Subject: Re: This whole Apple boycott issue
To: None <>
From: Richard Stallman <>
List: macbsd-general
Date: 09/05/1994 18:27:54
    Apple has put a lot of money into R&D, and they've come up with a lot of
    interface ideas.  (They also took some from Xerox, I know.)  For better
    or worse, they have copyrighted these ideas.

They have tried to copyright a style of interacting with the user.
Whether they will succeed is not certain.

    It's not Apple's fault that it's protecting something it developed.

Of course it is.  We are all responsible for our actions.

Companies that mistreat the public, just like sleazy politicians,
always make the excuse that "We haven't broken any laws."  Whether we
accept that excuse is our decision.

When Apple says "The law lets me get away with this," I'm not
impressed.  My response is, "The law also allows me not to do business
with you."

    GNU, Linux, and BSD don't run ClarisWorks and Lotus 1-2-3.  I can't
    purchase Norton Utilities or good backup software for them; I can't play
    F/A-18 Hornet or Myst on them.

My heart bleeds for you.