An Open Letter to Maurice Randall
Glenn Holmer
Where is my equipment, Maurice? In April of this year, you agreed to do
repair and installation work on two 64Cs and a CMD HD200; I sent them to
you and you signed for them when UPS delivered on 04/18/2005.
On 05/11, you told me you would be working on them "within the next 4-5
days", and on 05/27, "after the weekend". That was the last I heard
from you despite my good faith attempts to contact you... until 10/04,
when you finally responded again, saying you would "get on it this week
for you, one way or another". You haven't contacted me again since then
despite daily e-mails, and I still don't have my computers.
Why are you behaving this way, Maurice? Did your parents bring you up
to steal? Do you have children? What would you say to them if they
treated others like this? You are a legend in the Commodore community;
how can treat another member of that community so poorly? You already
have a reputation for being untrustworthy, maybe you just don't care
because you think it can't get any worse.
Well, you know what? I don't care about any of that, I just want my
computers back! I don't have to tell you how much these great old
machines mean to all of us... especially 005100, the one I learned to
program on years ago. I thought he would be safe with the famous
Maurice Randall, but instead you have kidnapped him.
Send my children back home to me now, Maurice!
christianlott1
mine out with the garbage when I was at college.
He never asked me to come pick it up. He assumed since I placed my
trust in him to store such things, I really didn't want it anymore.
Why don't you take a trip over there and see what's going on. Maybe
there are a few others who'd like to come too. You could make it into a
C= convention/intervention.
Surprise C= Fest at Maurices'. Who wants their shit back?
Needless to say, it would be the perfect opportunity to serve him
papers, including travel expenses.
Christian
Christopher Ryan
likely why his services aren't going well. I have a SuperCPU that's in
need of repair, but there's nobody else to turn to.
silverdr
> I have a SuperCPU that's in
> need of repair, but there's nobody else to turn to.
With repairs it should be still possible to find someone who can do it.
I think there is a lot of people who may occasionally repair a cbm
machine, a drive or so. I still do it from time to time. But there is
another problem with Maurice and it is that there is a couple of persons
on this planet who would be willing to spend some ridiculous amounts of
money on the obsolete electronic machinery he holds the exclusive rights
to produce :-(
ramswell
known from time to time to get things up and running again. If
interested let me know.
(909) 854-1210
shifty...@hotmail.com
Charles
Rick Balkins
I will simply say this - CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
You can't run a business once a month.
A business needs to be regularly operated. Maurice,
if you can not spend at least 10-20 hours a week running
the business - you should either do - one of two of the
following:
1) Return items back to customers and close business (and refund any order
or service fee).
or
2) Return items back to customers and sell the business (and refund any
order or service fee) to someone capable of operating the business.
To Commodore community and public at large:
There are laws to abide by or you can be sued for theft and fraud.
Businesses are by statutes are typically required to return products under
service repair within 90 days or some figures like 30 or 60 days or less. If
CMDRKey is a legal business, it must follow the same laws as any
computer/electronics repair service businesses.
In general, if it is not - then DO NOT SEND YOUR MONEY to Maurice Randall
for ANYTHING until he provides you or your attorney with the business
license number for CMDRKey and the State in which it is licensed in. If he
can not provide you or your attorney with that information - you can look at
the business as being fraudulant AND may clearly be in violation of laws.
If I recall, a business license is required for computer repair services in
the State of Michigan.
Back to Maurice:
Although I hate to see things bad happen to you Maurice - but you are
loosing your reputation VERY quickly. Defending you is now a mute point.
"silverdr" <silv...@inet.remove.it.pl> wrote in message
news:435130ab$1...@news.inet.com.pl...
Joseph Fenn
Do what I did. File a claim to the Attourney General of Michigan
office. State your case as you did abouve and you will get action
within 30 days or they will be pounding Maurice on the head.
Joe (aka kilroy)
Joseph Fenn
state your complaints to them. Action guaranteed in 31 days or
Maurice starts getting pounded on the head direct from the
Atty Genl office and they usually give him 31 days to correct his
half assed cbm operation.
Joe (aka kilroy)
**********************************************************
* Ham KH6JF AARS/MARS ABM6JF QCWA WW2 VET WD RADIO SYSTEM*
* Army MARS PRECEDED by AARS (Army Amateur Radio System) *
* Hi State ARMY MARS COORDINATOR *
**********************************************************
Glenn Holmer
> Do what I did. File a claim to the Attourney General of Michigan
> office.
