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From: ervin@pinbot.enet.dec.com (Joseph James Ervin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: TetrAs
Message-ID: <20803@shlump.nac.dec.com>
Date: 6 Mar 91 13:55:15 GMT
References: <4983@mindlink.UUCP> <1991Mar5.191553.1518@csn.org> <1991Mar5.225021.14064@javelin.es.com>
Sender: newsdaemon@shlump.nac.dec.com
Reply-To: ervin@pinbot.enet.dec.com (Joseph James Ervin)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Lines: 36

Pete Ashdown writes:

>GIVE ME A BREAK.  Someone writes a piece of software that would only make
>a machine look BETTER and the manufacturer THREATENS them?  I have a real
>hard time believing this.  If >I< had been the author, I would have told HP
>to promptly flake-off and posted full speed with a jolly "see you in court"
>to boot.

Well, I can think of one reason why HP may have responded in this way, 
assuming that they really did.  First, as an employee of a major computer
company, we have lots of games and things like TETRIS that float around the
network.  Periodically, we get messages from the corporate legal folks telling
us that such software violates "look and feel" laws, and regardless of whether
any money changes hands, the distribution of the software is a violation of
applicable laws.  So of course, we all delete TETRIS from our workstations
(but of course).

Anyway, let's pretend for a moment that HP may have plans, or may be 
thinking about making plans for releasing a GAME ROM card.  Let's also
assume that being a major corporation, HP would have obtained the rights
to put a version of TETRIS on this card, at some significant expense.  
Doesn't it then seem reasonable that they would be more highly motivated
to pursue legal recourse for violation of applicable copyright laws, given
that a (possibly) planned future product could be made obsolete by some 
hacker on the net?

Now, personally, I think the current version of TETRIS is an excellent 
program (I believe even Bill Wickes gave it this complement), and I hardly
think that a fully ML version would offer much improvment.  Also, I sort
of doubt that HP is going to offer such a GAME card, but I just wanted
to give you the perspective from a major computer company.

Obviously, my views are my own and not those of Digital Equipment 
Corporation.

>>>Joe Ervin