🚀 go-pugleaf

  [realize that I am new to this discussion and have not invested as much
   time and thought as those who have participated longer. be gentle,
   please.]

In <216@news.duke.edu> magidj@cellbio.duke.edu (Jonathan Magid) writes:

   [Thomas Okken's comments deleted]

>it seems to me, that if we had to reinvent the wheel everytime someone
>has patented an idea, the speed of technological developement would slow
>to a near-snail pace.
   
   BUT IT HASN'T. In the commercial world of engineering and product 
   development, if Company A develops some innovative material, process, or
   component, they can patent it. They may then choose to license it, or
   not, to other companies.

   Licensing of this sort is common, and it is an accepted fact of doing
   business in the aerospace community (to cite one example.) If I want to
   use a piece of McDonnell-Douglas technology, I can _always_ license it.
   You'll seldom hear practicing engineers holler about the horrors of having
   to LICENSE something- they may complain about the added cost, though.

   VPI comes to mind. They spent big $ to develop the technology behind the
   DataGlove. Did they patent it? Hell yes. Do they license it? Sure. Has
   that stopped competing glove systems? Nope.


>i don't think of the apple boycot as so much of a ideological battle agianst
>the "evil empire" of user interface suits, but as a pragmatic decision
>attempting to keep the environment of open sharing of information and 
>ideas within the computer industry...

   My view of Apple's action is that they are attempting to preserve something
   which cost them a great deal of money to develop. They literally bet the
   company on the Macintosh interface, some of which was derivative and some
   original. THE IMPLEMENTATION WAS ALL ORIGINAL, folks. The meat of Apple's
   suit against Microsoft was that MS had duplicated elements of the Mac
   interface which Apple felt were unique- not anything so general as "over-
   lapping windows" or "pull-down menus."

   I am a happy Mac user and will continue to be one. I am sorry that the
   LPF has chosen to boycott Apple's products, although I certainly support
   their right to do so. While I appreciate and understand the ideals behind
   the LPF position, I firmly believe that those who take the financial and
   other risks associated with a new technology- a personal-computer based GUI
   in this case- deserve to control THEIR IMPLEMENTATION of that technology
   as part of the reward of their efforts.

>jonathan.
>-- 
>Jonathan Magid     magidj@marimba.cellbio.duke.edu 
>Virtual pizza Delivery (tm)::faxed in 30 cycles or less or you get it
>	                                 FREE!!!
-- 
--
Paul Robichaux                  | Disclaimer: NTI pays for my skills, not my
robichau@freedom.msfc.nasa.gov  |             opinions.
     "Lit up with anticipation / We arrive at the launching site" - Rush