Re: [TCLUG:13418] Protest Aftermath

[Ben Kochie <ben@nerp.net>]

that reminds me about a description about how compaq computer corp became
the first IBM clone company.  and how they reverse-engineered the only
thing they couldn't get specs for... the bios.. 

this is something i learned about 5 years ago, so my memory may not be
totaly acurate.

first thing they did was have an engineer study DOS, and how it interacted
with the bios.  he could look at everything.  but he would not look at any
code for the compaq bios.. he simply wrote a specification for a clone
bios, using no actual code.

then a second engineer would look at this specificaton, and actualy write
the code based on that spec.  several things had to be "just right" with
this 2nd person.  they had to have no knowlage of IBM systems, they could
only know about x86 assembly, but not in the context of IBM.

this allowed him to not infring on any IBM patents or copywrites.

Thank You,
        Ben Kochie (ben@nerp.net)

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 "Unix is user friendly, Its just picky about its friends."

On Sat, 5 Feb 2000, Mike Hicks wrote:

> Well, I must say that standing out in the cold for two hours freezing my
> toes off was a learning experience that I didn't really expect.  It is
> essential to have a clear and concise message to say to people..  That
> is something I was lacking.  I tried hard to find something to say
> quickly, but my brain was pretty well frozen at the time.  Now that I'm
> thawed out, I can think again.
> 
> Does anyone know much of anything regarding the way 'generic' products
> are made?  This is something that the common person has at least heard
> about, whether through generic medication or generic car parts.  Do the
> manufacturers of those products use reverse-engineering?  If so, I can
> see this DeCSS case having a huge impact on generic products.  Companies
> like GM could sue someone for manufacturing duplicate parts, right?
> 
> Then again, I'm not a wrench head, so I shouldn't say too much on that
> subject.
> 
> Another tack for promoters of this cause to think of is the freedom to
> extend something beyond its original scope.  Perhaps I should be careful
> when talking about this, as I was not happy back when Microsoft decided
> to 'embrace and extend' Java.  But maybe my thoughts on that subject
> will change.  Car and aviation enthusiasts have always found new uses
> for old technology.  Planes have been made using car engines, engines of
> all types have been 'souped-up' in all sorts of ways.  Why shouldn't we
> be able to do the same things with our computers and the technology that
> resides within them?  What makes computers so different?  I think it's
> an interesting question.
> 
> -- 
>  _  _  _  _ _  ___    _ _  _  ___ _ _  __   Lead me not into 
> / \/ \(_)| ' // ._\  / - \(_)/ ./| ' /(__   temptation, I can find  
> \_||_/|_||_|_\\___/  \_-_/|_|\__\|_|_\ __)  it myself. 
>  [ Mike Hicks | http://umn.edu/~hick0088/ | mailto:hick0088@umn.edu ]
> 
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