All laws are, necesarrily, an arbitrary line drawn to distinguish right and wrong. Or more exactly legal and illegal. Things that seem like they should be OK get made illegal because you have to draw the line somewhere.
Having said that... I come from the PC world, and only just recently acquired a StarMax, which I am trying to bring to life. The software I was given does not boot the machine, but that's OK. I perfectly accept the challenge of pooling the resources together to bring it to life. That was even part of the original intent. I wanted the StarMax because I thought it would be an interesting learning experience. I have not decided yet whether or not to put PPC Linux on it or to continue to pursue a Mac OS solution. I will get there eventually. For PCs there is a strong distinction between the hardware and the software, even the software that comes with the machine. While I take Telcontar's point that the machine is hardly usable without an OS, and the an OS is completly unusable without a computer, the distinction between the two is rigid for PCs. Possibly this is because the people who make PCs do not make OSs (Except IBM, and even then O/S 2 is pretty much fringe). The licensing and ownership rights for each is kept seperate and distinct. This brings up another distinction. You OWN a computer. You are LICENSED to use software. To get a license, you had to pay somebody money and agree to a licensing agreement. To own a computer, you only had to go to a store and buy it. No agreements needed. You can buy a car and you can have a license to drive it, or you can buy a car, and not have a license, or you can have license and not own a car. The Law does not care, provided you do not drive without the license, or while licensed drive a car that you stole. The computer is the same way, only the licensing authority is Apple, and they get to decide what is acceptable use of the license once you have it. For me, when I don't like the license I start looking at the Free Software Foundation. -- Clendon -- StarMax is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... / Buy books, CDs, videos, and more from Amazon.com \ / <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/lowendmac> \ Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> StarMax list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/starmax.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/starmax%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