Thanks, you weren't the only one to give me that advice. I filed a
complaint this morning.
a7yvm1...@netzero.com
Rick Balkins wrote:
>
> Although I hate to see things bad happen to you Maurice - but you are
> loosing your reputation VERY quickly. Defending you is now a mute point.
Ta!
Clockmeister
I thought Maurice was getting his shit together but apparantly that was all
bullshit too.
I wonder how he feels when he fixes someone's car and they don't pay up...
Guy Macon
Rick Balkins wrote:
>Although I hate to see things bad happen to you Maurice - but you are
>loosing your reputation VERY quickly. Defending you is now a mute point.
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=mute
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=moot
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=loose
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=lose
The Imp
says...
>
> I thought Maurice was getting his shit together but apparantly that was all
> bullshit too.
>
> I wonder how he feels when he fixes someone's car and they don't pay up...
>
>
>
>
out? I have e-mailed but of course my messages have been ingored.
Rick Balkins
Its faded and no way to really turn it on.
"Guy Macon" <http://www.guymacon.com/> wrote in message
news:11l3at0...@corp.supernews.com...
raymondday
give a clue to what is up.
http://cmdrkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=850&highlight=#850
-Raymond Day
Guy Macon
I don't buy it. He should have put those people on a waiting
list instead of accepting their payments and equipment.
Alan
"The Imp" <I...@net.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.1dbb7dbde...@news.mts.net...
I believe you have to file a complaint with Paypal within 30 days of the
transaction. Which, of course, is hardly enough time to even know you've
been ripped off.
--
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:|:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Alan
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:|:- ((¸¸ ·.·
Glenn Holmer
> You can read the last message Maurice left on his board. I guess this will
> give a clue to what is up.
Are you kidding? That message is dated July 22. What is he, in hospital?
in jail? on a secret mission for Homeland Security? If it is something
serious, we at least deserve a response like "Mr. Randall is currently
unable to fulfill orders due to <insert euphemism here>".
Alan
"Glenn Holmer" <gho...@ameritech.net> wrote in message
news:fPs4f.499$W%7....@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
Glenn, I still see this reaction all the time. Not as often as I used to--
I guess reality does sink in for most people eventually. But the fact is,
there are some people who would rather see you get ripped off than to say
anything negative about Maurice. Sad, but true.
christianlott1
Leif Bloomquist
I can't figure out why Maurice doesn't hire some part-time help for this.
It's been suggested before. Even a student from a local technical college or
engineering school looking for some practical experience. They come cheap,
appreciate the experience and tend to be well motivated. A little bit of
training up front and some supervision, and there you go. Given the backlog
and demand for CMD equipment that seems to exist, they would pay for
themselves quickly.
Alan
"Leif Bloomquist" <sp...@127.0.0.1301> wrote in message
news:11l7clg...@news.supernews.com...
Like you said, many people have suggested this. Seems like a no-brainer. I
think there must be some other issue at play here that we don't know about.
Whatever his problem is, it seems that it goes beyond just not having enough
time.
Guy Macon
Alan wrote:
>
>"Leif Bloomquist wrote...
>>
>> I can't figure out why Maurice doesn't hire some part-time help for this.
>> It's been suggested before. Even a student from a local technical college
>> or
>> engineering school looking for some practical experience. They come
>> cheap,
>> appreciate the experience and tend to be well motivated. A little bit of
>> training up front and some supervision, and there you go. Given the
>> backlog
>> and demand for CMD equipment that seems to exist, they would pay for
>> themselves quickly.
>
>Like you said, many people have suggested this. Seems like a no-brainer. I
>think there must be some other issue at play here that we don't know about.
>Whatever his problem is, it seems that it goes beyond just not having enough
>time.
He always has time to accept the payment...
Joseph Fenn
As I said before and am repeating now. Go the Attourney General of
Michigan route and you will get hastey action! It appears to be
the only way that works. It did for me last year!!!!!
Kokomo Joe
The Imp
_see.web.page_@_www.guymacon.com_ says...
Be nice if he would at least respond to my queries about
my order!!
Glenn Holmer
> In article <11l45s7...@corp.supernews.com>,
> _see.web.page_@_www.guymacon.com_ says...
>>
>> I don't buy it. He should have put those people on a waiting
>> list instead of accepting their payments and equipment.
