At 02:01 PM 2/2/99 -0800, Stephen C. Nill, J.D. wrote:
>I'll repeat this:
>Netscape and Internet Explorer are free.  That means substantially all
>persons with the desire can obtain a state-of-the-art email client without
>charge.

But even as you repeat yourself, you are missing the point. Not everybody
who connects to the Internet does so from a machine that can run this
software. No matter how hard you insist that this software is free that
does not change the requirements necessary to run it. (Assuming that the
desire exists, a big if) Desire is only one part of the equation. I desire
top of the line Sun workstations and a cure for lupus right this second but
that does not mean that I can have them. The former I cannot afford and the
later is a great many years away.

So even though I might desire this email client sofware and even though I
am able to download it for free from my DOS machine dialed up to
shell-based Unix account, I won't be able to run it after spending eight
hours downloading it.

And that's assuming I even want to run it. Most email is basically a text
communication. Color and sounds and having my text in 24 point Adobe
Garamond is not going to change the opinions expressed in this email,
though writing the opinion in that format will take more of my time, and
will add time on to the transaction for many of the people who will
ultimately receive this message.

Karen Strauss
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Network
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