Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!xios!dont From: dont@xios.XIOS.UUCP (Don Taylor) Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk,alt.flame Subject: Re: Smalltalk/V Decompiler Message-ID: <413@xios.XIOS.UUCP> Date: Wed, 28-Oct-87 17:13:54 EST Article-I.D.: xios.413 Posted: Wed Oct 28 17:13:54 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 31-Oct-87 10:44:05 EST References: <2490@mmintl.UUCP> <57@ateng.UUCP> Reply-To: dont@sdn.UUCP (Don Taylor) Organization: XIOS Systems Corporation, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Lines: 57 Xref: dciem comp.lang.smalltalk:348 alt.flame:330 In article <57@ateng.UUCP> chip@ateng.UUCP (Chip Salzenberg) writes: >In article <2490@mmintl.UUCP> franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams) writes: >> >>I recently posted an article offering to send my Smalltalk/V [TM] decompiler >>to anyone who wanted it. I have since been contacted by Digitalk, who >>threatened to take me to court if I proceeded. > >What pomposity and arrogance! > >I think that I will refrain from buying Digitalk products until they stop >threatening bright, imaginative people with legal action because they are ... >How sad that Digitalk wants to restrain their users in this way. > >I think that today's big winner is Softsmarts ... Well yes, Chip, all of what you say is true, but I also think that charging $1000 for Smalltalk on a PC is pretty arrogant on Softsmarts part. Digitalk are clearly wrong on this issue, but I find it hard to turn the flame-thrower on full blast on a company that sells a nice ST system for very few bucks. I pay for my own computing, if it wasn't for Digitalk then I would not be able to play with ST. (Pity it is sooo incompatible with ST-80). Looking at the issue itself, my Digitalk license (actually a 'Copy Permission Statement') says nothing about banning decompiling. The agreement is quite liberal, so I am doubly surprised that Digitalk should take stand that they have. Furthermore, I cannot conceive of any commercial advantage that anyone could gain by having the source to the compiler - I don't see why Digitalk did not distribute it themselves, they do distribute the sources to nearly everything else. Quite the contrary, it seems to me that Digitalk could possibly sell more systems because Frank has written a de-compiler. Maybe this whole thing is a misunderstanding. If Digitalk is listening then I should really like to hear their side of the story. In the meantime, I think that it is important that Digitalk be persuaded that they are wrong, and I don't think that Frank should bear the cost of legal fees all by himself. I suggest that people who feel strongly about this pledge Frank some $$$ to help him fight. I will chip in a pledge for $25, it is not a lot, I hope that it is a start. -don -- Don Taylor, XIOS Systems Corporation, ...!uunet!mnetor!dciem!nrcaer!xios!dont 1600 Carling Avenue, Suite 150, Ottawa, Ontario. K1Z 8R8 613-725-5411 Canada.