Re: Apple II vs Atari 800

[Rick Cortese <ricortes@earthlink.net>]

Charlie wrote:
> "Rick Cortese" <ricortes@earthlink.net> wrote in message 
> p8ednSTt4dX6kpTVnZ2dnUVZ_sqinZ2d@earthlink.com">news:p8ednSTt4dX6kpTVnZ2dnUVZ_sqinZ2d@earthlink.com...
>
> > Russg wrote:
> >
> >
> > > I see it as a problem with legaleze.
> > > I can't understand the US Patent office statement.
> > > And I can't really understand the argument here.
> >
> > Russ, a patent grants you rights in exchange for ~telling the secret. If 
> > you have already told people how to do the trick, i.e. published, it isn't 
> > a secret anymore is it?
> >
> > The gist of Sphincter Boy's argument is he thinks you can pantent 
> > something after been published/become common knowledge. He could not be 
> > more wrong.
> >
> > He is just a troll, ignore him and his BS. I killfiled him already and I 
> > can safely say he nothing intelligent to offer on the topic.
> >
> > Rick
>
>
> You couldn't be more wrong about Michael.
>
> Charlie

He couldn't be more wrong about this. Remember the topic and the 
position that Atari was secreting information which resulted in it being 
less successful.

John Harris in a post to comp.sys.atari.8bit July 1993 snipped to the 
pertainent part.
************************
It took me a long time, about 6 months after I got it, to read the book.
Mostly because others who read it first said I wouldn't be very thrilled by
what got written.  I was dissappointed.  Steve Levy spent a lot of time
with me and the other programmers at On-Line, took notes, and absolutely
new the real stories.  Why do journelists need to rewrite things to make
the story more interesting?  If they're going to make it up anyway, why go
to the trouble and expense to gather real data?

While I did disassemble Super-Breakout and BasketBall, and discover PMG and
some other machine secrets, bootleg copies of the Harware manuals showed up
just a few months later.  It was a strange because I thought I had
information that no one else was going to know, and could use it to really
have an edge in 3rd party Atari games.  I couldn't help but feel
disappointed that my 'edge' was taken away.  Of course, that didn't last
too long, because there was a whole world inside those manuals that I never
would have found.  After reading them, I was very happy to have that info
available for myself, and everyone else.  Instead, Levy told the story
of the 'Wonder Boy' who figured it all out on his own.
**************

I pointed out he was correct about the 2600. I and others said he was 
wrong about the Atari computers. He's been nitpicking ever since. BTW: I 
just looked at my technical reference and it is copyrighted 1982.

Rick