Date:         Wed, 26 Mar 1997 22:35:31 GMT
Reply-To:     "George F. Chalissery" <george@CES.CWRU.EDU>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         "George F. Chalissery" <george@CES.CWRU.EDU>
Organization: Computer Engineering and Science, Case Western Reserve University
Subject:      $A$

A few weeks back there were a few articles on the licensing of $A$ on
WinNT platforms. It shocked me that SI had made such a drastic change
in pricing. Well this morning made all that seem like nothing. A new
Digital AlphaStation (>200) $A$ license has gone up by a factor of 10!
Into the 5 digit realm! Obscene :-(
 
Any plans of buying a new machine are fond memories now. Has anyone
gone through the process of migrating from $A$ to SPSS or a similar
package? I feel like I am being held ransom. Felt like ranting a bit
after getting the bad news.
 
About a month back I had posted an article asking if $A$ can be run on
an Alpha running Linux. I got my answer from $A$ - they do not support
that platform. Although I have not tried it, I know that it is possible
to add ECOFF support to the Linux kernel and run COFF binaries complied
for an Alpha running Digital Unix. You may find that a few shared objects
or dynamically linked libraries are absent from Linux. Let me know if
you try it. Note that these actions may constitute a violation of $A$
and / or Digital's licenses.
 
<_George_>
--
george@ces.cwru.edu                                     George F. Chalissery
                     Disclaimer: Your mileage may vary.