors are confused about these classifications. For example, I have seen a package in which the author in one paragraph magnanimously announces that the package is hereby placed into the Public Domain, in the next paragraph he states that the package is Copyright (C) with All Rights Reserved, followed by a paragraph in which he gives an address to which $10 should be sent if you like the software. Now, buddy, that just about covers ALL the bases! _____________________________________________________________________________ Bob Davis, UofALA alum \\ INTERNET: sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com | _ _ | Harris Corporation, ESS \\ UUCP: ...!uunet!x102a!trantor!sonny |_| |_| | | Advanced Technology Dept.\\ AETHER: K4VNO |==============|_/\/\/\|_| PO Box 37, MS 3A/1912 \\ VOICE: (407) 727-5886 | I SPEAK ONLY | |_| |_| | Melbourne, FL 32902 \\ FAX: (407) 729-2537 | FOR MYSELF. |_________|
ts@uwasa.fi (Timo Salmi) (01/07/91)
In article <5190@trantor.harris-atd.com> sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) writes: : > From the informed user's standpoint, it would be wonderful if >archive indexes flagged software as: > > 1. PD (anyone can use, modify, sell it even, without paying anyone > anything) > > 2. Freeware (Copyrighted but free to the individual, > noncommercial user. Commercial users often > have to pay.) > > 3. Shareware (Free distribution and trial use, but if I like it > and continue to use it, I pay for it). > > From all evidence, even software authors are confused about these >classifications. For example, I have seen a package in which the author : Yes, it would certainly be worderful, but probably also totally impractical. At least two reasons: 1) As you state yourself, there is too much confusion on the classification. 2) Consider the amount of work involved. E.g. classifying the all files uwasa.fi and Simtel20 have might take years of work. (The road to hell has always been paved with good intentions :-) ................................................................... Prof. Timo Salmi (Moderating at anon. ftp site 128.214.12.3) School of Business Studies, University of Vaasa, SF-65101, Finland Internet: ts@chyde.uwasa.fi Funet: gado::salmi Bitnet: salmi@finfun
sonny@charybdis.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) (01/07/91)
In article <1991Jan6.190825.26064@uwasa.fi> ts@uwasa.fi (Timo Salmi) writes: >In article <5190@trantor.harris-atd.com> sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) writes: >: >> From the informed user's standpoint, it would be wonderful if >>archive indexes flagged software as: >> 1. PD (anyone can use, modify, sell it even, without paying anyone >> anything) >> 2. Freeware (Copyrighted but free to the individual, >> noncommercial user. Commercial users often >> have to pay.) >> 3. Shareware (Free distribution and trial use, but if I like it >> and continue to use it, I pay for it). >> From all evidence, even software authors are confused about these >>classifications. For example, I have seen a package in which the author > >Yes, it would certainly be worderful, but probably also totally >impractical. At least two reasons: > 1) As you state yourself, there is too much confusion on the > classification. > 2) Consider the amount of work involved. E.g. classifying the all > files uwasa.fi and Simtel20 have might take years of work. > >(The road to hell has always been paved with good intentions :-) Certainly I did not mean to suggest going through the massive and Excellent archives at uwasa.fi and Simtel20 solely to mark the files. On the other hand, you and Petersen do an astounding amount of updating already, incorporating new versions (often with new one-line descriptions). So perhaps future one-liner descriptions supplied by authors could be requested to contain the designators: P: for Public Domain, F: for Freeware, and S: for Shareware -- or something similar -- in all cases for which the designation is known. That way, over time at least, the archive would become categorized. And if the submitters incorporated the designators in their supplied 1-liner descriptions themselves, the moderator might not be additionally burdened. (For the life of me, I cannot comprehend how you or Petersen get around to all the current maintenance functions you both perform so admirably. The usefulness of this archival work to DOS users and the work that must be involved in it is certainly not underestimated by me -- nor, I would guess, by most of the DOS users on the net.) The confusion over the designations might be eliminated if, in the rules for submission to the archive, definitions were given for P:, F:, and S: designations, and the authors had to choose one. (Might not the stairway to Heaven be built one gilded step at a time? :-) _____________________________________________________________________________ Bob Davis, UofALA alum \\ INTERNET: sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com | _ _ | Harris Corporation, ESS \\ UUCP: ...!uunet!x102a!trantor!sonny |_| |_| | | Advanced Technology Dept.\\ AETHER: K4VNO |==============|_/\/\/\|_| PO Box 37, MS 3A/1912 \\ VOICE: (407) 727-5886 | I SPEAK ONLY | |_| |_| | Melbourne, FL 32902 \\ FAX: (407) 729-2537 | FOR MYSELF. |_________|