🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <4947@wet.UUCP> rick@wet.UUCP (Rick Rutledge) writes:
>Among the many things documented in your DOS manual (which you wouldn't have
>if your DOS is pirated, i.e., stolen, of course)....

FYI, Microsoft does not always include a manual when an MS-DOS license
is purchased. For example, purchasing a "license pack" gives the purchasee
the legal right to put a copy of MS-DOS on a computer and a coupon to send
in if you want to arrange purchase of a manual. This is designed for large
corporate environments.

Also, Microsoft does not require OEM [Original Equipment Manufacturers] 
licensees [for example, Compaq, ZDS, Dell, Gateway] to include manuals
and/or disks when they sell MS-DOS to their customers. Most of them do,
but many of them want the option.  This is partly because MS-DOS has
been around 10 years and a lot of buyers *now* either feel that they 
"know enough" they don't need the manual, or they have another book
on MS-DOS, or their company has 3 other MS-DOS manuals, or whatever.

If you walk into a store and pick up a copy of the MS-DOS 5 Upgrade, 
it'll have a manual. But if you buy a new machine, you may have to
ask for it [and probably pay for it too].

The following is to the best of my knowledge as a member (or,
corporate drone/dweeb) in the MS-DOS product group and former
MS-DOS/Windows support dweeb. But I ain't officially speaking for
microsoft and if they changed this policy last Tuesday I wasn't
notified <grin>. And this certainly doesn't say anything about 
other OS manufacturer's policies.

-jen