On 21 Feb 96 at 2:55, Paul Vess wrote:
> For you...
>
> *---------------------- Original message follows -----------------------*
>
> Greetings,
> I would also like to request information from anyone who are using
> LSoft's ListServ software as well. I am gathering information on what is
> required to setup a web site server, independent of an ISP. Several
> non-profit companies are interested in finding out the expense of setting up a
> independent web site with it's own domain name, and wish to know about the
> steps,i.e., software, hardware and misc utils and equipment, needed to do so.
> The premise is that in the long-run it will be cheaper to invest in the needed
> items up front, rather than pay an ISP for space and later have to bite the
> bullet. I volunteered (a very bad habit of mine...:-), to check around and
> find out what I could. Any assistance in the area of tips and suggestions
> would be sincerely appreciated. Please respond directly to
> [log in to unmask] Thanks in advance, Paul Vess
>
Paul,
My name is Michael Goldstein and I work for L-Soft international and we license
LISTSERV.
Enclosed is the information requested for the LISTSERV for NT version and
pricing for a graduated (point) license which includes, maintenance (support,
fixes and upgrades) on a yearly fee basis.
We also have an unlimited capacity license which gives you the ability to run
an unlimited number of lists and subscribers.
If you would let me know approximately how many list and subscribers you are
expecting to run, I can help you specifically with pricing and how we could
efficiently set up your list(s).
I will speak to you soon,
Michael S. Goldstein
*************************************************************************
******* General information about LISTSERV(TM) for Windows NT(TM) *******
*************************************************************************
Copyright 1994,1995 L-Soft international, Inc.
November 8, 1995
The original (Eric Thomas) LISTSERV(TM) is now available for Windows
NT(TM) for use with the TCP/IP protocol stack. The Windows NT(TM) version
of LISTSERV(TM) comes with the rich feature set that made the word
"LISTSERV" (the name of our original product, introduced in 1986 on the
BITNET network) as commonplace on the Internet as "Xerox" is at the
office. The Windows NT(TM) version has the same level of functionality as
the other workstation versions for unix(R) and VMS(TM). In fact, this is
the version that we are using ourselves to implement our EASE(SM) list
hosting service.
**************************************
* Features and historical background *
**************************************
In 1986, Eric Thomas wrote a program called "Revised LISTSERV" which
introduced the concept of a mail-based server that assists mailing list
administrators in managing list subscriptions, maintaining archives of
posted messages, making associated documents available to subscribers or
to the general public, optimizing bulk delivery, and so forth. The
product, originally available only for IBM(R) mainframes, was
continuously improved over the years, and quickly defined a de facto
standard for the management of electronic mailing lists. Later, other
mailing list managers started to appear. Because LISTSERV was so
prevalent, some people unwittingly borrowed the name to refer to these
other programs, which had no association with the original product. The
"LISTSERV" we are discussing in this document, however, is the original
one.
L-Soft's LISTSERV(TM) product for Windows NT(TM) is a genuine port of the
original Eric Thomas LISTSERV. It is based on the same source code as the
current version of the mainframe LISTSERV, with of course a number of
changes and additions to make it work under Windows NT(TM). The
development and porting effort are overseen by the author of the original
LISTSERV(TM), who still writes most of the system-independent code. The
degree of compatibility with the mainframe LISTSERV(TM) is such that it
may be very difficult for a typical end user to tell whether he is using
the mainframe or Windows NT(TM) version of LISTSERV(TM).
To date, 99% of the mailing list functions and about half of the file
server functions of the original LISTSERV(TM) have been ported to Windows
NT(TM). The more sophisticated file maintenance functions and the
database functions should be ported by 1Q96. The current version of
LISTSERV(TM) for Windows NT(TM) is already significantly more powerful
than the other list managers available today, commercially or otherwise.
*************************
* LISTSERV(TM) in short *
*************************
- 7,500 public lists.
- 14,500 local lists.
- Total 22,000 lists with a combined membership of 2,830,000.
- 10 to 12 million messages delivered every day (weekdays' average).
- 112,000 lines of code (Windows NT(TM) version).
- 49 list configuration keywords, of which only 1 is required to start a
list.
- Over 9 years of field experience.
