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From: tdn@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA (Thomas Newton)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: copy protection
Message-ID: <274@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 31-Jan-85 11:15:21 EST
Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-s.274
Posted: Thu Jan 31 11:15:21 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Feb-85 02:09:21 EST
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 45

Claiming that copy-protection is equivalent to "buzzer-gizmos" on shirts is
patently bogus.  The "buzzer-gizmos" come off after you buy a shirt, and do
not then interfere with the normal use of the shirt.  Copy-protection *does*
interfere with the normal use of a piece of software, because it

    (1) Prevents the user from making backups
            The section of the U. S. Copyright Law that protects
            software explicitly states that it is legal for the
            purchaser of a piece of software to make backup and
            archival copies for his/her own use.

    (2) Makes it *extremely* risky for the user to customize his/
        her working disk (since the working disk IS the original,
        you can't afford to take chances and customize the menus,
        install new DAs using some buggy utility like ResEdit or
        RMover, install a RAMDisk in the system file, etc.)

How often do people want to backup and customize their Mac software?  I keep
backups of all the major programs I have purchased that aren't copy-protected
(MacWrite/MacPaint, Microsoft BASIC, MacTerminal, etc.) and of the protected
programs that I have been able to backup.  I have also customized several of
the programs that I normally use:

    1) The version of MacTerminal on which I am typing this bboard
       post has a modified version of the "standard" MacTerminal font
       that I find much more readable.  The MacTerminal documents which
       I normally use contain resources to make the OPTION key act like
       the COMMAND key, and to make the "~" character easier to type.

    2) The version of MacPaint which I normally use has command keys
       corresponding to *every* menu item.  The most useful new keys
       are the ones corresponding to the "invert" command and various
       "flip" commands -- since I don't need to move the mouse out of
       the drawing window to invoke them.

    3) My System files contain various assortments of fonts and DAs.
       If I think that installing a particular DA could be risky, I
       install it on a backup of the disk, then move the changes back.

I barely tolerate copy-protection on games.  I absolutely will not tolerate
it on utility/development software -- all of the people marketing protected
C compilers can forget about ever getting my money.

                                        -- Thomas Newton
                                           Thomas.Newton@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA