There is a BIG difference between someone freely distributing a copyrighted work that they own and putting it in the public domain. When something is put in the public domain the ownership vests in the public and the author has no more rights concerning that property than any other member of the public. Most shareware that is distributed for no cost IS NOT public domain. The owner still has the right to do as he wishes whether to charge for it or give it away or revoke the license to use it. I can assure you that anything Apple has ever copyrighted has not been released into the public domain. Read the open source licensing agreement at their web site. Although the code is distributed freely, Apple owns it and if you improve it, they own your work, too. And they have the legal right to prevent you from using your own contributions to their software. (not likely) As far as that old eBay software is concerned, the best defense the vendors have is the continual cycles of updates, incompatibilities, and obsolescence of hardware-OS-software. I run a blue G3 (Did the G4 make me obsolete?...eventually) and it necessitated several expensive software upgrades that ran fine on my 603e machine. So I spend almost $1000 on upgrades. I think the software companies are getting by nicely. Microsoft in particular has made OS upgrades an art in cash generation. There is a lot of greed in this business. -Joel -- Get paid to surf the net! go to.... http://alladvantage.com/go.asp?refid=DCE845 > I think the point is that when it is put into free download status > it enters the public domain and is no longer protected, AFAIK. ---------- Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net! A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables. FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml> Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400> X-Router | Share your DSL or cable modem between multiple computers! Dr. Bott | <http://www.drbott.com/prod/MIH120.html> Midwest Mac Parts <http://www.midwestmac.com> | After-market parts for Macs. Fix your ticking dock for $59 w/ trade-in of PS. 888-356-1104 PowerBook Guy is | Click here! Everything PowerBook! | http://www.powerbookguy.com