>>
> So I guess 5 weeks is still not much of a wait.
> Be nice if he would at least respond to my queries about
> my order!!
Well, that's the whole problem, isn't it? People can accept the fact that
it may take a long time to get these rare and wonderful items. What people
can't accept is a) being told that delivery is imminent when it is not and
b) e-mails requesting order status being ignored for months at a time.
Personally, I would be willing to pay a high price for these products and
services... if I could get them :(
Joe Tom Collins
being... "I checked it and it appeared to work."
Apparently all it needed was a replacment Power Supply. So I responed
"How much?"
Last I heard.
At this point I've just given up. Filing court papers out of my step is
too much of pain in my ass, even for an item I could sell for $350
easy.
If any one decides to start a class action lawsuit against Maurice
though, please contact me.
Or if Maurice reads this... how about making me an offer on my RAMlink?
Give me $100 for the parts and 8MB of RAM and you can keep it. I really
don't want it now since it's impossible to repair.
The worst part of this is not that he stole MY RAMlink. It's that he's
destroyed the Commodore community's best link to "modern" technology.
He should release everything about the CMD line of products to the
public as open source hardware and give us the opertunity to fend for
ourselves. Let us download the code for the programable portions, and
full scheamatics for those of handy with a soldering iron can breath
life back into it.
Without Maurice, we could probably have a single chip SuperCPU in FPGA
a 4GB Microdrive CMD HD, all 100% compatible with the classic hardware.
But... instead, we have Maurice ripping people off and for me...
driving a nail in the coffin of Commodore.
Why did you even buy out CMD, Maurice?
You've turned what was thought was act of love into an act of rape.
christianlott1
You all can sue him and force him into bankruptcy. When the hw/sw is
confiscated (as a stipulation) you can release it all as open source.
Just look at Maurice as the Evil Troll and your class action suit the
great sword. Vanquish the troll and allow that banishment to restore
life back into the C= community.
Christian
Guy Macon
Joe Tom Collins wrote:
>He should release everything about the CMD line of products to the
>public as open source hardware and give us the opertunity to fend for
>ourselves. Let us download the code for the programable portions, and
>full scheamatics for those of handy with a soldering iron can breath
>life back into it.
Hmmmmmm. Does he have patents on any of that hardware, and if so,
when do they expire? Software copyrights can be broken by doing a
cleanroom redesign (like pheonix did with the IBM PC BIOS). Perhaps
there is a market for clones of that hardware...
Silver Dream !
Hardware shouldn't be difficult. But who's going to rewrite the software
from scratch? Especially these days when it would take possibly a good
couple of months full time work without any prospects of being paid for
_at least_ the cost of time spent... The market is estimated for how
many? 10 to 50 units a year?
The way around would be to recreate the hardware when patents (if any)
expired and let the final users pirate the software themselves...
If someone has a broken (or working) CMD hardware, I would be happy to
have it cloned at least for myself as for the last few years I haven't
noticed any light at the end of Maurice's production tunnel :-(
Sam Gillett
"Silver Dream !" wrote ...
> Guy Macon wrote:
>>
>> Hmmmmmm. Does he have patents on any of that hardware, and if so,
>> when do they expire? Software copyrights can be broken by doing a
>> cleanroom redesign (like pheonix did with the IBM PC BIOS). Perhaps
>> there is a market for clones of that hardware...
>
> Hardware shouldn't be difficult. But who's going to rewrite the software
> from scratch? Especially these days when it would take possibly a good
> couple of months full time work without any prospects of being paid for _at
> least_ the cost of time spent... The market is estimated for how many? 10
> to 50 units a year?
Then there is the matter of the CBM kernal being contained in many CMD
products. As I understand it, CBM licensed CMD to use the kernal code before
going bankrupt. CMD transferred that license to Maurice. That code can't be
transferred to open source as long as Tulip, Yeronimo, or whoever owns the
copyright.
Has anyone ever been successful in doing a cleanroom redesign of the CBM
kernal that didn't break with a lot of the software out there? Do you think
the owner of the CBM kernal would release their copyright to open source?
Would everyone who wanted to produce one or more of the CMD devices with the
intent to sell them on the open market be willing to negotiate with the
copyright holder?
Lots of sticky little details...
--
Best regards,
Sam Gillett
Change is inevitable,
except from vending machines!
