Re: Official and LEGAL ways to emulate Apple II?

[et472@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black)]

Matthew Russotto (russotto@grace.speakeasy.net) writes:
> In article <JZKta.65813$Ye6.2991633@twister.socal.rr.com>,
> Bryan Villados <news003@macgeek.org> wrote:
>>Legally, all you'd need are the ROMs off the logic board to use on an
>>emulator. If the people on eBay would figure it out by now, they could
>>probably pull the ROMs off the logic boards and sell just the ROMs to save
>>on shipping. I would also imagine that owning a IIe emulation card for the
>>Mac LC series would satisfy the same legal requirements.
> 
> ROM images for the ][+ are included on every DOS 3.3 System Master
> disk (and one of the 3.2. master disks), so owning one of those should
> make it legal too.
> 
But Apple system software has only run on Apple computers, with a few
exceptions.  Some Mac system software has been sold, but generally you
get it with your computer, and you can, or could, get plenty of different
versions from Apple's website for the time of downloading it.  Since
you needed an Apple computer to run it, you have in effect paid for it
when you bought the computer.  Even if you bought a used Apple, at
least you are still matching up disk software with hardware.

Download system software, even if it includes the ROM images, and 
use it on some hardware other than an Apple.  Do you really own the
system software if you don't also own the requisite Apple software?
If the ROM image is included in the system software disk, surely it's
there as a convenience for those who are using it with the requisite
Apple hardware; it still is intended to be used with Apple hardware.

Trash the hardware (or give it away) and keeping the ROMs seems
like the best solution.  The ROMs show proof that you did have
an Apple, and by taking them out of the computer, you are not
multiplying the number of "Apple computers" out there, but simply
using the existing and available hardware in a different form.

This issue is like the computer I pulled out of the garbage the other
day.  It's got Windows ME installed.  "I"ve got the software, so I
can run it" is a false statement.  Because I don't have the master
copy of the software, whoever had the computer before me can run
that software on some other computer.  Two copies of the software running
on different computers.  The CDROM with the operating system is like
the ROMs in the Apple II; a physical thing that can't be legally duplicated
which does indicate ownership.

   Michael