[texdvd] Volunteering to produce DVDs (US)

[terry.s at Safe-mail.net]

Hello,

I am volunteering to produce/mail DVDs in the US (payment method undecided).
I will research cardboard sleeves and postage in Continental US vs Alaska/Hawaii.
(Sometimes "media-mail" cost doesn't vary much; surely I should accommodate
requests for either that or *first-class*.)

Karl Berry mentioned in a reply to my email that the TeX Live ISO is nearing 5GB...
...single-layer DVDs can accommodate 4.7GB "officially" *including formatting*,
which means somewhere around 4.5GB (or less) data, if I remember correctly.

Karl mentioned shrinking the ISO. The other option is providing 2-volume DVDs.
(If so, V1 would be what I suppose one would stick on the "shrunken" version,
and the other would be lesser-used packages. People without high-speed Internet
may appreciate it, others could easily download packages.) Perhaps make it a choice?

Maybe I am complicating things too much...but keep in mind it's getting VERY DIFFICULT
to find DVDs at all, much less *double-layer* or *dual layer* (NOT the same format), 
and many people wouldn't have that burning capability (including me). That would apply
to *users* as well, so I assume DL is a no-go in general.

If there is a *printable PDF*, my suggestion is make that OPTIONAL since it's extra
cost to print it. If someone has Internet to email anyone, they could download it.

However if Karl's suggestion of TUG/DANTE reimbursement is actually implemented,
that changes (perhaps) the number of choices that would be made. Either way,
I think a *CGI form* as he suggested is an excellent idea.

That's my 2 cents --- I mean 10 cents (inflation).

Thanks for creating this list!
Terry (USA)