From: Stanton McCandlish <anton@hydra.unm.edu>
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 93 03:32:25 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Software infrastructure
In-Reply-To: <9306040600.AA20309@soda.berkeley.edu>
Message-ID: <9306041032.AA14588@hydra.unm.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


You CAN give away disks with Telix, it is shareware, just like QModem
(pre-QMPro), and ProComm.  Just have to let the recipient know it is not
freeware but requires registration for continued use.  
Might have to obtain permission for such distribution, depends on the
licensing.

As for "is kermit good enough?"  No.  Almost NO ONE in the DOS world uses
it any more, it is a total anachronism.  Of all the 400 or so users on my
board, many from other parts of the country, even other countries, not
ONE uses kermit (I have "What comm program do you use?" as one of the
initial login questions).  The only practical use of Kermit is for
computer newbies to use it to access the dialup lines at their school
(UNM gives out free copies of it), but most such people soon switch to
another program. 

Thing is Kermit is just plain old, and a pain in the butt.  When I
started BBSing, the Kermit protocol was supported on most BBSs; today I
cannot think of a single BBS around here that has it anymore (I'm the
defacto city BBSlist maker, so I'd know :)

Perhaps this area is atypical, and Kermit is all the rage elsewhere, but
considering how BEHIND the times Albuquerque is, I tend to doubt it.

Freeware and shareware comm programs available from any BBS or FTP site
will DUST Kermit, and I think it's a dead end.  All I can say, is any
crypto package based on a hack of Kermit will go nowhere.  I know it's
free and readily available, but well so's a kick in the ass.  >;)

-- 
        When marriage is outlawed only outlaws will be inlaws!
Stanton McCandlish,  SysOp:  Noise in the Void DataCenter Library BBS
Internet anton@hydra.unm.edu     IndraNet: 369:1/1      FidoNet: 1:301/2     
Snail: 1811-B Coal Pl. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108 USA
Data phone: +1-505-246-8515 (24hr, 1200-14400 v32bis, N-8-1)
Vox phone:  +1-505-247-3402 (bps rate varies, depends on if you woke me up...:)