Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!husc6!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!osu-cis!att!ihlpe!stuart
From: stuart@ihlpe.ATT.COM (S. D. Ericson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Jonathan (Macintosh Clone for somewhat more than $1000!)
Summary: 128K is a LOT to duplicate
Message-ID: <4603@ihlpe.ATT.COM>
Date: 28 Mar 89 13:59:11 GMT
References: <530@umiami.miami.edu> <7423@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Organization: The Sage Hovel, Wheaton, IL
Lines: 56

In article <7423@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>, caromero@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (C. Antonio Romero) writes:
[that 4/1 gag again...]
> 
> 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.

Strictly speaking, the legality isn't the problem.  Duplicating the
capabilities of 128K of fine-tuned assembly language is a *BIG* task.
People often refer to the clone BIOS's created for the mess-dos world.
Phoenix went to a LOT of trouble to implement and legally secure the
"clean-room" duplication of the (yeck) PC's BIOS.  But what is the
size of that chip?  8K?  And what does it do?  Basic machine operations?

To do the same with the Mac, they would have to clone 128K - yeah, that
is 16 times as much.  You can't just say it would take 16 times as many
man-hours either.  It would be more reasonable to assume 100 times.
After all, there is a LOT of technology in those ROMs.  Tight Graphics
(at least in 2-bit mode, right Andy? :-), all sorts of text, menu,
file and memory managers.  And they would all have to copy all the
peculiar little bugs that have crept into the roms over the years.

Besides, any company who wanted to clone the Mac would have to keep
up with the 256K ROMs, and soon (I'm sure) the 512K ROMs, and so on.
Phoenix has it made.  Mac cloner's have a huge mountain to climb.
It is hard enough to get good Mac programmers now, how hard is it
to find programmers that don't know the ROMs (as many good Mac Hackers 
do) and yet are good enough to clone them?

Quite a task.  I get tired of hearing that someone should clone the roms.
It is not so easy, folks!   Hats off to any who can *really* do this. I
would rather they advance the technology rather than clone the Mac,
however.

Of course, if you want to do it illegally, it is all too simple, and
not possible to do on a large scale without talking to Apple's 
buddies in the legal department....

Stuart "Sure I'd love clone prices" Ericson



-- 
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