Guy Macon
Sam Gillett wrote:
>Then there is the matter of the CBM kernal being contained in many CMD
>products. As I understand it, CBM licensed CMD to use the kernal code before
>going bankrupt. CMD transferred that license to Maurice. That code can't be
>transferred to open source as long as Tulip, Yeronimo, or whoever owns the
>copyright.
>
>Has anyone ever been successful in doing a cleanroom redesign of the CBM
>kernal that didn't break with a lot of the software out there?
By definition, a cleanroom design, when complete, doesn't break any
of the software that it was tested with. The legal theory is based
on the argument that those sections that are byte-for-byte identical
*have* to be byte-for-byte identical in order for the software to
work the same way.
Also, I would like to see that contract...
Silver Dream !
[...]
>
> Then there is the matter of the CBM kernal being contained in many CMD
> products. [...]
Huh, This is my ignorance but since I am still waiting for my CMD-HD and
SCPU and... I didn't even know that! I thought they use vector hooks or
some kind of overlay or live patches or so.
[...]
> Lots of sticky little details...
Yeah, IMHO it all boils down to "Maurice would have to have will to
cooperate" if clones are to be done legally... :-(
Silver Dream !
>>> Hmmmmmm. Does he have patents on any of that hardware, and if
>>> so, when do they expire? Software copyrights can be broken by
>>> doing a cleanroom redesign (like pheonix did with the IBM PC
>>> BIOS). Perhaps there is a market for clones of that hardware...
>>
>> Hardware shouldn't be difficult. But who's going to rewrite the
>> software from scratch? Especially these days when it would take
>> possibly a good couple of months full time work without any
>> prospects of being paid for _at least_ the cost of time spent...
>
> Maybe a couple of months for someone who doesn't program Mattel toys
> for a living... 1-3 days for someone who does.
You mean you/someone can rewrite all of the CMD firmware[*] in three
days? Huh, count me on the skeptics side then. We aren't talking about
flashing few LEDs and triggering couple of servos back and forth, are
we? Or we just misunderstood each other?
[*] I don't have any CMD product and don't know their design complexity.
Jim Brain
> By definition, a cleanroom design, when complete, doesn't break any
> of the software that it was tested with. The legal theory is based
> on the argument that those sections that are byte-for-byte identical
> *have* to be byte-for-byte identical in order for the software to
> work the same way.
It'd be tough to find folks who have NEVER had access to the various ROM
dumps and such, to be sufficiently "clean", from a legal point of view.
>
> Also, I would like to see that contract...
Which contract (CMD and CBM), or (CMD and Click Here SW)? There are two:
Creative Micro Designs has a non-exclusive license to provide a copy of
CBM ROMs as part of its product line (in perpituity), provided the code
is used only to produce products that were originally sold with said
ROMs. In other words, CMD (or Click Here) could never produce a C-1
JDOS ROM.
Creative Micro Designs still exists, in name only. It is no longer
owned by CMD Technology Group (ww.cmdweb.com), but by Mark Fellows, who
bought the remaining rights to the 8-bit line from the Christiansons.
Click-Here SW has an exclusive license to produce CMD products. The
license is royalty based.
Jim
--
Jim Brain, Brain Innovations
br...@jbrain.com http://www.jbrain.com
Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, Old CBM computers, and Good Times!
Silver Dream !
> either. What I *do* know is what it takes to make firmware to control
> a disk drive - and disk drive - having worked on all sorts of disk
> drives deisgns from the original "Winchester" 30/30MB to multi-GB
> drives with optical tracking, and on CD, DVD, and DVD-RAM drives.
> 1-3 days to write the code that controls the hardware, reads and
> writes the data, puts the right bits in the right places, and responds
> properly to the command set that a Commodore sends.
Hm, but isn't this basically what I called "flashing few leds..."? :-)
Sure I buy that to write a basic driver for a simple hardware with
well-defined interface is 1-3 days but the problem is IMHO in the exact
functionality of the whole device. CMD's devices value is not in what
they present as their functions but in the software support /
compatibility. Now if one takes e.g. the CMD-HD - it is not only to
write read_block(), write_block() but also e.g. the whole filesystem and
its supporting tools plus emulation modes to be "the same but
different", which means one has to keep the compatibility (including
major ROM entry addresses) high on the list while still doing it
differently. I guess that even analysing and documenting (for later
reference) all of the original code and what it does and how is a major
task, not really for three days.
