Xref: utzoo gnu.misc.discuss:531 alt.religion.computers:1105 Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!bu-cs!husc6!spdcc!xylogics!world!bzs From: bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein) Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss,alt.religion.computers Subject: Re: GNUclear Warfare Message-ID: <1989Dec15.035457.7968@world.std.com> Date: 15 Dec 89 03:54:57 GMT References: <2558@flatline.UUCP> <4639@sugar.hackercorp.com> <25770F75.3EA@rpi.edu> <1913@texsun.Central.Sun.COM> <1989Dec7.075641.13191@news.acc.Virginia.EDU> <4754@sugar.hackercorp.com> <1989Dec13.213445.13639@world.std.com> <4757@sugar.hackercorp.com> Organization: The World @ Software Tool & Die Lines: 31 In-Reply-To: peter@sugar.hackercorp.com's message of 14 Dec 89 05:43:59 GMT From: peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) [Responding to me] >> But at what point have the software vendors really established state >> enforced monopoly businesses? > >When you can't write your own version of their software and sell it or >give it away. Ask a hard one. But that was my point, we are at that point. You CAN'T write your own version of the Mac interface and sell or give it away (that is, you can, but Apple has made it clear that if you do they will sue your butt and the courts appear ready to back them up.) >If the pirates (yes, pirates) are so damn good, let them write their own >freeware version of XYZcalc. If they can, they'll put XYZco out of business. >Otherwise, XYZco has made a significant investment and created a new good >that they wouldn't have created if they weren't going to make money at it. You seem to be utterly unaware of what look and feel software suits are all about, no? You can't "write your own freeware version", that's the entire point and if you don't understand that you've utterly missed my point. The whole nature of a look and feel suit is a copyright suit based on the fact that your software simply "looks" and "feels" like my software, no common code need be present at all. -- -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die, Purveyors to the Trade | bzs@world.std.com 1330 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02146, (617) 739-0202 | {xylogics,uunet}world!bzs