Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!njin!princeton!phoenix!caromero
From: caromero@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (C. Antonio Romero)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Jonathan (Macintosh Clone for somewhat more than $1000!)
Message-ID: <7423@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 27 Mar 89 22:18:51 GMT
References: <530@umiami.miami.edu>
Reply-To: caromero@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (C. Antonio Romero)
Organization: Princeton University, NJ
Lines: 33

In article <530@umiami.miami.edu> gtww2z9z@umiami.miami.edu (Jason Gross) writes:
>Gates reveals to Levy a startling product: A '030 Mac clone that's twice as fast
>as the IIx, comes with color, a 60MB hard drive, a 2400bps modem, fax,
>Works and Word 4.0 in ROM, 4 MB RAM, monitor, keyboard, and mouse all for,
>now get this, one thousand dollars.
>Guess who makes this wonder machine?  None other than Big Blue itself.
>In addition, this Mac clone is supposed to be shipping April 1.  


Well, enough of this gag.  But onto a more interesting question:

On the cover of the 21 March 1989 MacWEEK we have a picture of Akkord
Technologies' Jonathan, a Macintosh clone which currently requires the
128K ROMS from a real Mac but which apart from that is ready to roll.
There's talk of them introducing it here in the US in the next few
months, and it wass at CeBIT in Hanover last(?) week.  The manufacturer,
a Taiwanese company, is looking at cloned Mac ROMS-- supposedly created
'cleanly,' without reference to Apple's own-- as well.  

Given the success of Phoenix, Award and DTK among others at cloning the
PC BIOS withough legal problems, I don't see how Apple can deal with
the cloned Mac ROMS through the usual lawsuits, unless they can
demonstrate the 'uncleanness' of the ROMS.

Now _this_ I'm watching with great interest... it could be a real
challenge to Apple's lock on the Mac market, if these folks have done
their homework.

Has this been hashed out already over here? I don't generally follow
this group, as I'm only an occasional Mac user...


-Antonio Romero    romero@confidence.princeton.edu