[nos-bbs] TELpac nodes and JNOS (based on a much earlier post)

[George (Skip) VerDuin]

>>SNIP<<
> You see they managed to promote their system and many think now that WINLINK
> 2000 is something new when the same system has existed in AMPRnet years ago.
> Well I have been actively involved at least since 1993 but it seems that I was
> not a good salesman! hi hi hi!!!
> 
> Of course to people that do not know any better these terms such as TELPAC,
> PACLINK, WINLINK 2000 ssound fantastic but really they are just a bad copy or
> just a cut down implementation of AMPRnet with a touch of broken FBB BBS
> forwarding especially where B2F is concerned!
> 
> ---
> 73 de Demetre SV1UY


Clearly Demetre, you have hit on a concept, but I'm not sure beating
yourself up over salesmanship is needed?

Clarification:  I come to finding AMPRnet via wl2k via sailing
publications.  As I dig deeper into xnos and ampr stuff (like ampr-
gates.net) I begin to wonder why I'm not seeing retorts in "Blue Water
Sailing" like:
"I read your article on wl2k, sailnet, etc, under the heading of keeping
in touch via email and I wonder why you did not also give ampr... some
press because it offers the same and more features you covered, it's
been around longer, plus it is ten times larger than wl2k, and also it
doesn't suffer some of the security flaws found in wl2k?"

Now understand I'm drafting the above without researching facts that
permit me to make the above statement authoritatively (I pray no one
uses my words out of context), but I also do see a difference between
ampr and wl2k that is centered on application and sales.  It seems to me
ampr is the technical giant while wl2k is the application giant.

Someone in the wl2k team saw the usefulness, developed a toolkit, and
has made press to the extent it is now also spun into the fee based
world as a marketed product...  Maybe it was done that way to not
infringe on basic nos copyrights?  In the world of open software, it is
hard for me not to believe that the multiple worlds could merge and be
better off.

My guess is that one possible path into the future as an example is for
ampr to team with .orgs like "Maritime Mobile Service Net (on 14.300)"
to offer a side-by-side alternative to Boat Watch access that has the
consequence to push ampr into the public view.  Of course there is
advantage in anonymity that someone needs to decide it is OK to break.

Meanwhile, folks in my shoes are stuck with unraveling the alphabet soup
to select the best for our personal purposes...  From my perspective, I
hope nos will continue to evolve and that it will also find broader
application...

73
Skip