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From: pjm@pyuxll.UUCP (PJ Maioriello)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: sources
Message-ID: <400@pyuxll.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Aug-83 10:57:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxll.400
Posted: Mon Aug 22 10:57:45 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 22-Aug-83 20:22:58 EDT
References: <112@vortex.UUCP>
Organization: American Bell, South Plainfield NJ
Lines: 42





My two cents on the subject of source protection:


When you buy a program be it a game, a compiler, the most complex or
or most rinky dink program around, WHAT are you buying?

Some people would have you believe that you are buying the
right to load the program from the media into a computer's
memory for the purpose of executing same.

Some other people openly advertise that the source is
included and unprotected when you buy their program.

Some people may make no statement either way.

MY OPINION:


If you are selling software that is supposed to appeal to experienced
(sophisticated [ I hate that word ]) users then if they want the
source and you don't provide it, they will most likely cease to do
business with you.

I have read ( believe it or not ) of small companies not doing
well because of concerted efforts to protect their source
when a similar product was being sold with the source by another
vendor.

I don't claim to know what the answer to this issue is, however I
don't believe that it is always in a vendor's best interest to
make such a big deal about protecting source.  I think that it
may (and even more so in the future) in fact drive potential
customers away.


				Paul maioriello

				pyuxll!pjm