Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!watcgl!watnext!lindsay From: lindsay@watnext.waterloo.edu (Lindsay Patten) Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss Subject: Re: Copywrongs Message-ID: <11143@watcgl.waterloo.edu> Date: 18 Aug 89 18:13:00 GMT References: <8908181535.AA08568@cheops.cis.ohio-state.edu> Sender: daemon@watcgl.waterloo.edu Reply-To: lindsay@watnext.waterloo.edu (Lindsay Patten) Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 46 In article <8908181535.AA08568@cheops.cis.ohio-state.edu> gnu-misc-discuss@cis.ohio-state.edu writes: >If I have 10 energy pellets, 10 matter pellets, and 10 information >pellets, and you have 10 energy pellets, 10 matter pellets, (and a >gun), you can take all of my matter pellets away and I will have none. >You will then have 10 more matter pellets and I will have 10 less. You >can do the same with my energy pellets. Your gain is my loss. You >can't deprive me of my information pellets though (not without mashing >up my brain). What you can do is persuade me to let you make a copy of >them for yourself. In order to do this you will have to spend one of >your energy pellets on copying costs. If you didn't take my other >pellets, I will have 10 energy pellets, 10 matter pellets, and 10 >information pellets. You will have 9 energy pellets, 10 matter >pellets, and 10 information pellets. Initial state: A has 10 matter pellets and 0 information pellets B has 10 matter pellets and 0 information pellets C has no pellets A gives 5 matter pellets to C who uses them to create 1 information pellet C gives a copy of that information pellet to A A uses their remaining 5 matter pellets and 5 copies of the information pellet to produce 5 copies of their product. To break even they must get 2 matter pellets back per product B gets a free copy of the information pellet from C B creates an equivalent product to A's but only requires 1 pellet per product to break even A goes out of business Doesn't seem like this would lead to a stable situation does it? The plain fact of the matter is that as long as matter and energy pellets are required to *create* information pellets some means must be provided for that investment to be recouped. Now it seems that there must be something to be learned from the (seeming) success of the X consortium. They somehow manage to produce free software. By what process did that take place? Can it be used more generally? Cheers, Lindsay -- Lindsay Patten "People are package deals - No substitutions allowed" Pattern Analysis & Machine Intelligence Group lindsay@watnext Department of Systems Design Engineering lindsay@watnext.waterloo.edu University of Waterloo {utai|decvax|uunet}!watmath!watnext!lindsay