Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 17:53:54 +0000 (GMT) From: Terry Lambert <tlambert@primenet.com> To: netmonger@genesis.ispace.com (Drew Baxter) Cc: jktheowl@bga.com, jmb@FreeBSD.ORG, smiledon@intop.net, chuck@ucsd.edu, jkb@best.com, danny@AlphaZed.com, wes@softweyr.com, grog@lemis.com, kbyanc@freedomnet.com, freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Tell Micro$oft what you think Message-ID: <199811231753.KAA18089@usr02.primenet.com> In-Reply-To: <4.1.19981122120911.00a45680@genesis.ispace.com> from "Drew Baxter" at Nov 22, 98 12:16:02 pm
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> What I particularly don't like (and this is very typical for Game Consoles, > I.e. Nintendo, Sony, etc) is that once a new OS is released, the others are > left to fend for themselves. When was the last time a new Super Nintendo > game was out? Well probably right before Nintendo 64 came out. OK, now that we're on a total tangent for FreeBSD Advocacy... The Famicon (Nintendo) hardware operates by placing a patented MMU chip on each cartridge. This not only increases the per cartridge price, it: o Prevents companies from producing cartridges, except under license from the company, on threat of a patent-based lawsuit. o Lets them charge a per cartridge royalty to each vendor to keep the market price for cartridges fixed. o Keeps all but carefully selected American companies out of the cartridge market. o Lets them quickly end-of-life a previous product by invoking contractual clauses so that the previous product doesn't cannibalize their new product's market. The biggest danger for them is that some other vendor will release new hardware, with more software, at the same time they release their new platform and EOL their old platform. It's very much a closed shop; if you have any complaint against it, then don't buy into the closed shop. But if you make the choice to buy into the closed shop, it's your own fault when you get bitten. Terry Lambert terry@lambert.org --- Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present or previous employers. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
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