- A product designed for ease of use by non-technical users, while at the
same time accomodating the needs of computer experts.
- A fully distributed service for maximal efficiency, with a single
system view for the end user's convenience - any list can be queried or
accessed from any LISTSERV(TM) site, regardless of where it is actually
located.
- The product that invented the "LISTSERV" concepts and defined the de
facto standard for mailing list management.
Note: all figures in this section as of October, 1995.
**************************
* Technical requirements *
**************************
LISTSERV(TM) requires version 3.5 or higher of Windows NT(TM) Workstation
or Server and about a dozen megabytes of disk space. The minimum
configuration is a 486 (any model) with 16M of RAM. LISTSERV(TM) requires
very little CPU time, but will benefit greatly from additional memory.
Depending on your workload and on the other activity on the PC
(printer/file sharing, etc), 20-32M are recommended, or up to 48M if you
plan to run very large lists (30-100,000 subscribers or more). While
LISTSERV(TM) does of course run faster on faster processors, a fast CPU
is not necessary for good performance as the network is usually the
limiting factor.
*************************
* LISTSERV(TM) tutorial *
*************************
A LISTSERV(TM) tutorial for non-technical users is available by sending
mail to [log in to unmask] with:
GET NSC93US.PS
in the message body (European users should substitute NSC93A4.PS). A
plain text version is also available as NSC93.MEMO.
************************
* Free evaluation kits *
************************
To make it possible for you to try all the features on site before making
a purchase decision, we are making free evaluation copies of the code
available via anonymous FTP (connect to FTP.LSOFT.COM, then CD LISTSERV).
The evaluation copies are fully functional; the only difference with the
production code is that they have a capacity limit and an expiration
date. The evaluation kits currently have to be installed manually, but
there will be an installation program in the released version.
***********
* Pricing *
***********
Four licensing options are available for the Windows NT(TM) version of
LISTSERV(TM): our two "traditional" licensing schemes, and two new
license types specially targeted at the PC market. The traditional
options ("graduated" and "unlimited" licenses) are best suited for public
lists such as newsletters, product support lists, and in general for any
application with a well-defined number of lists and/or with significant
external participation. The new "workgroup" licenses, on the other hand,
are ideal for the typical office setup where the software is to be used
for internal administrative purposes such as task force coordination,
meetings, internal announcements, planning, etc. Finally, the new
"limited" licenses provide an alternative to graduated licenses for
customers who do not wish to purchase maintenance or technical support
from us. Here is how the four types of licenses work:
- The "workgroup" license is a traditional "n-user" license which lets
you create as many lists as you want, provided that the total number of
users does not exceed the capacity you are paying for. These licenses
are for perpetual use and come with a 90 day warranty period, during
which you can access our support hotline and receive fixes or
assistance for free. Upgrades will be offered as new versions are
released, and of course you can upgrade the capacity (number of users)
at any time.
- The "limited" license is similar to the workgroup license, except that
you pay by the list, rather than by the user. You purchase a certain
license capacity, expressed in "license points". Each list that you
create requires from 1 to 5 points, depending on the number of
subscribers (see the point table below). Once you have reached 5
points, you can continue adding as many subscribers as you want at no
additional cost. Like the workgroup license, the limited license is for
perpetual use, and comes with 90 days of warranty. You can purchase new
version upgrades as they are released, and upgrade your capacity at any
time.
- The "graduated" licenses are mainly targeted at computing centres,
Internet service providers, and in other organizations that consider
maintenance and support a crucial component of any software solution.
For a fixed yearly payment, graduated licenses bundle a limited
capacity license (based on the same point scale as the "limited"
licenses), free access to new versions, and full support (bug fixes and
technical assistance). This simplifies budgeting while giving you
immediate access to all new version upgrades. Naturally, you can also
upgrade your capacity (number of points) as your needs increase.
- Finally, the "unlimited" licenses are totally unlimited in both number
of lists and number of subscribers. With an unlimited license, you can
create hundreds of lists serving tens of thousands of subscribers.
Unlimited licenses are, of course, more expensive. Note that our tests
have shown that a high-end PC system can indeed support this kind of
workload. LISTSERV(TM) is extremely cost effective in terms of
resources, coming from a mainframe environment where every hour of CPU
time costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars, and can handle tens
of thousands of subscribers on a typical NT server system with 32M of
RAM.
