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From: coolidge@casca.cs.uiuc.edu (John Coolidge)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Thank you, Apple!
Message-ID: <1990Mar29.194056.14571@brutus.cs.uiuc.edu>
Date: 29 Mar 90 19:40:56 GMT
References: <1990Mar25.125336.8932@uwasa.fi> <5519@jarthur.Claremont.EDU> <1990Mar28.215407.11574@eda.com>
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jim@eda.com (Jim Budler) writes:
>Reality is that if Macintosh clones begin selling, Apple will also
>have to pull their system software from general free access, and
>charge enough money to cover development costs, since they can no
>longer depend on the equivelent revenue from their hardware.

>Their current license policy says it cannot be run on non-Apple
>hardware, but that is unenforceable if they lose the attempt to
>prevent such hardware from existing.

Not necessarily so. The current license is exactly as enforcable as
the laws against illegal copying --- in both cases, if you can catch
someone using the software illegally, you're free to sue them for
violation. The big difference isn't enforceablity --- if Apple was
to change for the OS, many people would just give bought copies to
their friends instead of free copies (because, after all, the tradition
holds that the OS, at least on the Mac, can be copied to others, and I
doubt that tradition will be quick or easy to change). The big difference
is that Apple would make _some_ money off sales, instead of no money.

--John

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
John L. Coolidge     Internet:coolidge@cs.uiuc.edu   UUCP:uiucdcs!coolidge
Of course I don't speak for the U of I (or anyone else except myself)
Copyright 1990 John L. Coolidge. Copying allowed if (and only if) attributed.
You may redistribute this article if and only if your recipients may as well.