[pc110] RE: TouchPad driver (was PC110 For Sale)

Thomas Harding (tharding nospam at sover.net)
Wed, 11 Nov 1998 13:32:40 -0500

Wow, everyone is getting serious now..... :)

At 10:26 AM 11/11/98 -0800, Josh wrote:
>To clarify my side...
>I have beef with nobody on this issue, I know we all appreciate Mr. Perkins
>work on this driver, it's been a real plus to PC110 users who run 95 and he
>deserves our appreciation.
>I don't think the fact that I mentioned a "TouchPad Driver" in my PC110
>post warranted a mini flame war.
>
>
>But I am NOT using this driver to boost "MY" PC110 sales, I'm not a PC110
>dealer, I'm not profiting off the driver in anyway, I am not reducing the
>price of my PC110 just because the driver is not included, I'll reduce the
>price to sell it.
>
>I was bit taken with the fact that you felt threatened or something because
>I put the words "Touchpad Driver" on my post then you had to go & tell
>everybody on the list as if I was a criminal violating your copyright.
>And all this ask nicely stuff like I'm a peasant or something, I mean where
>was I being mean in the first place? Dude, your being rigid.
>We are not blowing hundreds on tiny palmtops only to pirate software &
>drivers or be MEAN.
>
>If I offended or frustrated you for your hard work on this driver, well
>excuse me sir, it wasn't my intention, I respect you and appreciate your
>work - you sure the hell know more than me about writing drivers, you're
>the man, and I know the PC110 community would love to see more development
>for the PC110, don't let my PC110 post ruin it for everyone else.
>BUT, I say this, relax. nobody is pimping your driver, at least not that I
>know of and it is not me...
>Your driver is totally eleminated from my system & no one will ever get it
>from me, they all know where to get it.
>If you don't believe me, I invite you to buy my PC110 & see for yourself
>(no refunds).
>
>Now if somebody wants the windows 95 TouchPad Driver "I" wrote Email me & I
>will send it to you, you can distribute it freely & sell it as you wish,
>include it in systems, etc.... Just give me credit for it... Oh, I have to
>warn you, it doesn't work & use it at your own risk.
>
>Again, bottom line, no hard feelings, I'm still gonna sell my PC110 (if I
>can), your driver is not included. We're all happy guys here.
>
>
>cheers,
>
>josh
>(soon to be a former PC110 owner, I think...).
>
>
>
>
>
>At 11:04 AM 11/11/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>
>>Hmm, seem to be a few points to clarify here:
>>
>>Josh, you stated "Touchpad drivers installed." then "It's currently
>>running WIN95..." on the very next line. That's why I assumed you were
>>referring to a Windows driver, not a PW or Linux driver. That wouldn't
>>make sense, right? If there's another Win95 driver out there, I'd love
>>to hear about it.
>>
>>Alan, it's my intention to provide the driver for download well into the
>>future. I am building a new web server right now in fact.
>>(http://www.pobox.com/~pc110 will automatically point to the new server
>>when it's up.)
>>
>>I would also like to clarify why I am taking this position. In the past
>>I have released work to the world at large for no fee only to find
>>others distributing it in various ways for profit. I found this
>>frustrating and offensive.
>>
>>In the case of this driver, I could have easily left the driver as just
>>a core running on my machine and any others I chose to install it on.
>>Instead, I went to the effort of putting an interface on it and
>>documenting it so that others in the community can use it.
>>
>>My only restriction was that it is not distributed without my
>>permission. I didn't want to see companies -- or individuals -- using MY
>>work as a way of leveraging THEIR sales, or losing control of the
>>distribution.
>>
>>As I'm sure you all know, if claims to copyright aren't enforced in the
>>USA you risk losing them. That's why I felt it appropriate to post my
>>original message.
>>
>>In this specific case, had Josh asked for permission (nicely!), he would
>>have received it.Finally, Josh, you can't copyright an individual's
>>name. Trademark it, yes, but not copyright it. (In the US anyhow.) <g>
>>
>>Cheers,
>>Rex.
>>(Wondering if I should bother making my keyboard driver available for
>>download or just keep it for myself...)
>>
>