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From: thorinn@diku.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Cloning the new IBMs without violating copyrights
Message-ID: <3087@diku.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-Apr-87 04:05:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: diku.3087
Posted: Mon Apr 27 04:05:56 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 30-Apr-87 01:38:37 EDT
References: <766@vaxwaller.UUCP> <2643@phri.UUCP>
Organization: DIKU, U of Copenhagen, DK
Lines: 16


  I was told (by a salesperson, but it still may contain some truth) that one
of the main obstacles to making a fully compatible clone was this:
  When you use a System/2 as terminal equipment against an IBM mainframe, one
of the commands in the protocol says "Please send the copyright message in
your ROM;" the mainframe checks this against whatever it is on a System/2,
and won't communicate if it's not the same.
  This would prevent the use of clones with IBM terminal software, unless the
cloners can find an excuse to have a verbatim copy of IBM's copyright message
in their ROMs; of course they could reverse engineer the software as well,
but this may put a cramp in their style. "Yes, sir, OUR machine runs ALL IBM
software... ehrm, but if you want to talk to a mainframe, you have to use
ours, because theirs wont lie."
--
Lars Mathiesen, DIKU, U of Copenhagen, Denmark		..mcvax!diku!thorinn
Institute of Datalogy -- we're scientists, not engineers.