Al  writes:

> You may commence beating me to death with a beta release.

Let me publicly and sincerely apologize to Al for the tone of my earlier
posting. I have heard the sentiments that Al suggested many times before,
particularly during the era of the regional user group meeting, 5 to 15 years
ago. I have always thought that the idea that vendors (with the obvious
exception of HP, who was generally welcomed) should be prohibited from giving
talks that directly deal with their best and most deeply analyzed ideas was
foolish and shortsighted, and it has been a bone that has been stuck in my
craw for a number of years now. Al simply had the misfortune of being the
most recent to repeat the thought.

My comments were certainly not to be taken personally, although they may well
have sounded that way. I am apologetic.

Wirt Atmar