Hi !
CLAUDIO MASSAO KAWATA - 900293 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Compression... Ah! So that's what "POPCOM" is, an EXE-packer! I
> have the program at home, but never understood what it was for...
Just thinking...doesn't it explain when you just run it?
> Now that I do, I still think if is there a use for it...? Granted,
> smaller files are faster to load from disk (far faster from tape!),
> but they take an amazingly long time to decompress.
Just depends on the method, and POPCOM does this -reaally- fast...try
it some time!
> > And ZIP is *really* a free format. There have been many companies and
> > interested parties who investigated ZIP's copyrights, and common view
> > is that it's FREE (and should be).
> (..)
> Info-ZIP's codes are freeware, but not PKWare's ones.
Okay, no problem, that says nothing about the ZIP format ('=method'),
only about these _programs_
> If you have the sources, you are and out-law!
Sources of Info-ZIP's or PKWare's, which did you mean? Why anyway, as
long as you're not doing anything with these?
> Does anyone beside me ever read licence docs?
Yup, I do, sometimes...
> This is from "pkz204g.exe" (a ZIP file):
> (...) A Distribution License is required by an organization, company or
> government agency to use PKWARE programs to facilitate the distribution
> of software or data to outside parties (...)
> Did you read it? They explicitly say "DISTRIBUTION" of soft or
> data. That means zipped files, to my understanding (not to the lawyers,
> it seems).
You quoted correctly from "LICENSE.DOC" (I looked it up), but:
You can simply read this, and it's probably meant like that (or the
lawyers will be able to have it read as such):
"If you use ***PKWare's*** (not somebody else's) stuff for producing
self-extracting EXE's, ZIP-files etc., you have to pay them for that
use"
Sounds really logical, because: in that way the produced EXE's, ZIP's
etc. can be understood as -partly- the work of PKWare (they did the
packing, right?).
That they would want some reward for that, okay. I can understand
that, and they're entitled to that.
But you can also read the above as:
"So, if you use ***somebody else's*** stuff (like Info-ZIP's) to do
the packing, then you did NOT (use PKWARE programs to facilitate the
distribution of software or data to outside parties) "
And thus, don't fall within the above statement.
(=you're in the clear, unless something else applies)
And that's the way it is with the ZIP format:
There are many companies who make software that can produce ZIP's,
and they all can put up their own conditions for using their
software. But they have copyrights to their *software*, not to the
method used - try and keep these apart!
So write your own program for producing ZIP's, self-extracting EXE's
etc., and it's your baby.
Info-ZIP was one, and made theirs free....
So you just relax, have a good glass of wine, and think of how all
that FREE stuff that's already out there, from complete operating
systems like Linux, to HTML spec's and so forth, make life REALLY
better for everyone.
One more example: a free "standard PC-" DOS is also in the works, so
that you don't have to pay Micro$soft for installing M$-DOS on your
computer, or IBM for using PC-DOS (or whatever). Don't believe it?
It's on: http://www.freedos.org
Just a good example of some beautifull projects going on (a bit late
though, but hey, better late than never...)
Greetings,
Alwin Henseler ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://huizen.dds.nl/~alwinh/msx MSX Tech Doc page
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