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A THREAT TO FU TURE SOFTWARE According to Irving Rappaport. Apple's hardware architectures open. It allowed Last October Inc. yielded associate general counsel. Apple's intent the development of innumerable hard­ to pressure from Apple and agreed to is to prevent other companies from ware clones. many far more similar to IBM change its GEM software to decrease its creating products that are easy to use products than GEM is to the Macintosh resemblance to Apple Macintosh soft­ because of their similarity to the Macin­ desktop; consequently. the IBM PC-com­ ware. (GEM is an operating environment tosh. "If people look at it and say, 'Gee. patible market far outdistanced its com­ for several MS-DOS- and PC-DOS-based that's like the Mac-1 can operate that.' bined competitors in less than two years. computers that allows a user to interact when that's the result you get. it's over the On the other hand. Apple is actively dis­ with a computer via windows and icons line" of infringement of Apple's copyrights. couraging not only copying but also bor­ rather than the usual text-only commands.) The effect of this intent is to fragment the rowing from its software design. It claims Let's ignore. for the moment. the uncer­ industry in the face of what was becom­ the sole right to benefit from a set of ideas tain worth of a "visual copyright" (the legal ing a de facto standard for human-com­ that Apple itself has borrowed and im­ term for Apple's copyrighting of the over­ puter interaction. This lack of standardiza­ proved on (the most direct borrowing was all "look" of Macintosh software). Let's tion will cause many people to stay un­ from work done at Xerox PA RC). Given also ignore the ethics of Apple's actions. interested in computers because they will these two opposing directions. what do The point to focus on. instead. is that Apple's ac­ have to relearn basic skills with each brand !JOU think will happen? tions are to no one's benefit: Both the micro­ of computer they encounter. (Imagine how computer industry and Apple itself will many people would drive cars if car manu­ A CALL TO ACTION suffer from their effects. facturers used different controls for every We at BYTE call on Apple to recognize the Apple's actions will slow the growth of function in the car.) long-term implications of its actions and the microcomputer industry. which will Apple might argue that. by .claiming a limit itself to prosecuting cases where the hurt Apple by shrinking the potential larger slice of a smaller pie. it will still alleged theft is not of "looks" but of ac­ microcomputer audience. Already. several come out ahead. We believe that it will be tual program code. Barring that. we call small companies are worried that some hurt directly by its actions and will end up on Apple to license its allegedly copyright­ project they're working on (and. often. with a smaller piece of a pie .that is itself able interface to markets that do not they with it) will be cut down because it smaller. Apple will. in effect. build a wall directly compete with its current or is "too Mac-like." In addition. the success around its ghetto of Macintosh products. planned product line-if the licensing fees of Apple's tactics may encourage other thus limiting its own growth and encourag­ are reasonable. everyone will profit. companies to try similar actions. thus in­ ing people to "live" elsewhere. If neither of these things happen. we call creasing the paralysis and anxiety in the Texas Instruments' TI-99/4A provides a on the judicial system to hand down rul­ industry. good example. Tl announced that it in­ ings that reflect a strict interpretation of These actions will stifle the incremental tended to directly profit from all software the visual copyright laws-that is. that a evolution that is at the root of any signifi­ written for its machine by forcing third­ product is at fault only if it shows no dis­ cant growth in our industry. By "incre­ party software developers to publish their tinguishing characteristics in appearance mental evolution" I mean the process of products through TI. When a brave .few or operation from the alleged original; this gradual improvement of a product type brought out 99/4 cartridges on their own. would protect products that show incre­ that eventually leads to a more robust. TI added a proprietary chip to their car­ mental evolution. We also call on the in­ useful product. For example. Ashton­ tridges that the computer required before dustry to do two things. The first is to Tate's Framework did not spring full-blown it would run the enclosed software. Need­ stand up to Apple and see the case de­ from the heads of the programming team less to say. the few developers working on cided on its legal merits. The second is to at Forefront. It had its roots in Dan 99/4 software wisely turned to support develop an alternative graphic interface Bricklin's and Bob Franston's VisiCalc other computers. and allow its wide adoption throughout spreadsheet. Sorcim's Supercalc (which The same may happen to Apple. IBM the non-Apple computer community; in added functions and sold to a market not already sells over half the business com­ this way. the rest of us can get on with the supported by VisiCalc). Mitch Kapor's puters bought today. and IBM PC-compat- . business of making computers-in VisiPiot (which gave the distinctive high­ ibles account for a fairly large slice of general-good enough that everyone will lighted menu bar now used in so many pro­ what's left. If Apple has been slowing the want to use them. grams). the software integration of Lotus erosion of its market share to IBM with the [Editor's note: Apple maintains that the agree­ 1-2-3. and the icons. windows. and pull­ Macintosh line (and I think it has). its cur­ ment covers "onl!:l three specific products." but one down menus of-well. you get the point. rent moves will alienate software and hard­ of them is GEM Desktop. which defines the overall If companies are afraid to go to market ware developers. who will begin to lavish GEM environment. Also. according to Kathleen with what they think are incremental-but their creativity upon the more congenial Dixonof Apple. the agreement includes an!Jcustom distinct-improvements on a basic design. IBM PC -compatible marketplace. And where work DR! has done. including the modified GEM we will become a stagnant industry innovation goes. the market will follow. software that uses ill its computer.[ Atari 52 osr • bounded by the usual and comfortable. Consider: IBM made its software and -Gregg Williams. Senior Technical Editor

6 BYTE JANUARY • 1986