merlin@smu.edu (David Hayes) (12/15/89)
Barry Shein (bzs@world.std.com) writes: > > 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. So it's OK for me to write my own version of some program and I can either sell it or give it away. Let's see.... I could write a database program, but Ashton-Tate would sue me if it used a command language that looked like dbase. I could write a spreadsheet program, but Lotus Development Corporation would be upset if it looked too much like 1-2-3. Or I could write a graphical interface, but heaven help me if it happens to have a trash can on the screen. Look-and-feel gives too much away. I'll grant you that Apple has the right to do whatever they want to with the code they wrote. They can sell it, or give it away, or package it in a little ROM chip and say you have to buy one of their computers to get it. Fine. I draw the line, though, when Apple, or Lotus, or Ashton-Tate, or anyone else, tells me I can't write my own program to do the same thing. We give copyrights to promote invention and the arts, because these things are socially beneficial. What Apple et. al. are presently doing is not socially beneficial. It actively retards the development of computing. If the software companies want to stay ahead in the marketplace, let them turn to their R&D department instead of their legal department. David Hayes School of Engineering Southern Methodist University merlin@smu.edu uunet!smu!merlin "Here's a test to see if your job here on Earth is finished: If you're still here, it isn't." -- Richard Bach, _Illusions_