"Abandonware" and copyright [was Re: WinWorld]

[Al Kossow]

On 3/30/16 6:26 PM, Paul Koning wrote:
>

>> I have a few ideas of my own.. but for now, I'd like to hear other members
>> thoughts on the matter. Ultimately, it might necessarily involve bringing
>> the rights holders and/or publishers over on to "our side".
>
> Yes, that's precisely correct.  And doing so requires treating each individually as the rightful owner of something we're interested in, and treating that owner with respect rather than dismissal.  Fred made that point quite clear also.
>
>

And that process, from personal experience with several large companies 
while working at CHM, takes time and most often someone sympathetic on 
the inside. It took personal lobbying of Steve Jobs by Andy Herztfeld 
and Bill Atkinson to get Apple to release the Macpaint and Quickdraw 
sources. Fortunately, that example has opened up other code from Apple 
(like the Apple DOS sources) that are being made available.

There are also VERY few examples where we were able to get an agreement 
beyond non-commercial educational use.

Claiming that any MSFT product is "abandonware" is absurd. They DO very 
much care.