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From: hassell@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Christopher Hassell)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Ethics of crippler circuitry
Message-ID: <6552@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
Date: 11 Feb 89 23:00:09 GMT
References: <7143@pyr.gatech.EDU> <11630010@hpsmtc1.HP.COM> <4602@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> <750@pccuts.pcc.amdahl.com> <MXwliIy00V45JUKFBg@andrew.cmu.edu>
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Reply-To: hassell@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Christopher Hassell)
Organization: (Let's see, I'm positive <clang> .. I've <rustle> got ... )
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<MXwliIy00V45JUKFBg@andrew.cmu.edu> js9b+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jon C. Slenk) writes:
# In article <4602@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> jackg@tekirl.LABS.TEK.COM (Jack Gjovaag)
# writes:
#         >The ethics of adding "crippling" circuitry to an otherwise high
#         >performance machine to fill a gap in a product line is not at all
#         >clear to me.  >

# One must realize that a company has every right to do whatever they wish to do
#with thier stuff. If they believe they can reap better profits by 'crippling' a
#machine and selling it as low-end with lots-o-sales, then they have every right
# to.
  
# If someone makes something, they can do what they wish with it.
  
# Sincerely,
# Jon Slenk / js9b CMU.

As well we must realize that there should never be any restrictions on the
customer in "removing added slowdowns".  

As some micro people may know, Apple had to put slow memory into the GS in
order to keep some older "safe" boards compaitible.  That was the downside
and there was little to do about it.  But then it was not to make a new 
"niche".

Other things can happen too.  I know a friend of mine who recieved a PCjr
<egad, I know> and is STILL finding hard-hacks that have upgraded its graphics
to that of a Tandy 2000!  There are BILLIONS of programs he's downloaded 
that fix BILLIONS of IBM stupidity marks.  MS-DOS also has quite a few
fix-em-up possibilities.  Whether these were for "upgradibility" or just from
dumbness (in my knowlege of Apple //'s I can definately say they squeezed about
all they could out of it.  I was rather shocked at all that could be fixed on
an IBM).

Wellll.  SUUUUUUUMMMMMMDDAAAAYYYYYYYY there jus' MIGHT be better analysis 
techniques (computerized ones) that can find these blinking holes because
the manufacturer's spex aren't just-a-pile-of-paper-to-look-at-when-you-need-
-to.  <understandible spex?  Yeah I know that's unlikely.> THAT will be nice.

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