1. OK, what can you post here?
2. Why the name "Unofficial" CP/M web page?
3. Can I make a CD of this software, and sell it?
4. Does Caldera have any more DRI software that they haven't distributed yet?
5. Why don't you have boot disk images on your web site?
6. Are you going to post a CBIOS for my "XYZ" computer?
7. Are you going to list the names of those who donate to your web page?
8. What is THE CP/M DOCUMENTATION PROJECT?
9. Why did you remove all the GEM software?
10. Can I set up a mirror of your site?
11. Is there anything I can do to support your work?
12. Is CP/M in the Open Source now?
1. Q : OK, what can you post here?
A : Basically, anything produced by Digital Research except the operating
system products that posess some PCDOS/MSDOS compatibility. I can post all
8080/Z80, 68000, Z8000, and CP/M-86 products.
Please remember that, unlike the site itself, my e-mail bandwidth is very limited.
This means that if you have something to post, just send me a short e-mail notification,
and I will provide you an address where to send/upload the stuff.
2. Q : Why the name "Unofficial" CP/M web page?
A : Because that is the name suggested by Caldera. They were planning to bring on a web site by themselves, and they reserved for that site the title of "official" site. That doesn't mean that this site in not authorized.
3. Q : Can I make a CD of this software, and sell it?
A : NO. You can feel free to make a CD for your own personal use, but you may not sell it. Check out the license agreement for more details.
4. Q : Does Caldera have any more DRI software that they haven't distributed yet?
A : No. They have sent me everything they have, and it is now on this site. Unfortunately, much of the software produced by Digital Research has been lost over the years. This is not Caldera's fault; it was gone before they bought it.
It is now necessary to collect copies of these programs from the users themselves. This will take time. Making the manuals presentable (or even finding them in the first place) is the real challenge.
5. Q : Why don't you have boot disk images on your web site?
A: There are hundreds, if not thousand, of different CP/M formats. Even providing
boot disk images only for the most common ones would already cause a bottle-neck of web
space - and people looking for other formats still wouldn't be satisfied.
Anyway, if you're really in need of a system disk for your CP/M machine, you may either
drop me a line and I'll try to find an image for you,
or you have a look at Don Maslin's list of
available CP/M diskettes.
6. Q : Are you going to post a CBIOS for my "XYZ" computer?
A : No. The CBIOS portion of any CP/M installation is hardware dependant. It is usually written by the folks who manufacture the hardware. It is, therefore, copyrighted by the hardware manufacturer. Since I don't have the rights to any of these, they will not be posted.
7. Q : Are you going to list the names of those who donate to your web page?
A : No. I am deeply grateful for the contributions of the users who are making this the best CP/M web page and keeping CP/M alive. But, old habits die hard. In the old days, when we shared software (otherwise known as bootlegging) we did it quietly. We didn't wave a red flag and say "See what I did?". Lineo is being co-operative at the moment. For today! Who knows what tomorrow may bring?
8. Q : What is THE CP/M DOCUMENTATION PROJECT?
A : It is an attempt to get manuals for as many Digital Research sofware products in the hands of the public as possible. Previously, I had been working on manuals when I had the time and energy. That was not getting the job done. So, I decided to post the manuals in scanned, and ocr'd, plain text format. These are pretty easy to generate, and so I did. Some of these manuals will be usable the way they are. Some will require further processing to clean them up. That is what THE CP/M DOCUMENTATION PROJECT is all about. If you can help, please do. There is a special page accessable from the DIGITAL RESEARCH LIBRARY page that will explain this.
9. Q : Why did you remove all the GEM software?
A : I removed the GEM software for a couple of reasons. First, it reduces the storage requirements of this site by about 30mb. Second, and most important, GEM is now been released under the GNU public license, and it's better represented by any of several other sites. I agreed to be the initial release point for it, but it can now be better served by other sites.
10. Q : Can I set up a mirror of your site?
A : Yes, but only under certain conditions. First of all, the mirror must be an
exact copy of the site, without any modifications. Second, it must be clearly declared
as a mirror site, including a link to the original URL. Please note that the total
size of the website is about 100 Mb.
For further details please drop me a line.
11. Q : Is there anything I can do to support your work?
A : Of course, there are various possibilities. My main problem is lack of time.
Therefore, it would be great if you could send your contributions (sources, binaries, etc.)
in a "ready-to-post" format, i.e. zipped and well commented. Contributing to
the CP/M DOCUMENTATION PROJECT would be another one. Last but not least, donations
would be great, as the webspace is rented from a business ISP, to guarantee
highest reliability and high-speed connection - but this of course costs
a lot of money...
Please click the following button to make a donation.
12. Q : Is CP/M in the Open Source now?
A : Please note that Open Source doesn't necessarily mean that there is a GPL, GNU, etc. license. In first place, it simply means that the sources are available for free and can be modified by everybody without needing an additional permission. It does *not* mean that the license is unlimited. It particularly doesn't include the right to (re)distribute CP/M for commercial use nor is there any guarantee that Lineo won't redraw the license somewhere in the future. Therefore, to avoid trouble, you should always post your modifications of the CP/M sources to this site.