kuo@boulder.Colorado.EDU (KUO ANDY Y) (12/18/89)
In article <1989Dec17.223025.6618@me.toronto.edu> yap@me.utoronto.ca (Davin Yap) writes: >> It is a fact that a user would need to buy a book other than just the >>manual for a DOS software, while Mac users don't even have to look at >>the manual and learn things fast. > > Granted. This is precisely what pisses me off about Apple: a > GUI is wonderful, "but you MUST buy one of OUR machines to use it. > If you buy someone elses machine we expect a small royalty > payment." On another note, I don't know how accurate this ?????????????????????????????? > (second-hand) information is, but I've been told that Apple ????????????? > recently tried to organize a consortium of companies that would > agree to stop offering educational discounts! Sliiimmmeeeeyyyy! [flame on] Maybe I should have sent this article via e-mail, but it is right if someone says anything that he is not sure of. Spreading rumors that one is not sure of only tells that he is irresponsible! [flame off] I am not an expert in the copy rights area. But moral tells me that it is about intellectual property, it is private and the owner has the right to decide whatever he wishes to do with it. This is a free country. The issue is regarding the argument between the owners on this "property". Even if you don't like it, too bad, you can't intefere with it. In other words, if Apple would price a Mac+ at the level of a Cray, it is Apple's business, none of yours. And if you think Apple's is better, you have to pay for the investment and the man power that Apple have invested. Then again, if you want to stick with your non-standard interface, no one is preventing you from doing it :-)
lumsdon@dtoa1.dt.navy.mil (Lumsdon) (12/19/89)
Yes, this is an intellectual property rights issue. I disagree thoroughly with the person posting from UC at Boulder about Apple taking risks to develop the Mac and Lisa GUI. Apple built upon work done by _lots_ of other people (not just Xerox). Apple took advantage of the fact that legal protection of software hadn't kept up with the economic value of software, and didn't license technology from anyone, nor give them credit for their work. Then, when law had changed to improve legal protection of software, Apple sued companies who had used Apple's developments in a similar manner to how Apple had used previous developments. In my humble opinion, 1. Pepsi-style management has hurt Apple. The company was less litigous before Sculley. Their approach to pricing their products hasn't changed. 2. Apple is being a baby. They're saying "I can use other people, but they can't get away with using me." My response to them is boo hoo! --------------- This part here is an aside. A professor whom I like is friends with a longtime employee of Xerox, who worked at PARC. Xerox's lawyers refused to let PARC staff attempt to copyright any of their work because there just wasn't law to copyright software back then. --- Esther Lumsdon David Taylor Research Center Annapolis Lab cm 301-267-3816 av 281-3816
gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu (12/19/89)
In article <14970@boulder.Colorado.EDU>, kuo@boulder.Colorado.EDU (KUO ANDY Y) writes... >In article <1989Dec17.223025.6618@me.toronto.edu> yap@me.utoronto.ca (Davin Yap) writes: >> payment." On another note, I don't know how accurate this > ?????????????????????????????? >> (second-hand) information is, but I've been told that Apple > ????????????? >> recently tried to organize a consortium of companies that would >> agree to stop offering educational discounts! Sliiimmmeeeeyyyy! > >[flame on] > > Maybe I should have sent this article via e-mail, but it is right >if someone says anything that he is not sure of. Spreading rumors >that one is not sure of only tells that he is irresponsible! Hear hear! I heartily agree. Flames are one thing (will system 7.0 have memory protection, does Apple charge too much. etc.), but all this spite and hate is just sick. BTW, it is APPLE DEALERS who are suing APPLE to stop educational discounts. AGAIN: Apple wants educational discounts (it's in their interests too); others are trying to stop them from keeping them. Robert ============================================================================ = gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu * generic disclaimer: * "It's more fun to = = * all my opinions are * compute" = = * mine * -Kraftwerk = ============================================================================