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From: [email protected] (Pacific Knowledge)
Subject: MindWare Introduction
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Organization: Pacific Knowledge (510-687-5960) [email protected]
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 22:30:52 GMT
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MindWare - "ShareWare for the mind"

I. What is MindWare?

II. Creating your own MindWare.

III. MindWare mailing lists.

IV. Origins of MindWare.

-----------------------------------

Section I. What is MindWare?

MindWare is any form of communication used to express knowledge and creativity
believed to be of value to others. MindWare has a dual purpose. The primary
goal of MindWare is the global distribution of quality knowledge and other
products of creativity. Its secondary function is to assist in the financial
support of its authors, encouraging them to continue sharing their work.

MindWare is an extention of the basic ShareWare concept. ShareWare enables
motivated and talented programmers to at least partially support themselves
in pursuing their programming interests, without the pressures of business
management, product support, or product marketing. MindWare will provide this
ability to scientists, engineers, and anyone else who is committed to pursuing
their interests, ideas, and dreams, whatever they may be.

The concept of ShareWare grew out of the online computing community. Many
computer programmers began creating software for themselves and their
associates. These computer programs were often released to the public domain,
with permission given for anyone to copy and distribute. Some of the more
useful of these programs, fueled by the rapid expansion of computer bulletin
boards (BBS's), modems, and computer networks, quickly spread internationally.

Realizing their software was useful and popular, and that they had an
opportunity to make some money with their talents and interests, many of
these programmers began requesting that a registration fee be paid by anyone
who used their software. Permission was still given to freely copy and
distribute these programs, and nobody was going to force you to pay for
their use, the authors simply asked that you send them the registration fee
if you found their software useful. Some even offered to send you future
releases, upgrades, or more elaborate documentation once you registered your
copy.

Section II. Creating your own MindWare.

Creation of MindWare is easy. Simply include with your work a request for
contributions (a specific amount is helpful), your name, a bit about yourself
and your work, and a postal mailing address. An example is included at the
bottom of this document, feel free to experiment by sending us some cash!

MindWare can take as many forms as your imagination will allow. Examples may
include research papers, original electronic publications, poetry, music, art,
and any software creation not normally considered ShareWare. Any generally
accepted standard format is appropriate for use in MindWare: ASCII text,
PostScript files, GIF/JPEG images, MPEG movies, audio files, and any other
popular media formats.

Section III. MindWare mailing lists.

There are several MindWare mailing lists supported by the Pacific Knowledge
listserver. To add yourself to one or more of these mailing lists, send an
e-mail request to [email protected], with the body of the message containing:

subscribe

To obtain help on using the Pacific Knowledge listserver, send an e-mail
request to [email protected] containing just the word 'HELP' in the body of
the message.

To obtain a list of all mailing lists supported by the Pacific Knowledge
listserver, send an e-mail request to [email protected] containing just the
word 'LISTS' in the body of the message.

MindWare Mailing Lists
----------------------
MINDWARE-ANNOUNCE
This is a moderated mailing list used for any important announcements
concerning MindWare.

Example subscription request:

subscribe MINDWARE-ANNOUNCE [email protected]

MINDWARE-DIST
This is an unmoderated mailing list used to assist in the distribution of
MindWare. You are encouraged to use this mailing list for distributing your
MindWare creations.

Example subscription request:

subscribe MINDWARE-DIST [email protected]

Section IV. Origins of MindWare.

Jason Coombs, a Pacific Knowledge scientist, created MindWare as part of
a commitment to advancing the efforts of other scientists and engineers
throughout the world. MindWare is part of a larger technology infrastructure
developed by Pacific Knowledge scientists and engineers for the purpose of
supporting the creative work they are dedicated to pursuing.

Section V. Sample MindWare Information Attachment

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Help support MindWare. If you found | Pacific Knowledge
this work informative, inspiring, or | 1124 Caven Way
useful, please contribute $5.00 to | Concord, CA 94520
further the explorations of its creator.

This work is the intellectual and creative property of Pacific Knowledge.
Permission is hereby given to duplicate and/or otherwise redistribute this
work, provided appropriate credit is given to Pacific Knowledge, and that
it remains unmodified and complete.

For more information on MindWare, send an e-mail message to mindw[email protected]
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Pacific Knowledge is a research organization dedicated to advancing the
efforts of Scientists, Engineers, Teachers, and anyone else actively working
on contributing to the world's knowledge. Our own staff are individuals from
very diverse backgrounds, who's common purpose and commitment is to the
pursuit of their own interests. We seek to help ourselves and others to more
effectively utilize technology in the creation of products, services, and
other income-generating opportunities.
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