Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!sun-barr!decwrl!shelby!Portia!maverick
From: maverick@Portia.Stanford.EDU (Steve Whitney)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: ROM hacks
Summary: OS ROMS != carburetor
Message-ID: <2356@Portia.Stanford.EDU>
Date: 18 May 89 09:50:50 GMT
References: <8905171847.AA01433@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu>
Sender: Steve Whitney <maverick@Portia.stanford.edu>
Organization: Stanford University
Lines: 31

In article <8905171847.AA01433@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu>, cmm1@CUNIXA.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU (Christopher M Mauritz) writes:
...
> Would I have any legal problems with Atari if I disassembled the ROM
> code, altered it to suit my individual needs, and then burned a new set
> of ROMs for my machine?  ...
[won't release disassebbly or new version]
> Well, a Mr. Townsend replied that he thought the process was illegal,
> but he didn't give a reason.  I can't understand why.  If that is
> illegal then wouldn't it be illegal to modify the carburator in my new
> Ford, etc...?  Oh yeah, this guy was from Atari.  A few other users saw
> things my way.
...

I think the problem is with your burning EPROMs which contain code copyrighted
by Atari, but I'm no expert.  You aren't making a copy of your Ford
carburetor or Ford wouldn't be too happy with you either, I imagine.

...
> What do you think about this?  Myself and a
> couple of friends are (1) really impatient for the ROM upgrade (which
> Tramiel just said wouldn't be available anyway for the 1040) 
...

The current scoop from Atari is that TOS 1.4 will be available for all
machines, but the BLiTTER will not.  They said they had FCC problems with
insufficient shielding in the non-Mega computers.
-- 
       Steve Whitney         Internet:   maverick@portia.stanford.edu
                             UUCP:      ..!decwrl!portia.stanford.edu!maverick
  "It's never really the     Bitnet:    maverick%portia.stanford.edu@stanford
       last minute!"         GEnie:     S.WHITNEY