Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!phri!roy From: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) Newsgroups: comp.graphics,comp.windows.misc Subject: Re: PostScript standard? Message-ID: <2912@phri.UUCP> Date: Sat, 26-Sep-87 17:09:24 EDT Article-I.D.: phri.2912 Posted: Sat Sep 26 17:09:24 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 27-Sep-87 11:18:15 EDT References: <535@micas.UUCP> Reply-To: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) Organization: Public Health Research Inst. (NY, NY) Lines: 28 Xref: mnetor comp.graphics:1201 comp.windows.misc:61 In article <535@micas.UUCP> jvs@micas.UUCP (Jo stockley) writes: > It appears to me that Postscript is owned by Adobe Inc. [etc] All this > being the case how does anybody expect PostScript to become any sort of > standard. Why not bite the bullet and place it in the public domain free > of any charge. PostScript (almost certainly a trademark) is indeed owned by Adobe. Adobe makes their money by licensing PS to printer manufactures. Adobe also sells a few end-user software products (TransScript, Illustrator, and various fonts) but I'd venture to guess that the income from those products is minimal compared to their printer controller licensing. I suppose putting PS in the public domain would indeed speed its acceptance by the industry as a standard. In certain respects, I suppose this would make Adobe happy. On the other hand, it would deprive Adobe of its major source of income and they would quickly go out of business. I don't see anything wrong with the idea of a company designing a good product, making money off of it, and having it adopted as an industry standard. Ethernet's a standard but lots of people make money off of it. Unix is a standard and lots of people make money off of that too. As far as money-grubbing capitalists (:-)) go, Adobe doesn't seem to be a bad bunch of people to work with. Then again, I've never tried negotiating with them to license PS for a printer I plan on selling. -- Roy Smith, {allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute 455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016