Point table for limited and graduated licenses
----------------------------------------------
Subscribers Points
----------- ------
0-150 1
151-300 2
301-500 3
501-1000 4
1001- 5
Price list - WORKGROUP licenses
-------------------------------
Prices for the workgroup licenses are still being finalized. Please write
to [log in to unmask] for a price quotation.
Price list - LIMITED licenses
-----------------------------
The one-time charges for a perpetual license, including 90 days of
warranty (free access to the support hotline and to bug fixes) are as
follows:
Corporate Academic
--------- --------
Intel(R): $200.00/pt $145.00/pt
The minimum amount of points you can license is 5. Thus, you can run 5
lists of up to 150 subscribers (each) for as little as $1,000 (corporate)
or $725 (academic).
Price list - GRADUATED licenses
-------------------------------
The yearly prices for license + new version + maintenance are as follows:
Corporate Academic
--------- --------
Intel(R): $125.00/pt $100.00/pt
The minimum amount of points you can license is 5. Thus, you can run 5
lists of up to 150 subscribers (each) for as little as $625/year
(corporate) or $500/year (academic).
For more information
--------------------
If you need a binding price quotation or more information about our
products and licensing terms, simply write to [log in to unmask] or call us
at +1 (301) 731-0440.
**************************************
* LISTSERV(TM) vs competing products *
**************************************
Before considering the purchase of a competing product, you may want to
quickly run through the following checklist:
O How did the competing product compare to LISTSERV(TM) in your home
environment, in terms of ease of installation, ease of use, features,
and performance?
O How did your non-technical users react to the product? A user-hostile
product can be very expensive in helpdesk calls.
O If you have non-technical list owners, were they able to manage the
list from their home computer or workstation? Did they find the
product easy to use?
O Is the competing product being actively maintained and improved?
O If it is a commercial unix(R) product, what kind of maintenance and
support are you going to receive? Check your contract carefully: it
should have explicit provisions for maintenance (possibly at an
additional charge), or at least a one-year warranty if no maintenance
is provided. If you have neither warranty nor maintenance, you should,
at the very least, receive full and up to date source code so that you
can fix problems yourself, and not end up with a "black box". L-Soft
does, of course, provide maintenance for its products.
O If it is a free product, how quickly can you get a fix from the
author?
O What innovations, if any, did the product introduce in the field of
list management? How successful have these innovations been? A product
that merely copies the function provided by other products is bound to
be chronically outdated and to put you at a disadvantage.
O What are the plans for the product's future? Do they meet your
strategic goals? Do they require you to eventually abandon VMS(TM) to
migrate to unix(R)? Does the author or vendor generally listen to user
requirements, deliver new function as promised, and meet deadlines?
Once you have answered all these questions, you will have to ask yourself
which product you feel most comfortable investing costly manpower and
user/helpdesk training in. Switching your user base from one list manager
to another can cost a lot in retraining, and becomes more expensive with
time. Thus, if you have to switch, it is best to do so as early as
possible, while the users haven't cast their habits in stone. The license
costs become immaterial when you have a large amount of users. If a list
manager can make each user save but 5 minutes a month, or one hour a
year, you only need a few hundred users to recover the license costs. And
a good list manager should make users save a lot more than 5 minutes a
month.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
All prices are in US dollars and exclusive of sales or other tax. This
document does not constitute a price quotation and all prices, terms and
conditions are subject to change without notice. Write to [log in to unmask]
for a binding price quotation.
L-Soft international, Inc. does not endorse or approve the use of any of
the product names or trademarks appearing in this document.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
EASE is a service mark of L-Soft international.
L-SOFT and LISTSERV are trademarks of L-Soft international.
Unix is a registered trademark of UNIX Systems Laboratories, Inc.
VMS is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.
Windows and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft corporation.
Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
Xerox is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation.
All other trademarks, both marked and not marked, are the property of
their respective owners.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael S. Goldstein Sales & Marketing
L-Soft international, Inc. Ph: 301-731-0440
8401 Corporate Dr. Suite 380 Fax: 301-731-6302
Landover, MD 20785 E-mail [log in to unmask]
URL:http://www.lsoft.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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