Sender: villani AT server1 DOT iop DOT com
Message-ID: <359774CB.31DF@iop.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 07:04:43 -0400
From: Pat Villani <patv AT iop DOT com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: OpenDOS AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: Is Dr. DOS still free?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Precedence: bulk

Mike Webb at mwebb AT mail DOT enterprise1701 DOT com wrote:
> > From:          Howard Schwartz <theo AT ncal DOT verio DOT com>
> > Reading over the Caldera web site recently I found myself confused as
> > to whether the current Dr. DOS 7.02 (and Web Spider?) is still free
> > to private individuals who use the OS for non-commercial purposes.
> > Can someone put this one to rest for me?
> 
> I recently emailed Caldera about this myself. The web site IS confusing;
> the license agreement on the site no longer has the "free" wording, but the
> download page does. The person I corresponded with had a time getting a
> straight answer himself, but the bottom line he finally got was no. It's
> free for evaluation (limited to 90 days for businesses, limited but
> non-specific period for others), but that's as far as it goes nowadays.
> 
> I was disappointed with that answer; seems to me that a free non-commercial
> distribution would be a great way to build recognition and eventual
> commercial market share, but that's not the route they've chosen to go. I
> understand they paid big bucks to get the DOS from Novell, so I guess they
> figure that they have to charge everybody to recoup their $$.

They already took the route of offering it for free, getting recognition
and then charging for it.  That's where they're at now ;-)

Pat

-- 

+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Pat Villani                    | Email:            patv AT iop DOT com     |
|                                | Amateur call:     WB2GBF           |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ 
| FreeDOS: the only free MS-DOS  | FreeDOS: http://www.freedos.org/   |
| compatible operating system.   | DOS-C:   http://www.iop.com/~patv  |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ 
| "I have often thought that if there had been a good rap group       |
| around in those days , I might have chosen a career in music        |
| instead of politics." -- Richard M. Nixon                           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
-- 

+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Pat Villani                    | Email:            patv AT iop DOT com     |
|                                | Amateur call:     WB2GBF           |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ 
| "I have often thought that if there had been a good rap group       |
| around in those days , I might have chosen a career in music        |
| instead of politics." -- Richard M. Nixon                           |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+