Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!rutgers!cbmvax!daveh From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Copy protection: A marketing analysis Message-ID: <2145@cbmvax.UUCP> Date: Tue, 21-Jul-87 14:38:40 EDT Article-I.D.: cbmvax.2145 Posted: Tue Jul 21 14:38:40 1987 Date-Received: Thu, 23-Jul-87 04:33:39 EDT References: <207@cc5.bbn.com.BBN.COM> Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA Lines: 40 in article <207@cc5.bbn.com.BBN.COM>, denbeste@cc5.bbn.com.BBN.COM (Steven Den Beste) says: > > The GIZMO beats all of these. Consider its advantages: It is almost impossible > to subvert or defeat. It is convenient for the customer (no manual to search). > It allows unlimited backup-copies, and works just fine from a hard-drive. The > only draw-back is that it requires me to manufacture it. (Also an occasional > customer will lose it.) I agree the GIZMO is difficult to impossible to defeat, depending on expense, and in some cases it provides the least annoyance to the legit user (other than no CP at all). When the problems do arise are when I've got five programs that each want their own GIZMO, each in the second mouse port. At best, I have to remember which goes with with application, and do some plug swapping whenever I run the particular application (though a good one will gracefully remind me to inset the proper GIZMO). At worst, the GIZMO will force me to run single tasking, as each program, as you said, may do 100 different GIZMO tests at different times in the program, effectively limiting me to one GIZMOed program per session. This I would find totally unacceptable. Some minicomputers use a different version of this, in which every different host computer has essentially one GIZMO. When you order an application package, you tell them the external code number of the GIZMO, and that is hard coded into the object code you receive. Thus, your one GIZMO lets any number of compatible programs run at once (perhaps through the GIZMO.device) only on the once machine. This does limit the software-as-a-book analogy; I can only run my software on the one machine, not several packages, each one at a time on different machines (then again, I don't suppose there are all thet may folks out there with extra machines about). The disadvantage is of course that each individual copy of the program must be patched somehow to contain you GIZMO codes. It also means the the internal workings of the GIZMO, as they're spread around to different developers, are going to leak out the the #4 crowd and possibly allow them to defeat the scheme. > Steven C. Den Beste > Bolt Beranek & Newman, Cambridge MA -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga Usenet: {ihnp4|caip|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh "The A2000 Guy" PLINK : D-DAVE H BIX : hazy "Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top of the world" -Beach Boys