Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!male!sun-arpa!ames!ig!bionet!agate!violet.berkeley.edu!izumi
From: izumi@violet.berkeley.edu (Izumi Ohzawa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Bitmaps to non-NeXT printers (was Re: Some Random NeXT Thoughts)
Message-ID: <23291@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 19 Apr 89 07:10:58 GMT
References: <12017@ut-emx.UUCP> <1578@neoucom.UUCP> <8473@polya.Stanford.EDU> <4707@umd5.umd.edu> <23241@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <4719@umd5.umd.edu>
Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: izumi@violet.berkeley.edu (Izumi Ohzawa)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 93

In article <4719@umd5.umd.edu> feldman@umd5.umd.edu (Mark Feldman) writes:
>In article <23241@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> izumi@violet.berkeley.edu (Izumi Ohzawa) writes:
>>>
>>>Here is an excerpt from the ``NeXT Software License Agreement (Preliminary
>>>Software Releases)'' contained in the ``Read this first!'' booklet that
>>>comes with the NeXT:
>>>	...
>>>	You agree not to make use of the NeXT Preliminary Software, directly
>>>	or indirectly, to print bitmap images generated by the NeXT
>>>	Preliminary Software, or to generate fonts or typefaces, other than
>>>	on a single NeXT Computer in conjunction with a single NeXT computer.
>The above excerpt is preceded in the license agreement by:
>	The NeXT Preliminary Software is intended to be used to generate
>	screen displays with resolutions of 92 dots per inch on the NeXT
>	Computer and to print images with print resolution up to 400 dots
>	per inch on the NeXT printer.
>
>That complete excerpt (an oxymoron?), combined with the fact that the NeXT
>people at the support class that I attended explicitly stated that the
>DPS-produced bitmaps are off-limits makes me pretty sure of my
>interpretation.

Is it just me?  I still don't understand how the above prohibits
caputuring DPS generated bitmaps and using them in any way we wish.
So, NeXT *intended* their software to be used that way.  Isn't
finding *UNintended* use called innovation?

Besides, although not relevent to NeXT (yet), there is a program
called "Lasertalk" for Mac which, as I understand it, sucks in
bitmaps from the PostScript printer to allow interactive use
of PostScript and direct viewing of current images in the
printer frame buffer.  How could they do it, but not us?
Unless Adobe is suing Emereld City Software which sells this
program,  NeXT must be the one that is trying to prevent
free use of bitmaps.  Restricting bitmaps is akin to placing
similar restrictions to compiler generated binaries which
are generally unrestricted in their distribution.  How could
the restriction on bitmaps, other than in the context of
recommended programming practice, would be in any interest of NeXT?


I sincerely hope that "off-limit"-ness of bitmaps is in the context
of RECOMMENDED programming practices under NeXTStep, which becomes
REQUIRED programming practice for NeXT Registered Developers.  This
is because they sign an developer agreement in which the developer
agrees to make the program comform to NeXT program interface
specifications.  But, that should not legally bind
end users or NON-registered programmers.

Would someone else who attended the support class care to confirm
or deny what Mark says?

>
>>I hope you don't see anything wrong with photocopying NeXT generated
>>page in thousands, and distributing them to other people.

>That (the wording) wasn't necessary.  If anyone is not satisfied with my
I apologize for that.

>Once something has been printed or displayed, that output is subject to the
>copyright and license agreements of the program that produced it.  If
>
>Besides, in most cases, the original, unencumbered PostScript is smaller
>than the resulting bitmap and is more easily transported.

I don't want to spend too much time interpreting the license agreement,
but I don't like what I see above.  And If the above interpretation
is indeed what NeXT is trying to subject us to, then I would
like that changed.

Could anyone from NeXT comment on this?

I agree that the original PostScript is probably more compact and
suitable for transmission.  But I imagine a situation where
I want to take the bitmap created by DPS, say by screen cut-and-paste,
into FAX program, merge it with text and send it out via modem.
Is this going to be illegal?

Don't bitmaps belong to US rather than to NeXT or Adobe, regardless
of whether it's comitted to paper or in computer memory?
At least, that part of bitmap created inside a window (not including
icons, buttons, and look-and-feel items)?

Don't we own bitmaps we create with NeXTPaint program, or it it
NeXT's or Adobe's property ?

I am in no hurry to break any agreement (to which I will agree
in a few weeks, hopefully), but I certainly don't want my rights
to my bitmaps taken away by passing them through DPS image
operator.

Izumi Ohzawa
izumi@violet.berkeley.edu