*BSD News Article 64097


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From: vladimir@Burner.dsg.stanford.edu (Vladimir Vukicevic)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.apps,comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.os.linux.x,comp.os.linux.hardware,comp.os.linux.setup,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Why to not buy Matrox Millennium
Followup-To: comp.os.linux.development.apps,comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.os.linux.x,comp.os.linux.hardware,comp.os.linux.setup,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Date: 25 Mar 1996 06:17:33 GMT
Organization: DSG, Stanford University
Lines: 25
Message-ID: <VLADIMIR.96Mar24221733@Burner.dsg.stanford.edu>
References: <4j21ph$crr@slappy.cs.utexas.edu> <4j3muv$34m@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu>
	<4j3v64$1rq@virtech.aib.com> <4j4dl2$n44@nntp.Stanford.EDU>
	<jameslDosqBp.E0C@netcom.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: burner.dsg.stanford.edu
In-reply-to: jamesl@netcom.com's message of Sun, 24 Mar 1996 23:52:36 GMT
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.development.apps:13564 comp.os.linux.development.system:19874 comp.os.linux.x:27411 comp.os.linux.hardware:34114 comp.os.linux.setup:46806 comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc:270 comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc:2738 comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc:2523 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:15877

In article <jameslDosqBp.E0C@netcom.com> jamesl@netcom.com (James Logajan) writes:

> 
> The bottom line is that nobody has asked for the bloody details of the
> innards of the Matrox board, only the interface protocol. And I'm pretty
> sure that is fair game to reverse-engineer.
> 

Exactly. Matrox doesn't seem to understand this. Incidentally, in my
'software license agreement' that came with their drivers:


"The original purchaser may not engage in, nor permit third parties to
engage in, any of the following:
	..
	- Attempting to unassemble, de-compile or reverse engineer the Software
	  in any way.
	..
"

However, I don't see a similar 'license' for the hardware interface..
I guess this is fair game?

	-- Vladimir