Subject: Re: Obtaining NetBSD
To: David Brownlee <abs@netbsd.org>
From: Bob Nestor <rnestor@augustmail.com>
List: port-sparc
Date: 12/29/1999 14:09:44
David Brownlee (abs@netbsd.org) wrote:
> I think Bob Nestor may produce pkgsrc CDs somewhere in his
> range :)
> http://www.netbsd.org/Sites/cdroms.html#bob_nestor
>
> Bob - if you're willing to cut CDs with pkgsrc snapshots
> including distfiles that would probably be worth adding to the
> Sites/cdroms.html page... :)
Yes, I'm still producing low-cost CDs on individual request.
A little history: I started out doing CDs with the latest snapshots for
the mac68k port since that's what I was using and Steve Allen was
producing complete snapshots about every two weeks for that port.
Although I hadn't advertised it I was also doing bootable CDs for the
i386 port since I had it running on my desktop at work and on my laptop.
Last year Ross Harvey asked me to branch out and offer the NetBSD/alpha
CD he'd made for 1.4 which I've been doing. When the macppc port became
available I started doing it since I'm interested in getting it running
on my G3. I also offer a special "all-mac" CD which has both 68k and ppc
ports on it. And now over this past week I've acquired a Sparc/IPX, so I
have some interest in doing CDs for that port as well.
In general I can do a CD for any one port that includes the binaries,
sources, any available snapshots and the pre-built binary packages
available at the time. I can also do a set of CDs that include all the
package system sources. The last time I did this it took 2 full CDs, but
that was some time ago. I'd guess it's up to at least 3 CDs now.
I also have copies of the Fall '99 Comdex CDs. I've asked core for
permission to duplicate them and only received one response which was
positive. I'd even offered to collect a fixed donation fee for The
NetBSD Foundation for this set, but right now all I ask a user to do is
to consider making a donation directly to The NetBSD Foundation.
My whole reason to make CDs available was to help spread the use of
NetBSD, not to make any money on the deal. That's still my goal so I've
done everything that I could to keep costs to a minimum and to make it
easy for even poor students to acquire CDs. This isn't a high volume
operation; I do individual CDs on request. To keep track of requests and
to keep from having to describe how to obtain a CD from me I've put up a
small on-line order page on my NetBSD system:
http://murphy.dyndns.org/NetBSD_CD.html
There is also a small FAQ covering questions I've been asked a number of
times:
http://murphy.dyndns.org/NetBSD
Hope this answers the questions and helps out a bit.
-bob
p.s. For the sparc user community, my Web page shows the system is
running NetBSD/mac68k, which it was until this past week. The system is
now running NetBSD/sparc on an IPX.