IMP and FC6 System <OT>

[Ric Moore]

On Thu, 2007-03-01 at 21:26 -0700, Craig White wrote:
> On Thu, 2007-03-01 at 23:22 -0500, Ric Moore wrote:
> > On Thu, 2007-03-01 at 14:46 -0300, Martin A. Marques wrote:
> > > Rick Stevens wrote:
> > > > On Thu, 2007-03-01 at 14:36 -0300, Martin A. Marques wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > Yeah, I get it.  Have you ever configured Horde/IMP?  I haven't in a
> > > > while, but it would've caused a newbies brain to explode.  It appeared
> > > > he didn't want the whole Horde menagerie (turba, kronolith, nag, etc.),
> > > > just IMP (webmail).  For a newbie, squirrelmail will do the job very
> > > > nicely and is pretty easy to configure.
> > > 
> > > It has been a while for you. :-)
> > > 
> > > Newer Horde/IMP versions come with a very nice web administration, so 
> > > it's easy to configure and maintain.
> > 
> > Wasn't "IMP" the name for a CP/M file up/dnload program by Irv Hoff? I
> > spoke with him on the phone just a few weeks before he died. He did a
> > bunch of work on file transfer protocols and it seemed that he got zilch
> > credit for his work in the Histories of Notable Contributions to all
> > things modem related. Now someone ripped his package name off? <sigh> Is
> > "Nothing" sacred? Ric
> ----
> IMP (Internet Messaging Program) - reasonable acronym

Sure it's reasonable to folks who don't feel like ole Irv deserves
anything. Why not? He's dead anyways. Right? He sure couldn't complain. 

> Last I heard, there were over 60 different registered songs with the
> title 'Yesterday'

As long as the credits are intact to the original "Yesterday" no
problem. Snatch the title to use on different lyrics and melody and see
just how fast McCartney and ASCAP sues, if the fish is big enough. 

I checked on the net and IMP for CP/M is still being distributed and
attributed to Irv Hoff. Someone clearly doesn't know the history of
telecommunications or even did a google on the name "IMP". I hate to
think someone did do their google homework and decided to use that
"reasonable acronym" anyway, since it's so "snappy". It originally stood
for "Improved Modem Program".

Maybe the only reason the name hasn't been used before is because that
application by him has endured in the hearts of old CP/M users, who
aren't (thankfully) dead yet and has been, until now, tactfully put off
limits. 

When I spoke with him, he was dying of cancer, no one was calling him
and he knew his time was short in this world. He wanted to be remembered
and felt like he was already forgotten. Sad as hell. I talked to him for
several hours, back when LD was expensive as heck. I thanked him
profusely for his work and we swapped war stories about monumental phone
bills, which seemed to cheer him up some. Irv's contributions were
improvements to Xmodem and Ymodem and giving away IMP for everyone to
use, back in 1986 when a 2400 baud modem was hot shit and so was the
$500 1986 dollars that it cost to get one. It was a bargain as the rule
of thumb was a buck-a-baud. $300 for a 300 baud DC Hayes. 

http://www.guntersville.net/osborne/library/122/imp-ovl.lst
http://www.retroarchive.org/cpm/cdrom/CPMINFO/CPM-CC12.ART

Old school. Memories. <sigh>  I propose that if the Horde group would
acknowledge Irv and dedicate Horde / IMP to his memory, I'd hail that as
the "Right Thing" to do. Just my two cents worth, Ric   

-- 
================================================
My father, Victor Moore (Vic) used to say:
"There are two Great Sins in the world...
..the Sin of Ignorance, and the Sin of Stupidity.
Only the former may be overcome." R.I.P. Dad.
Linux user# 44256 Sign up at: http://counter.li.org/
http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/oar
http://www.wayward4now.net
================================================