13 Apr
2003
13 Apr
'03
2:34 p.m.
Quothe chris, from writings of Sun, Apr 13, 2003 at 08:35:55PM -0400:
but... shouldn't "pirating" be something
that IS condoned on this list?
At least under the idea of "abandonware". After all, without some degree
Definitely! If software is needed and no longer available from the
manufacturer or other "legal" sources, then, why should it be
considered wrong to duplicate it for others who need it? To not
make such software available, in many cases, would mean that many
classic computers would become unusable and we couldn't preserve
them properly.
of software piracy, it is highly unlikely that a good
chunk of the
hardware this list is interested in would have any useful software
available to it.
Which is further proof that you're correct in asking your original
question and should not be flamed.
I very much support the idea of abondonware, and I
would think that idea
is very much in this list's interest. However, it is in many cases still
piracy.
I like the position that DEC, and some other companies, took on
computers being used by hobbyists who had illegal posession of
unlicenced operating systems, etc.: "just look the other way... those
hobbyists, who aren't costing us anything, and who can't afford our
software now, may grow to like our products even more and turn out to
be paying customers some day when they work for, or have, a business
that can buy our software and hardware."
--
Copyright (C) 2002 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals:
All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature &
rdd(a)rddavis.org 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such
http://www.rddavis.org beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.