Remember all the 1541 clones and how they mostly failed because of very
little firmware nuances?
> The wild card is
> the capability to run programs on the drive processor and the various
> copy-protect schemes. Those could take a lot of time to get right
I don't think there is much of protection schemes for the CMD-HD for
example, right? But anyway those are the nuances I wrote about.
> (Looking at the code for PC-based emulators would help a lot).
You mean CMD hardware emulators? Are there any?
> If I was starting such a project today, what I would look into
> (feasability TBD) would be the ability to download the firmware
> from another commodore drive that the user owns into flash memory
> and then apply patches to it. That would be a lot harder to challenge
> in court.
That's what I thought when I wrote "recreate the hardware and let the
end users pirate the software themselves" ;-)
Joseph Fenn
As I said a dozen times those still waiting in line go straight
to the Attourney General of MI with your complaints if he had not
refunded your money nor delivered on stuff you ordered you will
find action quickly and/or receive the money that you invested.
Your local Atty Generals office or the BBB locally can furnish you
the address for Mi atty general.
Kokomo Joe
Joseph Fenn
On Mon, 24 Oct 2005, Silver Dream ! wrote:
As I said if you want your money back for stuff ordered but not
received. A letter to the Atty Genl of Mi will get it done within
31 days.
Kokomo Joe
Joseph Fenn
On Mon, 24 Oct 2005, Guy Macon wrote:
> Well, that's the rub, isn't it? I don't know the design complexity
> either. What I *do* know is what it takes to make firmware to control
> a disk drive - and disk drive - having worked on all sorts of disk
> drives deisgns from the original "Winchester" 30/30MB to multi-GB
> drives with optical tracking, and on CD, DVD, and DVD-RAM drives.
> 1-3 days to write the code that controls the hardware, reads and
> writes the data, puts the right bits in the right places, and responds
> properly to the command set that a Commodore sends. The wild card is
> the capability to run programs on the drive processor and the various
> copy-protect schemes. Those could take a lot of time to get right
> (Looking at the code for PC-based emulators would help a lot).
> If I was starting such a project today, what I would look into
> (feasability TBD) would be the ability to download the firmware
> from another commodore drive that the user owns into flash memory
> and then apply patches to it. That would be a lot harder to challenge
> in court.
>
>
A letter to the Atty Genl of Michigan will get your money back or
the undelivered products within 31 days.
Kokomo Joe
Joseph Fenn
On Mon, 24 Oct 2005, Jim Brain wrote:
> Guy Macon wrote:
>> By definition, a cleanroom design, when complete, doesn't break any
>> of the software that it was tested with. The legal theory is based
>> on the argument that those sections that are byte-for-byte identical
>> *have* to be byte-for-byte identical in order for the software to work the
>> same way.
>
> It'd be tough to find folks who have NEVER had access to the various ROM
> dumps and such, to be sufficiently "clean", from a legal point of view.
>>
>> Also, I would like to see that contract...
>
> Which contract (CMD and CBM), or (CMD and Click Here SW)? There are two:
>
> Creative Micro Designs has a non-exclusive license to provide a copy of CBM
> ROMs as part of its product line (in perpituity), provided the code is used
> only to produce products that were originally sold with said ROMs. In other
> words, CMD (or Click Here) could never produce a C-1 JDOS ROM.
>
> Creative Micro Designs still exists, in name only. It is no longer owned by
> CMD Technology Group (ww.cmdweb.com), but by Mark Fellows, who bought the
> remaining rights to the 8-bit line from the Christiansons.
>
> Click-Here SW has an exclusive license to produce CMD products. The license
> is royalty based.
>
> Jim
>
>
Neverthelsee Jim a letter to the Atty Genl of Mi will right all wrongs
ref CMD and its lack of activity. I remember you tried to talk me out
of that drastic action in my case, but I am a stubborn old BUGGAH
and did it my way.
Kokomo Joe
Stephan Schmid
> As I said if you want your money back for stuff ordered but not
> received. A letter to the Atty Genl of Mi will get it done within
> 31 days.
Don't you really have anything else to add than your attorney here,
attorney there stuff? Don't get me wrong, you can justify that rather
drastic action in cases like these, but we've heard it a gazillion times
now. :-/
/Steppe
Joseph Fenn
Consider the ATTy/General as a Short cut. Its fast and gets the
desired results.
