X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail v2.3 (R1).
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.cdromlan
Date:         Fri, 14 Aug 1992 11:50:59 EDT
Reply-To:     wallyg%fen1.gmu.edu@gmuvax2.gmu.edu
              <CDROMLAN@IDBSU.BITNET>
From:         "Clyde W. Grotophorst" <WALLYG%fen1.gmu.edu@GMUVAX2.GMU.EDU>
Subject:      Re: single user vs. standalone
X-To:         CDROMLAN%IDBSU.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu

To calm the fears of Dan Lester (and anyone else who read my message
about DRDOS and grew concerned about CD-ROM vendors were not getting
their pound of flesh out of me for a network license) ...

The message I posted about DRDOS 6.0 and mentioning that it allowed
use of a standalone version of Computer Select on our LAN may
have given the impression that I was cavalier about the requirements
of network licensing. Not so. I was trying to make a point about DR
DOS and I guess I failed to fully explain the background for
my Computer Select example...I was using a older disk from our
subscription to test installation of workstations...not making it
available to the public and not even leaving the disk on
our optical server after the workstation testing. Computer Select is
a nice package for testing in that the search software is on the disk
and it is a single disk package.  Testing connectivity at a
workstation is simplified since CS requires no installation to
speak of and thus leaves little to remove from the workstation when
testing is done.

I pay network license fees just like everyone else.

/* flame on */

Of course, while I'm on the subject, I think Ziff-Davis does in fact
have the most regressive licensing fee I've ever encountered.  First,
(to clear up a misconception that Dan's reply contained) you can not
purchase a license that allows a single simultaneous user for
Computer Select.  The miminum LAN license is a 5 user 'LAN PACK'.
So, to give unlimited access to 5 simultaneous users of what costs
$ 995.00 in its single workstation form, you pay $ 4,495.00.  Now,
there is as you can see a discount of $ 500.00 over the price of
buying 5 standalone disks.  Of course, Ziff-Davis saves the cost of
shipping you 48 CDs (4 x 12 disks per year).  If you really want to
get carried away, you can start worrying that they're actually
selling someone else the 48 CD's you're not getting...

It's funny, but even though Ziff- Davis publications g (e.g., PC
Magazine) publish columns (e.g., Jim Seymour's) decrying
the regressive networking license fees of other vendors, when their
magazines carry reviews of Computer Select (let's not even get into
the ethics of that), they  fail to mention their networking
license fees.

What would be a fair fee?  Well, if I purchased a 5 user LAN pack it
probably wouldn't be because I was considering buying 5 single
user versions of the disk and wanted to take advantage of the LAN
'discount.'  I don't really even have a complaint about their 5
user LAN pack price (though I think it's excessive). What
bugs me is that they don't offer any other increments (say 2 or 3).

/* flame off */





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