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Classic Arcade Graphics Price Drop THREAD IS NOW: GROUP PURCHASE N0:2

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Fozzy The Bear:

Right Chaps!!  As there is no objection to a second group buy, I propose we do it.

The first "Group Buy"  was located on the US side of the Atlantic. I propose that the second group buy be located on the UK, Europe, side of the Atlantic.

As it was suggested, that I do it, and as I'm on this side of the pond anyway, then I'm more than happy to organise that. As for distribution amongst the group, there are some very good ideas coming out there. I personally have no objection to copying hard drives as I have spare machines that can be dedicated to doing the drive backups. So they can be set to get on with the job without interfering with anything else I'm doing.

I'm absolutely commited to the artwork being made available to ALL members who want and need it.

Give me 24 Hours and I'll get started organising the collection of funds and contacting Mike to arrange for the purchase.

First off, let me say I'm in for $50USD.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

jtfields:


--- Quote from: Fozzy The Bear on February 08, 2007, 08:25:01 pm ---Right Chaps!!  As there is no objection to a second group buy, I propose we do it.
--- End quote ---

Hey Fozzy,

I was actually logging on tonight to take the initiative to organize the second group buy myself.  Apparently you are beating me to it and I'm glad to see you are still interested as well.  Since I'm a newbie and you have been around awhile everyone would probaby trust you more than me so it certainly makes sense for you to spearhead this endeavor.  I guess I'll just lay out what I was going to propose so that you can consider my ideas for what they are worth.

I was going to start an entirely new thread since it's a little uncertain on this one as to who is still in and who isn't.  I was going to give people the option to say they are in for $50 or $25.  Obviously if someone says they are in for $50 then they are in if the buy-in is $50 or $25.  If they say they are in for $25 then they are in only if the buy-in is $25 but if it ends up being $50 then they are out.  If in the end 40 people sign up then the buy-in is $25.  If less than 40 sign up then the first 20 people who pledged $50 are in.  If less than 20 people sign up then the whole thing just dies.

Once someone (you, I assume in this case) has collected the funds and made the purchase then I would suggest we start distribution in order of sign up.  The first person on the list (we'll call him John Doe) sends you a hard drive.  You copy the contents to John Doe's hard drive and send it back to him at your expense.  John Doe then notifies the next person in line who then sends their hard drive to John Doe who then copies the files.  John Doe then sends the drive back at his own expense. 

In the end (for the most part) each person will have to pay for their buy-in, a hard drive, postage to send their drive to the person who is to copy for them and postage to send a drive back to the person they copy for.

Distribution should go in order of sign up with the exception of a few logistical matters such as:

1)  PC configuration issues (such as people who don't have SATA connections shouldn't be receiving SATA drives, etc.)

2)  Some might be willing to distribute to multiple people.  For example, I would be willing to have two people on the list send me their drives.  I'd copy to both and send them back.  Since both would simultaneously continue the distribution process the total time for everyone to get their collection would be drastically cut.

3)  Location should be taken into account to minimize overseas mailings.

Fozzy, since you are in the UK and I'm in the U.S. I'd be willing to handle things on this side.  You make the purchase after everyone signs up and sends their funds.  I'll send you a drive (and return postage since it's going overseas) and you then send it back.  I'll then start distribution to those in the U.S. who bought in and you can start U.K. distribution.

Obviousy I'm in at $50 or $25 or whatever the cost may be.  Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,

Todd

SavannahLion:

I hate popping up and introducing myself like this, but I just couldn't miss this kind of opportunity. HI EVERYBODY!! I've been lurking around sucking in information for my arcade cabinet design. The Wiki is bitchen and the recent discussion about the interface is phenomenally informative, but I still haven't decided between an IPAC or KeyWiz.

But I digress. Count me in. $50, $25, whatever (not too high though, need money for the cabinet :P ). I'll pay for shipping back U.S. side and I'll post any further details if my contact(s) needs it.

I would like to point out two things however.

Drive packing. I haven't really lurked enough to know just how knowledgeable everyone really is, so I might just be putting my foot in my mouth. The drives should be carefully packed to prevent data loss during shipping. The retail packaging drives come in appear suitable, but the OEM packaging probably isn't suitable.

By that same token, some sort of checksum of the drive data should be done and the file should be added to the drive AND sent and/or posted somewhere so data integrity can be verified. MD5Summer looks good for Windows users, since it's compatible with Linux' MD5Sum utility, to generate the file output. In the unlikely event the drive is damaged or data integrity is compromised, we can run either of these utilities against the data and spot them relatively quickly as opposed to manually viewing 400+GB of files by hand and looking for corruption.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. If for some bizarre reason things move faster than I expect, you can find me at Vortigaunt.com forums.

BTW: MD5Summer has this really annoying file association bug. It'll keep asking if you want .md5 files to be associated with MD5Summer, but will never actually associate the files. I still use this because I need the compatibility with the Linux generated md5sum files, the GUI makes people more comfortable and I'm just too darn lazy to find a better Windows utility elsewhere. :-\

Fozzy The Bear:

Thankyou to the two newbie guys that just posted.... Your ideas will be taken on board and considered. It doesn't matter if you're newbies or not your opinion as a member here still counts.

jtfields.... If you wish to distribute copies from your drive once you have one there is nothing to stop you from doing that. There are no restrictions on this and the more people who distribute it the better protected the archive is.

I don't however agree with you on this who is in and who is out business, where you say:

--- Quote from: jtfields on February 09, 2007, 02:32:26 am ---Obviously if someone says they are in for $50 then they are in if the buy-in is $50 or $25.  If they say they are in for $25 then they are in only if the buy-in is $25 but if it ends up being $50 then they are out.
--- End quote ---

It will be organised so that ALL members will have a right to access on the material and the right to a copy. There will be no exclusions and no individual member will be refused access. The whole point is to get the cost to the members who want the material way down from the initial purchase price.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

jtfields:


--- Quote from: Fozzy The Bear on February 09, 2007, 04:14:00 am ---jtfields.... If you wish to distribute copies from your drive once you have one there is nothing to stop you from doing that. There are no restrictions on this and the more people who distribute it the better protected the archive is.

I don't however agree with you on this who is in and who is out business, where you say:

--- Quote from: jtfields on February 09, 2007, 02:32:26 am ---Obviously if someone says they are in for $50 then they are in if the buy-in is $50 or $25.  If they say they are in for $25 then they are in only if the buy-in is $25 but if it ends up being $50 then they are out.
--- End quote ---

It will be organised so that ALL members will have a right to access on the material and the right to a copy. There will be no exclusions and no individual member will be refused access. The whole point is to get the cost to the members who want the material way down from the initial purchase price.
--- End quote ---

I don't know why but I thought basically we had determined that it would not be fair to Mike and the vendors who've already purchased the package for us to start freely distributing the files after we get them.  The weeding system I devised would work for general distribution but in my scenario it was only limited to the list of people included in the buy-in.

Some seem to want to buy-in at $25 and others at $50.  So basically what I was saying was that if enough people signed up (40) then the buy-in would be $25 but if we only got 20 to sign up then the buy-in would be $50 and those who were only willing to buy-in at $25 would be out.  Again, I was assuming distribution of the material would only be to those who bought in.  If I understand your comments correctly you want everyone, regardless of whether they bought in or not, to have access to the material.  Which is fine if that's what is determined to be the right thing to do.

I'm still in at whatever the buy-in is determined to be.  So don't forget me.  :)

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