Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!nucsrl!tellab5!vpnet!louisg
From: louisg@vpnet.chi.il.us (Louis Giliberto)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Apple's FCC request
Message-ID: <1991Apr16.234220.23155@vpnet.chi.il.us>
Date: 16 Apr 91 23:42:20 GMT
References: <41134@cup.portal.com> <1991Apr13.031151.18659@vpnet.chi.il.us> <1991Apr15.023121.24595@alphalpha.com>
Organization: Vpnet Public Access
Lines: 45

In article <1991Apr15.023121.24595@alphalpha.com> nazgul@alphalpha.com (Kee Hinckley) writes:
>Are we on drugs or what?  Have you ever looked to see how many patent/
>copyright lawsuits IBM has filed?  Admittedly not many of them go to
>court - you don't win that kind of battle.  Take token rings for instance.
>Apollo was fighting that one when HP took them over, unfortunately HP
>had already given up and paid.

Token ring is hardware, not software.  There's a big difference.  IBM did not
force Microsoft to write an OS strictly for them (MS-DOS), and IBM did
not start a major lawsuit program when "clone" BIOS's appeared, as they could
have like APple did.

The fact is that sometimes profits need to be protected in order to keep the
business running, but when it slows down innovation it is not only wrong,
but against the law.  Read your constitution.  Apple crossed that fine
line with the GUI lawsuit.  I like Apple computers, but not the company
policy.

>
>I don't agree with these lawsuits either, but I don't let it turn me
>into a blind fool.  Evaluate the deed, not the doer.

Exactly.  Apple is a great computer, but their policy sucks.  I don't
buy from companies that overwhelmingly exploit third-world countries either,
when I can avoid it.  APple can easily be avoided.

Louis Giliberto
(louisg@vpnet.chi.il.us)

>
>-- 
>Alfalfa Software, Inc.          |       Poste:  The EMail for Unix
>nazgul@alfalfa.com              |       Send Anything... Anywhere
>617/646-7703 (voice/fax)        |       info@alfalfa.com
>
>I'm not sure which upsets me more: that people are so unwilling to accept
>responsibility for their own actions, or that they are so eager to regulate
>everyone else's.


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