🚀 go-pugleaf

Let's remember to keep this discussion limited to the appropriate groups.
The people on alt.sources and other groups are (justifiably) pissed.

In article <BwM5yz.HFq@iat.holonet.net>, bwilliam@iat.holonet.net (Bill Williams) writes:
|> BOYCOTT Fascist file format Patents!!!!!!!
|> 
|> I cannot belive the foolish people that did not mention that source code
|> access to the photoCD file format reading rouines COST $100,000.00 and not
|> the $695.00 that Carl Dichter at SPS claimed. Joe Buck at U. C. Berkeley
|> thought Carl Dichter was right in his assertion, and later on Mike Axman
|> at Eastman Kodak Co. conveniently let the mistake slide.
|> 
|> The 695.00 includes proprietary patented copyright **OBJECT CODE**
|> 
|> Object code only NOT SOURCE CODE!!!!

I cannot help but answer such a thoughtful and polite posting.

I was originally quoting Tom about the price.

I just called Kodak (1-800 242 2424 extension 77)  again and double checked: 
It is SOURCE, and it is a ONE-TIME fee of $695 with no NO RUN-TIME ROYALTIES.

If you want to port it to UNIX, you can, or you can wait a couple more
weeks for the UNIX version (gee, software is late at Kodak too).

I don't know where you got your $100K figure, you didn't say-- but that 
sounds like source redistribution rights -- and I think that most people know the
difference.

|> The only known source code in the world from Kodak was available to
|> buddy-buddy pals such as Apple (Who's PhotoCD Access INIT for QuickTime
|> 1.5 and ANY properly written CD-ROM drivers on the Mac is very very good).
|>
|> The only other source code ever distributed for the fascist patented file
|> format is source code published in alt.sources and ftp-able from a site in
|> euorope. You heard me correctly... SOURCE CODE!!! Precious source code
|> that the army of Kodaks lawyers wants to suppress!
|> 
|> Hadmut Danisch at Univ. Karlsruhe wrote it and it can be found on :
|> switek.uni-muenster.de = 128.176.120.210
|> 
|> in directory /pub/pictures/PCD.
|>  
|> There you will find:
|> Readme                  something about Copyright
|> 
|> do not download large image files over the Internet also found in that
|> directory.
|> 
|> in fact the author warned:
|> >The connection to the Server is not one of the
|> >fastest and they *need* it for other things.
|>  
|> >***  So please use it at night (german time!) or at
|> >***  weekend.
|> 

Oh good, freedom to use "wostly working" source code!

I think that I'll:
- spend time and long distance charges (somebody pays) to download it,
- decipher Hadmut Danisch's documentation (which is as good as Kodak's, right?),
- pray that O'Reilly makes a nutshell book about it,
- make a program with it,
- test and debug the crap out of it, so that I can feel that it's a little
  better than "wostly working",
- mortgage my house for the money to take it to market,
- quit my day job to market my product,
- put my name on the company,
- after much effort, I'll sell my first few copies,
- I'll spend time supporting the product, which doesn't work well (Hadmut, 
  could you help me? my customer has a 3K by 2K image from Fotomat that won't
  read-in),
- not sell enough, because I'm so busy in support,
- beg Hadmut to make changes to support new Kodak features,
- loose any market reputation for quality because I used buggy software from someone
  I never met, which was built on empirical knowledge rather than a standard, and then,
- loose my house.

I really do want to get rich on software-- but I think I'll pass on this
business plan.

|> But disseminate this source fast if Kodak is really trying to flex its
|> repressive patent-happy muscles.

Thanks for sharing that Bill-- it's so nice to have an intelligent discussion
with reasonable people.

I'm done with this thread. 

Those of you who aren't yet convinced certainly won't be by anything I say.

----------------------
Carl R. Dichter               "iwannanugui"
Motorola ASIC Division
email: dichter@chdasic.sps.mot.com
/*
** "People who never make mistakes work for people who dare to."
*/