Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!cs.utexas.edu!execu!sequoia!texbell!uhnix1!sugar!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: Software, development & copyrights Message-ID: <5523@ficc.uu.net> Date: 4 Aug 89 12:55:45 GMT References: <26@ark1.nswc.navy.mil> <26942@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> Organization: Xenix Support, FICC Lines: 33 Mike was suggesting that manufacturers make the source to the ROMs for their cars available, as freeware... In article <5487@ficc.uu.net> peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) writes: >And the manufacturer is now liable for damage caused by these hacked-up >ROMS. You will, of course, make the claim that the FSF license will >absolve them of responsibility, but such all-inclusive disclaimers have >not held up in court. In article <26942@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>, mwm@eris.berkeley.edu (Mike (I'll think of something yet) Meyer) writes: > No, I won't I'll claim that you're wrong. Unless you also think that > the manufacturer is liable for damages caused by tweaked engines, > hacked suspensions, et. al. If they published the design notes for the engine, to facilitate said tweaking, then they would be. Source code for embedded parts like this are the quivalent of design noted for more-easily-reverse-engineered hardware. That is, it's a peice of information the only use for, outside of the manufacturer, is modifying the engine. > Oh bullstuff. I'm saying that maximizing profits at the expense of > everything else is a bad thing. Since I never advocated maximising profits at the expense of everything else, that's both specious and the sort of straw man that you just got on my case about. -- Peter da Silva, Xenix Support, Ferranti International Controls Corporation. Business: peter@ficc.uu.net, +1 713 274 5180. | "The sentence I am now Personal: peter@sugar.hackercorp.com. `-_-' | writing is the sentence Quote: Have you hugged your wolf today? 'U` | you are now reading"