Ray Saintonge wrote:
This kind of situation does not lend itself very well
to waiting until
we have the cash. Encarta has a bit of an advantage in that department.
A purchase offer of $1.00 may be more appropriate if it's presented as
an offer which Safra's estate can't refuse.
For interesting background reading see
http://www.businessweek.com/1997/42/b3549124.htm and
http://www.jewishsf.com/bk991210/obsafra.shtml
Our offer also needs to maintain Wikipedia's philosophical integrity.
It's a shame that Safra has died, because presumably his estate will
have fiduciary responsibilities that would preclude any sort of OS
gift to the world. Safra might have been persuadable, from the point
of view of charity, but his heirs, it's hard to predict.