Date   : Mon, 08 Nov 1982 20:02:53-EST (Mon)
From   : Rick Conn <rconn@BRL>
Subject: SYSLIB, Copying Files, the ACG-NJ, and SIG/M

Alan,

        No, I don't like to get into the  distribution  business.
If  I  do, I end up spending all my time copying files for people
and not getting any work done.  That's why we use MIT-MC like  we
do.  The designer does not have to spend a lot of time doing such
tasks, and those who want the files need only make the investment
in time to get them.

        SIG/M, who will be receiving all of SYSLIB, is set up  to
do  the  copying for you.  Their charge, if you supply the disks,
is only $1/disk, and the money goes to the Amateur Computer Group
of  NJ to support SIG/M and club activities further.  They charge
$4/disk if they have to supply the disk.  Typically, you have  to
be a club member to use SIG/M, and this costs only $14/year, and,
with ACG-NJ being over 1100 members strong and putting out a very
nice 20-page newsletter every month, I think it is well worth it.

        The ACG-NJ is also a major sponsor of the Trenton Comput-
er  Festival,  which  typically is held in April and includes a 5
acre flea market and many talks by various people in  the  micro-
computer community.  Sol Libes, who has a monthly column in Byte,
is a very active member of the ACG-NJ, and the festival also  in-
cludes talks by him and others, such as Gary Kildall.

        The club is by no means devoted to CP/M,  altho  all  the
SIG/M  disks  are.   The following user groups are present within
the club:

                SIG/M, CP/M
                TRS-80
                SIG68, 680x
                Apple
                PET
                6502
                North Star

as well as the following software libraries:

                SIG/M
                North Star
                TRS-80 Disk
                Apple

and special interest groups:

                Pascal
                1802
                Heath
                POLY-88
                S-100
                Atari
                IBM-PC

        If you wish to find out more about SIG/M and the  ACG-NJ,
the address is:

                Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey
                % Union County Technical Institute - Scotch Plains Campus
                1776 Raritan Rd
                Scotch Plains, NJ  07076

        I greatly perfer SIG/M to CP/M UG because (1) it  is  de-
finitely  a not-for-profit organization and you don't end up pay-
ing a company for public domain software and (2) the  prices  are
much  more reasonable.  The ACG-NJ will ship the entire SIG/M li-
brary (now up to 75 8" disks) to any  valid  computer  club,  and
they  may  distribute  to their members absolutely free of charge
(which is the way public domain software SHOULD  be  handled,  as
opposed to selling it, in my opinion).  All the computer club has
to do is pay for the disks.  SIG/M has a published  catalog,  and
their  disks include, among other things, the old CP/M 1.4 SYSLIB
and ZCPR1.

                Rick