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Re: Licensing, distributing Apple II system software, and II computing
Roy and/or Janet Miller <millers@inetnebr.com> wrote:
>> > Snort, chuckle, choke. If they have everything to gain from Apple II distribution,
>> > why not Mac OS System 6?
>> Apple still sells Macs and Mac software.
> I own 68040 Macs that can't even use System 7.0. I seriously doubt that System 6 will boot on
> an iMac. So how will Apple be hurt by letting people download System 6 for their old Mac
> Plus'? By the logic you used above, Apple should be glad to let people download System 6 and
> run their own Plus' and then maybe buy an iMac.
And Apple is happy to let people download System 6.0.x from their site (and
several versions of it at that). It could actually benefit Apple, because
it exposes people to their hardware and software. I was, for example, one of
those people who started with the venerable (second hand) Macintosh SE then
ended up buying an iMac, along with several machines in between. I would
never have touched the iMac if that old beast didn't impress me so, but once
I started digging in with ResEdit and MacsBug (also freely downloadable
software, from Apple), I was hooked. Heck, I won't even touch Intel hardware
anymore. At least not for my personal stockpile. So loosening the ropes can
help.
Do they have to go all the way, and stick it into the public domain? Well, it
would be nice -- but it ain't going to happen. But if the obsolete stuff is
available from controlled sites, it will keep a few customers. Does releasing
software as old as DOS 3.3 help? That I doubt, simply because the Apple II and
Macintosh are such different beasts. Pascal? Well, let's just say that UCSD
Pascal ought to be enough to throw most people into bouts of raving lunacy.
But if it keeps users of the old equipment happy, why not! Because of my
involvement with old computers, whenever I goto a site and find old software
and old drivers to support my machines, it impresses me. It impresses me, and
I will probably end up buying from the company in the future because I know
that they will support the equipment, even in a cursory manner, in the years
to come. (Assuming, of course, that they offer something I want.)
When I still played around with PC equipment, I used to pickup various parts.
Sometimes it was something as trivial as a 512kB VGA card. One was from ATI, as
I recall. Some sort of VGA/EGA combo board. Couldn't find a hint of info
about it on their website, let alone drivers. That's not a good impression to
leave a potential customer. I won't ever buy from them.* Then there was the
Trantor SCSI card which came with my first CD-ROM (back from the days when good
CD-ROMs cost $800). The card appeared to be made by NEC, licence from some
other company, but low-and-behold, Adaptec had long since bought out the
company (or rights to their SCSI cards), and posted info and drivers to their
website. That was impressive. It factored into my buying decision when I
bought my next SCSI card, and Adaptec won out. (It was actually for many
reasons, but the main ones were for continued BSD and OS/2 support, for both
cards.) It's not going to happen every time. That second hand GPIB card,
which is still supported in some fashion by National Instruments (the drivers
are copyright 2000, the card is from 1988), probably won't induce me into
buying a new card from them because I don't need many data aquisition cards.
Then again, if I did have to make such a decision, would it be National
Instruments -- or that company which made the "Strawberry Tree" A/D converter,
which doesn't support that card any more (and didn't even have the courtesy
of replying to my e-mail to tell me so)?
Now its not going to happen with every person, and it is not going to happen
every time. Yet, while there is not a concrete reason why they should give
this software away, it does help improve the image of a company. If it wins
customers, so be it. At least it should not win them enemies.**
So should Apple offer DOS3.3 for download: most certainly, even if it is for
no reason other than image. DOS3.3 itself may not amount for much, but in a
larger (and systematic) picture, it may reflect a better company to buy from.
Byron.
* Though, I suppose, that I have done so indirectly by buying an iMac.
** Take Microsoft, who told me to buy a new computer -- rather than letting
me get a slightly-older version of IE. I didn't like Microsoft in the
first place. I like them even less now.