From: shaun@octel.com (Ralph Neutrino)
Subject: Re: Gibson's _Book of the Dead_ release
Organization: Octel Communications Inc., Milpitas Ca.
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 00:56:56 GMT

In article <1992Jul25.042735.10755@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> ahawks@nyx.UUCP (andy) writes:
>In article <17224@autodesk.COM> dansmith@Autodesk.COM (Daniel Smith) writes:
>|
>|	This is probably Lo Tek, but aren't there monitors for the Mac
>|with video out?  You could just tape it :-)
>|
>|            dansmith@autodesk.com            dansmith@well.sf.ca.us

Sorry ahawks, but I've got to rake you over the coals on a couple of things
here.

>Despite yer smiley, these posts about Agrippa and how to go about making it
>publically accessable bother me.  In almost every instance there has been a
>suggestion in which Agrippa must be taken *outside* of it's state and cloned.
>The essence must be kept *inside*, ie: alterred in its original form, not
>altered from a clone form, to be truly cp, IMHO.

Urp, ack.  Jeeves, bring some chairs and a tray of martinis; we're to have a
cp definition discussion.  Have the chef fix lobstertails for our guests, 
won't you?  <YACK.>  Mon, who cares if it inside or outside state, or which one
is cyberpunk?  Whatever path gets taken, illegal copies are going to come
without the fancy packaging, unless someone gets a hair up and goes balls out
on a packing piracy project.  As far as most of the readers are going to be
concerned, it's a 10 page poem.  It looks like you are asserting that to be
truly cp (definitional arguments aside,) you've got to make copies of the
whole bloody thing!  Are you going to sell shares to finance 10,000 copies
of the expensive version so we can all have one?  Clang, boot to the head.


>If I were to clone myself and
>then implant the chip, that would be cyber, but not punk.  However, if I were
>to just insert the chip in my head, altering my original being, that would be
>cyber and punk, cyberpunk.

It might be punk if it stuck out half way, scaring people in Burger Things and
train stations.  Invisible internal implants are about as punk as bridge work
or having your tonsils out.  Either way, definitionally, who cares?  The real
question is, does it give you the effect you want, from better functionality
to impressing the babes (or boys, sheep, whatever.)

>The suggestions about transcribing, taping, or whatever are not really cp.

What if you used a digital camera, saved it to a D2 tape, made an MPEG file
out of it and passed it around?  Whatever works.

>Oh, wait!  I'm wrong!  They are actually ultimately cp!  In cp, the surface is
>the substance, right?  Ok, so screw it - transferring it to a different media
>*is* cyberpunk.  Nevermind, I'm screwed.

We're all basically screwed.  Whoever dies with the most data wins.  :)  Hope
you've been keeping all those apple // wares in a cool, dry place...

>Wow...cool...Ok, so, now, maybe we should set up a videotaping tree or
>something. No, that's too complicated.  Nevermind, in today's world it's more
>practical to just get the thing in it's original medium, so, whatever....

Maybe not.  I haven't seen any in the local tower books.  I have seen a big $70
H. R. Geiger volume called _Biomechanics_ or something similar that I've been
drooling over.  It's big, heavy, and beautiful.  @Man says check it out.  Even
if Agrippa was there, it wouldn't necessarily be easier.  I have to work to earn 
money, most of the time.  If I have to pay $1500 for a disk in fancy packaging 
I can only read once, it's a hell of a lot easier to spend a few hours finding 
an alternate solution and putting the money from those weeks of work toward 
something else.  Easier in terms of time spent, anyway.  And don't forget, 
time is money.  Har har har.  (Money and time are double floats, and subject to
spurious bit twiddling.)

>PS - In keeping with the spirit, I think the first place the thing should be
>uploaded to is MindVox.  

That's aesthetically pleasing.  The second place it should go is an appropriate
mailing list.  Don't forget to forge, boys and girls!  Before cool hacks, 
cover your tracks. 

@Man
-- 
shaun@octel.com  ||  Emergency?  Call @Man's 24-Hour Bass Bin Retrieval Hotline.

"The Tuna is a very serious Fish, but also very Silent.  It has the Strength of 
 ten Men.  I have nothing but Respect for It."  -- Darryl Dung