Ksh (newest)

[David H. Brierley]

In article <54 at morwyn.UUCP> forrie at morwyn.UUCP (Forrie Aldrich) writes:
>Well, I had a thought:  if someone KNEW someone who HAD this src
>and the license, etc... maybe we could work out a deal where the
>person would compile it for the 3b1 and distribute it for a small
>fee (or free?)... depending on what the legalities are...

This is possible but not very probable.  The source code for ksh88e costs
approximately $3000, plus maybe $50 for transmission charges, plus a couple
of hundred for obtaining the Toolchest license in the first place.  Let's say
the whole thing will cost $3500.  For that price you are allowed to compile
and install the program on all machines that are owned by the organization
that holds the Toolchest license.  However, what Forrie is asking for is to
be able to distribute the binaries to other machines that are not owned by
the license holder.  This is not covered under the original $3000 fee but is
available for a measly $10000 (ten thousand) extra!  This brings the total
price for obtaining the source and a license which allows you to distribute
binary copies to approximately $13500.  I don't know about you but I don't
have that kind of money lying around idle.  In order to convince someone that
it would be economically feasible to do this you would have to get
*gauranteed* orders from enough people to pay for the software.  This means
that you would need either 135 people who were willing to pay $100 or 270
people who would pay $50 or some other combination that totals up to $13500.

Here's what I would like to do:  if you would be willing to pay for a copy of
ksh88e for the 3b1 send me mail saying so and indicate what your top price
would be.  If I get enough reponses to make it economically feasible I will
then ask everyone to send me a check for the cost of the software divided by
the number of people who respond.  Once I get all the money I will buy the
software and send everyone a diskette containing a compiled copy of ksh88e.

I realize that this sounds a little like a scam but I am actually willing to
do this if there is enough support.  There is no way I could shell out that
kind of money without taking a collection first so it is not possible for me
to purchase the software and then trust that I can sell enough copies to get
my money back.  If I get a really overwhelming response maybe I could check
on getting some of the other goodies that they have available on the
Toolchest.

Again, this is a legitimate offer.  If you are willing to pay money for a
copy of ksh88e, send me e-mail now.  Do not send me any money unless I send
you mail back indicating how much money you should send.  The more people
that are willing to purchase a copy, the less each copy will cost.  I am not
trying to make any money out of this, I am just trying to provide a service
to the 3b1 community without losing any money.

P.S. All of this is contingent on my re-reading the Toolchest license
agreement and verifying that my understanding of the terms of the license
are in fact correct.  For example, if there are any fees that have to be paid
to ATT for each binary copy that is sold then this would probably raise the
price too much.
-- 
David H. Brierley
Home: dave at galaxia.newport.ri.us; Work: dhb at quahog.ssd.ray.com
Send comp.sources.3b1 submissions to comp-sources-3b1 at galaxia.newport.ri.us
%% Can I be excused, my brain is full. **