🚀 go-pugleaf

 In article <822830460_OASIS_@imco.demon.co.uk>
  gary@imco.demon.co.uk (Gary Noack) wrote:-

>
>Thanks for the help with Everest. I just can't believe how easy it was!

     Thanks, it was designed to be easy! We know everybody has different
tastes, and we have made OASIS as open as is possible within the limits of
the Atari platform. 

>But what about this Oasis/Ice non-shareware thing. As Demon don't seem to 
>support there own Atari access software anymore, all we are left with is
>Oasis, which is far from perfect and would require major, major improvements
>before it would be worth 20-30 ukp IMHO.  I Know that Ice adresses some of
>the of the shortcomings of Nos, which has probably hobbled Oasis so far. But
>will it be as good as Turnpike on the PC? I'd expect it to be, as it's the
>same price. Perhaps Demon could sell Oasis in the same way.

     Firstly, the Atari software available from the Demon FTP site was never
Demon's. They never claimed to support it, only to make it available for
you! We originally wrote OASIS as the original software was a port from the
PC DOS version (the least said about it, the better) and we made the program
Freeware available to all. After many incarnations, improvements and
increased functionality (many as a direct result of peoples requests), we
decided to make the program Shareware as over a thousand hours of our FREE
time had gone into OASIS.

     Support of OASIS and general NOS queries has always been part of the
task, we don't just write the software, we make sure people can use it. The
Atari world is so diverse, from a lowly ST up to the Medusa, all can use
OASIS and generating user friendly displays is always a computer intensive
task. The limits of what would be user friendly on an ST would not be
considered in the same light on a Falcon, because of this limit we have
always strained to retain the useability on an ST within 1 Meg. 

     Since OASIS 1.35 was released over six months ago, we have not been
sitting back and watching the world go by, we have been working flat out to
produce OASIS 2 and ICE. Both of these programs will be going to Beta
testers within a week of this posting. 

     All the original features of OASIS have been retained and in most cases
dramatically re-writen to add new features, increase speed and cater for the
many requests made by users. We have added support for PGP, UUcodeing
(built into OASIS). 

     ICE is a fully working TCP/IP implementation with mail (SMTP and POP3),
news and FTP fully working. All this is achieved in a FULL GEM interface
with windows, drop down menus, dialogs and full mouse control of the
program. For die hard NOS users there is a command line and text based
configure file, the rest of us can use the menus and a point and click
configure program.

           ALL OF THIS IS ACHIEVED UNDER TOS _OR_ MAGIC!!!!!! 

     To give Atari users more access than they have ever had before
OASIS2/ICE supports download of news headers so you can select which news
articles you want off-line and then retrieve them later. This reduces phone
bills and allows you to avoid SPAMS and other annoying postings.

>The bottom line is this.
>
>I believe in the principle of shareware but I also believe that the authors
>do themselves a lot of harm by asking an unreasonable fee for registration.
>
>To sort of quote Jeff Minter '1006f five pounds is better than 223640f
>twenty pounds' 

     As many users will already know, the registration of Shareware will not
be for OASIS 2/ICE in its current form but will be for OASIS2/ICE in all its
forms, from now to the future all modifications, improvements and
enhancements will be distributed to all registered users. This does not mean
that OASIS 2/ICE will be unavailable to those who are unable or unwilling to
pay but it is unfair to expect the program free and they will only be able
to access the limited features. 

     Some people may not like the price we set, but how many people would
spend a year of their lives working damned hard in the majority of their
free time to benefit the rest of the Atari community for no reward. 

  
>AFAIK PD and Shareware are exempt from the sale of goods act, but if the
>money is taken up front the goods must be of merchantable quality, and
>despite all the disclaimers put in textfiles and manuals the vendors are
>responsible for consequential loss or damages resulting from the use of the
>product. Be warned Yeadon and Co.

     Practically all software is exempt from the Sale of Goods act as only
licences to use the software are sold. The disclaimers are always valid as
the in the end the software is only a jumble of electrons flowing around
inside a piece of hardware the condition of which is unknown. Claims are
only acceptable upto the cost of the program itself.

>Now how about some feedback here, surely this subject is more interesting
>than how many percent signs one finds in news articles. 
 

     Phil & Dave

     Hello demon.ip.support.atari, we are back!!!!!!!!

  


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  ============    Phil Yeadon ====== phil@yeadontt.demon.co.uk    ===========