63 replies to this topic

[Jason Fowler]

http://www.aynrandbo...aitem=2&mitem=5

There is a sale now on the Objectivism Research CD-Rom until March 31st.

It includes various fiction and non-fiction works of Ayn Rand, and non-fiction of Peikoff. In addition to that it includes journals, letters, and Objectivist publications. It is by no means complete though, it is missing Marginalia, Ayn Rand's margin notes from various intelectual works including Mises, Hazlitt, and others.

But with the vast amount of text it holds, the sale price is a mere 50 dollars.

For those who read this after March 31st, the price will, presumably, go back to its original around 130-150 depending on location. For savings beyond 3/31/04 try http://www.objectivi...order_cdrom.htm Price. 64-70 dollars depending on location and that price includes shipping.

Looks like it is a nice early Christmas present for someone as well as a great gift to oneself.

[Charles T.]

Actually, the AR Bookstore page says the regular price is $60, on sale now for $50.

[Jason Fowler]

Good to see you here Charles T. I can assure you that no less than a week ago the price for that CD-Rom was well over $100. (and for international orders it was $150 before shipping costs)

Apparently, the AR bookstore not only changed its pricing for that product but also put it on sale at the same time.

[AshRyan]

Phil Oliver, the producer of the CD-ROM, recently drastically reduced its price. It was indeed well over $100 before, but now it is around $60. ARI has also put it on sale beyond this price reduction, so you can get it until the end of the month for only $50 through the Ayn Rand Bookstore--after which, it will return to its new regular price of $60.

This is supposed to be a really excellent product, so I suggest to everyone to get it while the gettin's cheap. I've ordered a copy for myself, and can't wait for it to arrive.

[MinorityOfOne]

It is a good product, though I was somewhat disappointed when I first got it. The way it was presented, I thought it included the full text of all of Rand's publications. In fact, it includes only articles by Rand and Peikoff. So while it IS still a great deal and an invaluable resource, it's not really the all-in-one Objectivism research tool it is touted as.

It's still very much worth getting.

[Charles T.]

Matt,

Could you please be more specific about which texts are incomplete, if it isn't too much trouble? Is Atlas included in it's entirety, for example? Thanks.

[Jason F.: Thanks for the warm welcome!]

[MinorityOfOne]

As far as I know, Rand's fiction is included in full. What is conspicuously missing is a lot of articles from the included Objectivist publications: The Objectivist, The Objectivist Newsletter, etc, as well as the non-fiction books like Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. For those, only the articles by Rand and Peikoff are included... so all the stuff by the Brandens, Greenspan, and everyone else is missing. (I'd guess it was a copyright issue.)

Like I said, if you're getting it to save money, it's a very good deal. And it's still very good for saving time in research. But it's not all-inclusive, and if you're doing detailed research on a particular topic you'll still want to have hard copies of the non-fiction.

[y_feldblum]

... and here is born the phrase buy the upgrade and wait for version 2.

Pirate emoticon intended as the representation of an evil GreedyCapitalist.
To GC: You do know you set yourself up for that many more....
Poll: when I do that should I include a link to our dear owner and foreman's profile?
Hehe !!!  Arrrr, I refuse to be your wage-slave !  Fear me !

[Zirjin]

I personally got it the other day. The other problem is the interface is a bit of a let down. The book texts are easy to read(in terms of size) due to a magnifier function, but the topic scrollbox is almost impossible for me to read since it is so small.

The formatting could have been better too, to make it easier to follow/read.

4/10 for the Interface
8/10 for the Content(with the bits missing being the only let down, but in terms of quantity of articles, it sure has a lot to read)

[McGroarty]

I was disappointed to find that the program wants the CD in the drive with every use. I poked around with IDAPro and found that it can support HD-only use without any changes to the code. If you want to use the Objectivism Research CD without having it in your drive, you can do this --

1. Install from the original CD if you haven't already done so

2. Explore "C:\Program Files\Oliver Computing\The Objectivism Research CDROM" or wherever you installed the program

3. Create a directory called "CD" in the above directory

4. Copy these three files from the CD-ROM to the CD directory you just made:
reg.txt
cnt.idx
obj.aaa

5. Create a new shortcut to ui_mv32.exe and add a space to the end of the command, followed by "CD" ("CD" is the argument for ui_mv32.exe)

You can remove the CD from the drive. Launching the shortcut you just created will now bring up the research program without the CD needed. Everything will work as it would with the CD present except for the startup tip box.

You can still use the original shortcut as before, but it will require the CD to be present.

[McGroarty]

A few people have messaged me, saying they'd had problems with the above instructions.

The missing step is that you need to run the program once with the regular link to register and agree to the license. After that, you can run without the CD.

[softwareNerd]

This is not something I am selling. Just wanted to bring it to the attention of members who might not be so aware about this resource: the Objectivism Research CD-ROM.

