Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!rutgers!labrea!decwrl!pyramid!voder!apple!lsr From: lsr@apple.UUCP (Larry Rosenstein) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Copy protection: A marketing analysis Message-ID: <1359@apple.UUCP> Date: Thu, 23-Jul-87 20:39:47 EDT Article-I.D.: apple.1359 Posted: Thu Jul 23 20:39:47 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 25-Jul-87 10:55:54 EDT References: <207@cc5.bbn.com.BBN.COM> <892@omepd> <1393@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> <575@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM> <1756@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> Reply-To: lsr@apple.UUCP (Larry Rosenstein) Distribution: na Organization: Advanced Technology Group, Apple Computer Lines: 38 Keywords: ID code, replacement, Lisa In article <1756@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> kagle@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Jonathan C. Kagle) writes: > > This method was used in the Lisa (later Lisa 2 and Mac XL :-). I think >that high production costs and the below problems caused Apple to discard this >concept on their Macintosh. Any comments Apple? > Sure thing. Let me pull out my Lisa O/S manual. The Lisa hardware did have unique serial numbers in the machines. The O/S supported protected operations on a file. In particular you could make any file be a protected master. The system shells both supported protected masters. When the user copied a protected master, it became permanently tied to that machine. (Note that every disk that went out was identical ie, not tied to a particular machine). If a file was protected, then the O/S Open call would fail unless the machine ID matched the ID stored in the file. As someone mentioned before, this scheme does not prevent someone from doing a bit copy on the master diskette to make 2 protected masters. Also, you would think that this would be the ideal form of copy protection, but in reality, users didn't like it either. For example, if they had 2 machines, they had to keep track of which disks belonged to which machine. The Macintosh was designed by a whole different group. I don't know why they did not use hardware serial numbers. It probably was a combination of cost and philosophic opposition to copy protection. -- Larry Rosenstein Object Specialist Apple Computer AppleLink: Rosenstein1 UUCP: {sun, voder, nsc, mtxinu, dual}!apple!lsr CSNET: lsr@Apple.com