Kokomo Joe
Jim Brain
> Neverthelsee Jim a letter to the Atty Genl of Mi will right all wrongs
> ref CMD and its lack of activity. I remember you tried to talk me out
> of that drastic action in my case, but I am a stubborn old BUGGAH
> and did it my way.
A letter will not right all wrongs. If someone like me has a bad
SuperCPU, getting it back won't help it work.
My concern was (and I guess once again is), the methods employed have
repercussions. I understand people with money and/or products tied up
in this area (I had a SuperCPU/RamLink tied up last time...). I just
think a letter to the Attorney General is a last resort.
I see two ends to the crisis:
Maurice makes things right and continues production.
Maurice ceases production.
The first explains itself. Let's consider option #2 in more detail.
Maurice ceases production. If he ceases, the license will go back to
Mark Fellows. It should be pretty easy to pick up the license from Mark.
But, Mark has moved on. The only person that knows enough about the SW
and the HW to maintain and diagnose issues is, you guessed it, Maurice.
As well, he holds the copyright on major portions of Wheels.
If you don't care about the HW and SW, quit reading here. However, if
you do care about it, then read on.
If Maurice ceases production, it needs to be handled such that Maurice
would still be willing to bring a group of people on to speed on the SW
and HW. JiffyDOS is easy to understand, but the SCPU and the drives are
not trivial. The group would also need to secure licenses for Maurice's
past work.
If everyone sends a letter to the Attorney General, and that causes
Maurice to throw in the towel, how eager you think he'll be to spend a
week with someone to transfer the knowledge? How eager will he be to
license his SW contributions?
While I think each person needs to make up their mind what they should
do, everyone does need to collectively think about the effects beyond
the refund of money.
It is entirely possible someone could design a brand new SCPU and a new
CMD HD or FD. Strangely, no one has yet done so.
Short term gains against possible long term losses, that's my concern.
Maybe it isn't important.
Robert Bernardo
> ...someone could design a brand new SCPU and a new CMD HD or FD.
> Strangely, no one has yet done so.
As to the former, yes, someone has.
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
ap...@chebucto.ns.ca.nospam
>
> Re: An Open Letter to Maurice Randall
>
> From: Robert Bernardo <rber...@iglou.com>
>On Tue, 25 Oct 2005, Jim Brain wrote:
>
>> ...someone could design a brand new SCPU and a new CMD HD or FD.
>> Strangely, no one has yet done so.
>
> As to the former, yes, someone has.
>
> Truly,
> Robert Bernardo
Well, what is it, & where is the info? If I could spell egnigmatic,...
John Elliott
silverdr
[...]
>>> Lots of sticky little details...
>>
>>
>> Yeah, IMHO it all boils down to "Maurice would have to have will to
>> cooperate" if clones are to be done legally... :-(
>>
> As I said a dozen times those still waiting in line go straight
> to the Attourney General of MI with your complaints if he had not
> refunded your money nor delivered on stuff you ordered you will
> find action quickly and/or receive the money that you invested.
> Your local Atty Generals office or the BBB locally can furnish you
> the address for Mi atty general.
a) I live in the EU and I guess it'd be quite a hassle to take the legal
actions against MR from here.
b) we weren't really discussing the refunds from him or so but rather
the possibilities of working around Maurice's rights to sit on the CMD's
patents/copyrights for as long as he wants to while some ageing
hobbyists are still willing to spend highly exaggerated amounts money on
that ancient gadgets...
silverdr
[...]
> The only person that knows enough about the SW and the HW to maintain
> and diagnose issues is, you guessed it, Maurice.
[...]
> If everyone sends a letter to the Attorney General, and that causes
> Maurice to throw in the towel, how eager you think he'll be to spend
> a week with someone to transfer the knowledge?
C'mon... to start producing/cloning current (well, old already) CMD
hardware all what we need is the firmware and one, preferrably working,
unit of each viable device, isn't it so? Schematics and other design
plans would be helpful but are not really necessary. Nor any highly
specialised knowledge. Of course without that knowledge it would be much
more difficult to _further develop_ the products but that's another
story as of today.
> How eager will he be to license his SW contributions?
Yes, that's a point but even if he wouldn't, how much would it differ
from the current situation then? I think I'd still prefer the clear
field over this what's happening for years now :-(
Six/Style
>> How eager will he be to license his SW contributions?
