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From: ADAM.FRIX@f200.n226.z1.FIDONET.ORG (ADAM FRIX)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: White Knight 11?
Message-ID: <38231.25BAE803@cmhgate.FIDONET.ORG>
Date: 21 Jan 90 06:19:14 GMT
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Chris Colbourn writes:
 
CC> Someone told me there was an earlier note on newsgroup about the
CC> latest Red Ryder comms program update but I must have missed it.
CC> Anyway, I received a letter from FreeSoft announcing the update
CC> to version 11 and giving a story about the name change to White
CC> Knight. The owners of the Red Ryder trademark (who are they?)
CC> apparently wanted a lot more dosh for its continued use and so
CC> FreeSoft decided to change the name to White Knight 11
CC> (isn't/wasn't that the name of a famous chess program for the BBC
CC> micro and other PCs?)! Anyone know the full story behind this?
CC> Could be that the name will have to change again!!
 
Scott Watson, author of Red Ryder/White Knight, publicly said the
following in his White Knight 11.0 press release:
 
-> Why the name change?  Simple.  Our license contract for the Red
-> Ryder trademark is to expire on January 1, 1990.  Two days before
-> we were to go to the printer with what was to be called "Red
-> Ryder 11", the owners of the trademark advised us that there was
-> to be a significant increase in the license fee renewel.  The
-> best calculations that we could do on such short notice told us
-> that this increase was significant to the degree that we would
-> either have to double the proposed price of the product, or
-> eliminate several jobs. Our response was to do neither.  Instead,
-> we chose to select a new name for the product and apply for
-> trademark protection ourselves.
 
But there was a letter in MacWEEK magazine of 5 December 1989
from the president of Red Ryder Enterprises, refuting Scott's
assertions as stated above.  She gives a different enough version
of the story that makes one stop to wonder.  She (Shirley
Slesinger Lasswell) said that when Scott first approached her to
use the name Red Ryder, he claimed poverty and asked for a break.
Red Ryder Enterprises, holder of the name Red Ryder, agreed "to
waive the standard advances and royalties because he was just
starting out."  This agreement was on the basis of an annual
review of Watson's income (remember, this was 1987).  She never
heard from Scott again until his license agreement with them was
up for renewal, in July 1989.  (hmmmm, whatEVER happened to that
annual review of Scott's income??  RR Enterprises must not have
pushed, but Scott certainly never offered, did he?)  He called to
renew the license agreement -but again without disclosing his
income- (as they had both agreed he would).  RRE insisted on
standard royalties this time, and Watson balked.  RRE backed down
a bit, offering to start out with small royalties to give Watson
a chance to build the royalty cost into the retail price of his
product.  As RR Enterprises put it, "Watson's answer was printed
in MacWEEK when he announced that he was changing Red Ryder to
White Knight because the trademark owners demanded a royaty that
would double the program's cost to the public."
 
Make up your own mind here.  My tendency, based on previous
facts, is to believe RR Enterprises--because Watson seems to hold
license agreements in little regard, at least when they become
bothersome to achieving his goals.  This is just another example
of that.  Remember, Watson made a TON of money off the name Red
Ryder, and paid absolutely nothing for the privilege.  Further,
he seemed to have gotten rather miffed (in a childlike way) when
asked to -start- paying for continued use of the name.  (RRE
makes an offer, and they read his "response" in a national weekly
magazine.)
 
CC> More important perhaps has anyone seen/used White Knight 11? Does
CC> it really live up to its spec.., particularly regarding speed,
CC> and running correctly under MultiFinder. After the fiasco of the
CC> last upgrade from 9.4 to 10.3 which I forked out for and was
CC> considerably disappointed (it was a 'one step forwards, two steps
CC> backwards' job in my opinion), I am loathe to part with money
CC> again on spec. alone. It sounds good but so did Red Ryder 10.3!
 
The hell of it is, yes, it's a great program, especially when you
compare it to your 9.4-->10.3 experience.  I suggest this:
FreeSoft gives you a 30 day free trial, if you don't like it send
it back for a full refund.  Take them up on it.  But remember,
when you break that shrink wrap you're entering into a business
agreement with the very same guy who does business as I've
described above.
 
And, to quote Hank Shiffman:
Disclaimer: I don't know any of the players in this saga.  I just
know which account *I* find more compelling...
 
^^^^^
The above statement expresses the views of the individual and does
not necessarily reflect the views or concerns of this place of origin.
 
--  
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