Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 18:12:21 -0600 (MDT)
Message-Id: <199809030012.SAA11022@kewlaid.highfiber.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
To: opendos AT delorie DOT com
From: raster AT highfiber DOT com (Charles Dye)
Subject: Re: DrDos really free?
Precedence: bulk

Howard Schwartz <theo AT ncal DOT verio DOT com> writes:  [Hi, Howard!]

>I raised this question a few months ago and did not get a definitive
>(to me) answer.    [snip]
>
>If I wanted to be honest I would say that Caldera wants private 
>individuals to pay for DrDos, but they are presently reluctant to
>come right out and say this in specific license terms. Yet many
>web pages continue to claim that DrDos if free for private use.
>
>Does anyone presently know what obstacles are in the way of settling
>this issue, so this hedging language will change, one way or the other?

Caldera seems very reluctant to make a plain declaration either way.
However, their on-line store does list a specific price for what appears
to be a single-user license ($29.)  I think it's safe to say that DR DOS
is no longer free to anyone at this point.

In Caldera's defense, it should be said that 29 bucks is a great price
for a working DOS -- compare with IBM's DOS 2000, let alone Microsoft's
Bag98.  DR DOS is a mature product, reliable and featureful, and Caldera
is continuing to update it and squash bugs.  Caldera's tech support has
even been known to respond to user problem reports, unknown at certain
Software Giants Who Shall Remain Nameless.

However, to many of us who understood or misunderstood Caldera's early
reports as meaning that DR DOS would be genuine freeware along the
lines of the GNU General Public License, the product's stealthy
re-commercialization has been a disappointment.  I'd like to point out
the existence of the FreeDOS project, which has the specific aim of
producing a true GPL'ed freeware DOS.  FreeDOS at this point has neither
the polish nor the reliability of DR DOS, though it has improved
dramatically since it first came to my attention.  What it does have
are the advantages of true freeware:  the programs are free, the source
code is available, and so are the authors.  The project is always
happy to hear from users -- bug reports, suggestions, flames about The
Right Way to do things.  Code donations are welcome, too.

Interested?  Visit the FreeDOS home page at www.freedos.org

raster AT highfiber DOT com