Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!tank!gargoyle!dawyd
From: dawyd@gargoyle.uchicago.edu (David Walton)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Mac Clones question at the end & (was Re: Dead mice)
Keywords: Mouse mice
Message-ID: <505@gargoyle.uchicago.edu>
Date: 26 Oct 89 02:26:26 GMT
References: <879@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> <21104@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> <2529@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu>
Reply-To: dawyd@gargoyle.uchicago.edu.UUCP (David Walton)
Organization: U. Chicago Computing Organizations
Lines: 26

In article <2529@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> kscott@cca.ucsf.edu.UUCP (Kevin
Scott) writes:  
>
>As far as consumer loyalty goes, why isn't there a mac clone out yet?
>What does someone have to do, now that the look and feel suit is won,
>to make a mac compatible computer?

I think it's because Apple has proprietary system software.  Considering
the number of system calls a Macintosh application makes, if the system
software that emulates a Mac isn't REAL close (probably close enough to
cause another look-n-feel suit), things may die a horrible death.  And if
folks were found disassembling Apple's system software on their own machines
(or, as far as that goes, * running * Apple's system software on other
machines, if I remember the license agreement correctly), Apple would
soon make it rather uncomfortable for them to continue.

This is all just speculation on my part (since I'm away from any sort
of thing that could confirm any of it), but I believe these may be
at least part of the reason nobody has tried to build a MacClone.

-Dawyd
-- 

David Walton		Internet: dwal@tank.UChicago.EDU
University of Chicago   {  Any opinions herein are my own, not      }
Computing Organizations {  those of my employers (or anybody else). }