Electonic Supplement suggestions
- To: mathgroup at yoda.physics.unc.edu
- Subject: Electonic Supplement suggestions
- From: "Alan L. Zeichick" <76703.756 at compuserve.com>
- Date: 18 Jan 92 14:55:51 EST
> I would appreciate any thoughts, comments or suggestions that readers > of the Mathematica discussion group have on the following problem for > libraries related to the Electronic Supplement to the Mathematica Journal. > We just received in the Engineering Library our first issues V1, 1991 > of THE MATHEMATICA JOURNAL from Addison-Wesley. In addition to the > paper subscription we ordered the "Electronic Supplement" which will > come with every issue. (We ordered the Macintosh version. It also is > available in DOS format, with plans for an E-mail option for UNIX-based > systems in the future.) > My dilemma is how to handle the Electronic Supplement to this journal. > As I see it there is a range of options: > 1. Subscribe only to the printed version. Thereby eliminating the problem > of dealing with the supplement. > 2. Subscribe to the supplement in one format, catalog it separately and > let it circulate for one day as the journal does. In this case, the disk > is very likely to get damaged or infected after which we have to decide > whether to replace it or not. > 3. Same as option 2, but when each new disk comes in duplicate it, save > the master and circulate the copy. > 4. Copy each disk as it is received to a local server where it could > then be downloaded or used by individuals. > 5. Wish that the files were available for anonymous ftp from a central > source for all platforms. Our goal with the Electronic Supplement is to enhance the usefulness of The Mathematica Journal. Therefore, I'd suggest options 3 -- make a copy of the floppy disk, and circulate the copy. If physically you remove the write-enable tab, by the way, you'll reduce the possibility of virus infection, and accidental damage to the disk. You can, if you want, post it to a local server, with one caveat. My request would be that, if you post the Electronic Supplement, that you do it to a place where it's accessible _only_ to those people who have physical access to _your_ paper copy of The Mathematica Journal. It's not currently our intent to make the Electronic Supplement available by anonymous FTP. However, we are exploring options for making the Supplement available in formats other than Macintosh and DOS 3.5-inch disk. Alan Zeichick, Editor The Mathematica Journal