DECUS

[Aron Insinga <ainsinga@infomation.com>]

Project Delta contributed quite a bit of software (everything we wrote, probably)
to the Decus library for distribution to other users for relatively small copying
charges.  (This was before people got to become billionaires off of their hacking
while in school.  Besides, we were funded by charitable educational institutions.)
A while ago I made a stab at trying to find out what happened to the Decus
library, without much luck.

http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/computer-science/history/pdp-11/
has the Spring '82 DECUS tape, put there by Tim Shoppa (shoppa@triumf.ca)
who said he'd put more there if he got them.  I don't think that it had any
of our stuff there, but others might recognize something; please let us know
if anyone digs through it and finds anything there from Delta.)

I never went to any DECUS events (even as a DECie).  I do recall Debbie
Persoleo bringing back a can of authentic PDP-11 paint (I think it was the
"puce", not the "plum") which got used on a bookshelf.

I also remember hearing that people there were impressed by Delta's
software and more so because it was written by high school students.
(Specificly, I think Teresa said "Well, Ed [Baker] isn't your average
high school student." and Debbie said "He's much taller than the rest." :-)

Details below for the curious.

- Aron



>MR-Received: by mta TOPAZ; Relayed; Fri, 19 Dec 1997 08:57:05 +0000
>Alternate-recipient: prohibited
>Date: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 13:47:56 +0000 (GMT)
>From: Information Account 1-800-DECUS55 <INFORMATION@decus.org>
>Subject: RE: pre-VAX software
>To: ainsinga@infomation.com
>Posting-date: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 13:57:00 +0000 (GMT)
>Importance: normal
>Priority: normal
>UA-content-id: E437ZXDYCSI6O
>A1-type: MAIL
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>
>Aron:
>
>I received your letter regarding software for PDP.  We sold our PDP licensing 
>to:
>
>		Chip Charlot
>		MENTEC INC
>		20 Industrial Dr
>		Nashua NH 03062
>		603-883-7711 X115
>
>If you call Chip, he should be able to help you.
>
>	
>Flo, DECUS Customer Service
>information@decus.org
>Tel: 1-800-332-8755
>     l-978-506-3410
>Fax:   978-506-3233

[You can imagine the messages that went here wherein I asked
how the heck they could sell licensing of DECUS contributions,
but it turns out that Flo was confused, and they didn't; eventually
I got pointed to someone who knew something:]

>From: everhart@arisia.gce.com
>Date: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 20:29:01 -0500
>To: ainsinga@infomation.com
>Subject: Re: pre-VAX software
>X-VMS-To: SMTP%"ainsinga@infomation.com"
>
>DECUS did NOT sell anything to Mentec. The staff person was confused;
>DEC sold its for-money pdp11 stuff to them, and the staff folks are
>CLERICAL (i.e., don't know about this stuff; I doubt any of them have
>been there more than 4 years, if that.) The problem is getting copies
>of the material. DECUS used to have archives of it but damfino what
>happened.
>
>I gave my rsx sigtape stuff to Chip Charlot of Mentec, but those wre
>my private tapes; the alternative was throwing them away (when I
>last moved). He MAY send them to Tim Shoppa to be put at sunsite
>for ftp; I couldn't read them anymore (they're on 9trk).
>But that was a separate issue. I don't know where the DECUS pdp8
>or pdp11 archives are.
>glenn

>From: everhart@arisia.gce.com
>Date: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 20:32:51 -0500
>To: ainsinga@infomation.com
>Subject: Re: pre-VAX software
>X-VMS-To: SMTP%"ainsinga@infomation.com"
>
>BTW, remember that DECUS staff folks are DEC employees. That is where
>I think the confusion comes from. They get a lot of calls about old
>DEC software, a little of which was given to DECUS and most of which
>is just unavailable. It occasionally creates problems like the
>one you experienced. Chip Charlot will not have the pdp11 stuff except
>the private tapes I sent him. (I'd rather have kept them, but my wife
>said either toss 'em into the trash or ship them somewhere. Shipped
>a couple hundred, tossed several hundred more. But I still have no 9trk
>drive to read 'em on, in any case. I have a few duplicates I'm gonna
>send Tim Shoppa, but wish he had the lot. I suggested that to Chip
>Charlot at the last DECUS and he said he might. It is however several
>boxes of stuff.
>
>I would also be incensed if DECUS started charging for the stuff, or
>sold "rights". They have none in fact. DECUS is not an incorporated
>entity, so giving anything to DECUS means giving it to 50000 odd
>people. Some years ago there was talk of charging for DECUS
>collections. Jamie Hanrahan and I told the staff we'd withdraw our
>stuff from the library if that were done. End of discussion.
>
>glenn everhart
>everhart@gce.com