Comments on: For India, a $12 Apple II Nintendo Famicom desktop http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/08/05/for-india-a-12-apple-ii-desktop/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:29:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Rob Preece http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/08/05/for-india-a-12-apple-ii-desktop/#comment-870185 Rob Preece Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:15:33 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=11736#comment-870185 While there may be a 20 year patent window, I would be real surprised if there wasn't copyrighted material (e.g., the BIOS) involved in the NES. I suspect Microsoft would have something to say if I decided to launch a DOS-based computer and e-mailed Microsoft that the 20 year patent window meant I didn't have to pay for it (just 7 more years before I can deploy Windows 95 computers). A $10 computer sounds great. It might even be possible--and Linux is available for free. But let's not do it by violating copyright. Rob Preece Publisher, www.BooksForABuck.com While there may be a 20 year patent window, I would be real surprised if there wasn’t copyrighted material (e.g., the BIOS) involved in the NES. I suspect Microsoft would have something to say if I decided to launch a DOS-based computer and e-mailed Microsoft that the 20 year patent window meant I didn’t have to pay for it (just 7 more years before I can deploy Windows 95 computers).

A $10 computer sounds great. It might even be possible–and Linux is available for free. But let’s not do it by violating copyright.

Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com

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