AMAZED.
How it is that they haven't been dumped and forwarded to my inbox by
some kind soul is a mystery to me. A MYSTERY!
Jim Brain
> On Tue, 25 Oct 2005, Jim Brain wrote:
>
>> ...someone could design a brand new SCPU and a new CMD HD or FD.
>> Strangely, no one has yet done so.
>
>
> As to the former, yes, someone has.
My apologies, let me clarify:
"It is entirely possible someone could design a brand new SCPU and a new
CMD HD or FD and market for sale. Strangely, no one has yet done so. "
Not to discount the work that went into the new design, I have a feeling
the design you note needs quite a bit more quality assurance testing
before it is ready for market.
Jim Brain
> C'mon... to start producing/cloning current (well, old already) CMD
> hardware all what we need is the firmware and one, preferrably working,
> unit of each viable device, isn't it so? Schematics and other design
I was referring to leal options. If we remove that restriction, well...
Robert Bernardo
> Not to discount the work that went into the new design, I have a feeling the
> design you note needs quite a bit more quality assurance testing before it is
> ready for market.
Ah, the clarification improves on the original statement. :-)
Jim Brain
Joe, Glenn (the original poster) has a broken set of CMD peripherals.
The MI Attorney General can only expedite a return of broken CMD
peripherals.
HOW EXACTLY IS THAT THE DESIRED RESULTS, JOE?
Glenn wants functional units, not useless metal and ICs.
Glenn Holmer
> Glenn wants functional units, not useless metal and ICs.
And still doesn't even have that... :(
After another round of purchases, my collection is close to where I want it
to be, but the holy grail would be to have JiffyDOS in all the boxen and
drives, and there doesn't seem to be a way to do that any more. It's a
shame; someone could be in a position to profit from my situation.
Michael J. Schülke
> the holy grail would be to have JiffyDOS in all the boxen and
> drives, and there doesn't seem to be a way to do that any more.
Not legally, that is. Getting hold of the JiffyDOS ROM images should be
easy, and then you just need to burn the EPROMs...
Michael
Joseph Fenn
> Joe, Glenn (the original poster) has a broken set of CMD peripherals. The MI
> Attorney General can only expedite a return of broken CMD peripherals.
>
> HOW EXACTLY IS THAT THE DESIRED RESULTS, JOE?
>
> Glenn wants functional units, not useless metal and ICs.
>
> Jim
>
The Attny Genl of the State not only handles complaints of non delivery,
but also adjucates time intervals involved, non deliveries,
total abscence of responses via email or snail mail, unreturned
merchancise, all depending on the circumstances. In Maurice' case
even lack of response of any kind warrants a letter from their office
to the merchant involved and they usually demand a response within
31 days. In other words the ATT Genl office does what the BBB
says they do but dont. If you complain to the BBB anywhere they
usually respond with a request for a donation!!!!
Joe
Jim Brain
>>
>> Joe, Glenn (the original poster) has a broken set of CMD peripherals.
>> The MI Attorney General can only expedite a return of broken CMD
>> peripherals.
>>
>> HOW EXACTLY IS THAT THE DESIRED RESULTS, JOE?
>>
>> Glenn wants functional units, not useless metal and ICs.
>>
>> Jim
>>
> Jim,
> The Attny Genl of the State not only handles complaints of non delivery,
The Attorney General can only request that an action be taken. The
simplest is to simply return the broken merchandise. I don't see how
that will get Glenn what he wants.
Yes, the letter from the Attorney General will get money refunded for
new purchases, but I don't see how it helps those with broken units in
for repairs.
silverdr
>>> Joe, Glenn (the original poster) has a broken set of CMD
>>> peripherals. The MI Attorney General can only expedite a return of
>>> broken CMD peripherals.
>>>
>>> HOW EXACTLY IS THAT THE DESIRED RESULTS, JOE?
>>>
>>> Glenn wants functional units, not useless metal and ICs.
>> The Attny Genl of the State not only handles complaints of non delivery,
> The Attorney General can only request that an action be taken. The
> simplest is to simply return the broken merchandise. I don't see how
> that will get Glenn what he wants.
>
> Yes, the letter from the Attorney General will get money refunded for
> new purchases, but I don't see how it helps those with broken units in
> for repairs.