For starters, at under $70, the CD contains material that costs more if you were to buy the text version. However, the real value is in the fact that everything is on CD and can be searched using the software that comes with it.

I have not owned mine long, but I'm really happy I bought it.

Do many people here own the CD? Do you find it useful? If so, how?

[DavidOdden]

Do many people here own the CD? Do you find it useful? If so, how?

Very. McGroarty (I think) posted technical info here on running from a hard drive, which made a huge difference to me because now it's always available. What did Rand think about "instinct"? Well, do the search. It doesn't substitute for actual comprehension, but it allows you to find those crucial passages which you can then read.

[Dufresne]

Do many people here own the CD? Do you find it useful? If so, how?

It's very useful to have Ayn Rand's works in an easily searchable form. The program's user interface leaves a lot to be desired, though.

[softwareNerd]

The interface is old-style windows. I always thought a good add-on feature would be to have a "famous scenes" index for each novel: "Rearden meets Dagny" "John Galt Line train ride", etc. When I mentioned this to Phil, who produced and sells the CD, he gave me an idea: I could use bookmarks to acheive the same thing. Have not tried it yet, but just thought I'd share that tip if someone else felt the same need.

This post (link) made me think that if one were in a country like the U.K., where not all Ayn Rand books were easily available, one could purchase the CD-ROM and have them all!

[Fred Weiss]

McGroarty (I think) posted technical info here on running from a hard drive, which made a huge difference to me because now it's always available.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd be interested in that if you - or someone- could find the link. Or if Phil could comment.

[softwareNerd]

I'd be interested in that if you - or someone- could find the link.

I found the earlier thread, and merged thisn one with that. So, just look at the earlier posts in this thread now.

[Fred Weiss]

I found the earlier thread, and merged thisn one with that. So, just look at the earlier posts in this thread now.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I noticed. Thanks.

[McGroarty]

A few people have messaged me, saying they'd had problems with the above instructions.

The missing step is that you need to run the program once with the regular link to register and agree to the license. After that, you can run without the CD.

Ha! Replying to my own year-old comment.

A bit more help for anyone having problems. If you get an error about a missing license file, run with the original link and the CD in the drive and do any search. On the first search, the program builds a database from the CD. Once this is done, you're set for good. If you've already been using the program off CD for a while, you'll never have this problem.

I can't say enough about the value of this CD. Even having all of these materials in printed form, the program is so convenient that I've looked up dozens of things that I'd never have otherwise pursued, and I've learned so much as a result. I promise that your experience will be the same!

I'm selfishly pushing this program on friends (and you!) because I'm desperately eager for a new version covering even more Objectivist resources. The best way I know to make that happen is to get folks to keep tossing money at Phil Oliver and anyone stocking the disc.

[softwareNerd]

Members who have not bought this CD may be interested to know that it might not be available after "about March 1, 2008".

[Tenure]

Lucky I'm getting mine on Monday then.

[Inspector]

I wonder about what can be done about this. Could he produce a ton of copies before the end date and sell them as needed after that date? I imagine some entrepreneur could buy up, say, 10,000 copies from him and then re-sell them. The problem with this is that the price would go up. Perhaps Oliver will give a bulk discount rate?

It's just that I've found this tool to be so valuable... I don't want it to go out of production! I know several influential Objectivist bloggers would probably think the same. Diana Hsieh comes to mind, as she has spoken of its worth to her in the past. Isn't there some way we could organize some kind of... effort to speak up about how valuable this is to us? So that Dr. Peikoff could see who values it and how much we do, and thus allow Oliver to keep making them (or some other provision to ensure they stay available)?

[~Sophia~]

Is it because it interferes with books sales?

Edited by ~Sophia~, 13 July 2007 - 03:24 PM.

[softwareNerd]

Is it because it interferes with books sales?

It does not appear so. From what I can glean, it is not so much a question of permission being withdrawn as it is a lack of enthusiasm about renewing. Basically, there has to be enough motivation for the producer to go get the renewals, and for the copyright-holders to grant them.

Nevertheless, that it was done once is proof that it can be done again, and what better person to do so that Mr. Oliver, who already has it all in scanned/readable form. Since I can do little else, I will cross my fingers; and, I might buy a couple of extra copies for friends and family if renewal seems unlikely.

[Inspector]

Given Phil Oliver's ongoing participation on The Forum, the prime source of vicious attacks on Dr. Peikoff and other Objectivist intellectuals over the past year, I can only imagine that hell would (and should) freeze over before Dr. Peikoff would renew licensing with him.

If that is the case, then it could simply be solved by someone else producing the product. I would think the simplest solution would be for Oliver to sell his master copy (or whatever it is) to someone else who could "go through the trouble" (be that not attacking Dr Peikoff or convincing him of its worth or whatever the cause of the trouble is) and get it licensed.