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From: minich@unx2.ucc.okstate.edu (Robert Minich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: McCLones
Message-ID: <1991Mar8.003255.22933@unx2.ucc.okstate.edu>
Date: 8 Mar 91 00:32:55 GMT
References: <12650.27ce6376@ecs.umass.edu>
Organization: Oklahoma State University Computer Center
Lines: 41

by hagan@ecs.umass.edu:
|    with the NuteK clones of apple rom, and other soon to follow, 
| instead of litigating this to death, apple could take a proactive stance,
| and licence THEIR rom instead. for the extra $$, i am sure that peole
| would much rather have an actual mac rom than a clone of the rom, in
| their mac clone. if apple litigates the rom cloners to death, they may
| end up causing more harm than good in people's opinion of apple. i for
| one feel that the mac, more than any other computer could do phenomonally
| well IF there was competetive pricing against the IBM pc's. apple
| could stand to profit by being the recipients of the royualties on the
| ROM and OS. as is, sooner or later they wont be able to win a lawsuit against
| a cloner, and then they will stand to lose much more.
| 
| opinions....flames?

  If someone successfully clones a Mac (including the ROMs, OS, etc.,
since those are licensed for use on Apple products) and consumers take
to them in large numbers, the quality of the Macintosh experience will
probably sharply degrade. It's hard enough for Apple to support the
various versions of their own hardware. What do you think will happen
when some little quirk in a clone gets tickled by some new system
software? What if you want current system software? In the near future,
Sys 7 will be reality. Notice how long its taken Apple to develop. I
don't think Apple's programmers are incompetent or lazy and I assume
there is a HUGE amount of work being put into Sys 7. What are the
chances someone will successfully clone that effort in such a way that
they don't infringe on Apple's various intellectual property holdings.
  Before I buy a Mac clone, I'll probably do one of (a) buy a Mac III,
(b) buy a NeXT (boos and hisses from the crowd), or (c) give up
computers altogether. I don't want no stinkin clones. If your worried
about how Apple looks to the public, don't sweat it. There are all types
from die hard Mac-is-GOD fanatics to Apple-sucks-but-I-like-the-Mac.
Many people already think pretty poorly. Read the position paper of
the League For Programming Freedom.

Of course, these are only OPINIONS.
-- 
|_    /| | Robert Minich            |
|\'o.O'  | Oklahoma State University| "I'm not discouraging others from using
|=(___)= | minich@d.cs.okstate.edu  |  their power of the pen, but mine will
|   U    | - "Ackphtth"             |  continue to do the crossword."  M. Ho