They may at least have something to repair again (possibly somewhere
else) ...
x@x.x
Joseph Fenn wrote:
>
> Jim wrote:
>
>> Joe, Glenn (the original poster) has a broken set of CMD peripherals.
>> The MI Attorney General can only expedite a return of broken CMD
>> Peripherals.
>>
>> HOW EXACTLY IS THAT THE DESIRED RESULTS, JOE?
>>
>> Glenn wants functional units, not useless metal and ICs.
>>
>The Attny Genl of the State not only handles complaints of non delivery,
>but also adjucates time intervals involved, non deliveries,
>total abscence of responses via email or snail mail, unreturned
>merchancise, all depending on the circumstances. In Maurice' case
>even lack of response of any kind warrants a letter from their office
>to the merchant involved and they usually demand a response within
>31 days. In other words the ATT Genl office does what the BBB
>says they do but dont. If you complain to the BBB anywhere they
>usually respond with a request for a donation!!!!
HOW EXACTLY IS THE ABOVE AN ANSWER TO JIM'S QUESTION, JOE?
Glenn wants functional units, not a letter to Maurice from someone
WHO CANNOT FIX A CMD PERIPHERAL AND CANNOT FOURCE MAURICE TO FIX A
CMD PERIPHERAL.
Joseph Fenn
As I said several times, the AJ will attempt action in any contested
matter with a source within the State. Its a shortcut to a lot
of mystery handling. The AJ will corresponde with the "trouble maker"
in this case CMD and find why no responses, what will solve the problem,
et al ad infinitumJ!!!
Joe
x@x.x
For ignoring the part where you have been told - twice - that getting
broken gear back is not a solution, *plonk*.
Glenn Holmer
> For ignoring the part where you have been told - twice - that getting
> broken gear back is not a solution, *plonk*.
Plonk yourself. I'm the original poster, and as I told Maurice months ago,
if he's not going to repair the stuff, the least I would expect is to get
it back in the hope that I could find someone else to do the work. Putting
a new drive mechanism in a CMD HD or either installing JiffyDOS ROMs gotten
by whatever means necessary are hardly things that only Maurice could do.
Joseph Fenn
As I said, the AJ will communicate with him, ask ahy the stuff was not
returned and adjudicate whatever is necessary. How much clearer
can I state it. (Plunk) is not in my vocabulary (unplunk).
Joe
ramswell
is still as reputable as it gets, then I have a proposition for you.
Since you have the knowledge, experience, and the equipment to do it,
why haven't you developed a HD or FD Clone yourself based ATOTALLY UPON
YOUR OWN INDEPENDENT DESIGNS?? This way there would be no "LEGEL"
situations and the market could continue.
Just a "THOUGHT!"
Charles
Joseph Fenn
I say amen the the above comment by Charles. Why not.
Jim is in the same class as Gerry Newfield, and the guy that wrote
"knights of the holy Grail" (whom went on into the PC arena and
has elevated himself to PC GURU status.
Kokomo Joe
Jim Brain
time.
Tom Peranteau
--
Tom Peranteau
http://www.vintagecbm.com
"Jim Brain" <br...@jbrain.com> wrote in message
news:G8edf.323460$084.200237@attbi_s22...
bud
Group: comp.sys.cbm Date: Sun, Nov 13, 2005, 9:57pm (CST+6) From:
t...@vintagecbm.com (Tom Peranteau)
script:
>"Jim Brain" <br...@jbrain.com> wrote in message
news:G8edf.323460$084.200237@attbi_s22...
>>One word:
>>
>>time.
>Quit with the excuses and get to work.
>--
>Tom Peranteau
What!? No smiley? ;-))
salaam,
dowcom
To e-mail me, add the character zero to "dowcom". i.e.:
dowcom(zero)(at)webtv(dot)net.
--
http://community.webtv.net/dowcom/DOWCOMSAMSTRADGUIDE
MSWindows is television,… Linux is radar.
ramswell
card whenever you want to PRIVATELY EMAIL me your address By the way..
Take er ez!
Charles
Tom Peranteau
--
Tom Peranteau
http://www.vintagecbm.com
---------------------------------------------------
"bud" <dow...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:16422-437...@storefull-3113.bay.webtv.net...
script:
>>One word:
>>
>>time.
What!? No smiley? ;-))
salaam,
dowcom
--
http://community.webtv.net/dowcom/DOWCOMSAMSTRADGUIDE
MSWindows is television,. Linux is radar.