Msg: 6481 *Conference*
05-01-96 21:29:31
From: GARY WEBER
To : RON WIESEN
Subj: REPLY TO MSG #6477 (PLEA FOR SOURCE)
> Ball's in our court Gary. Let's see. Involved companies include: > > Tandy M100, M102, M200 > Microsoft M100, M102, M200, KC85 ?, 8201 ?, 8300 ? > Kyotronic ? KC85 ? > NEC 8201, 8300 > > Some models listed for Microsoft (e.g., 8201) have question marks > that show I'm not certain that they own copyright to the operating > system. Perhaps some other companies own the copyrights. Your summary looks mostly accurate, although the KC85 was a Kyocera unit that they "called" the Kyotronic 85 (I believe). Of course, Kyocera had its hand in all of these computers. The system ROMs must have originated from a contract that Kyocera had with Microsoft. Microsoft's name appears on the main menu of EVERY one of the above laptops as far as I know, so I believe the copyright's were shared by Microsoft and the appropriate company that was selling the specific machine. > I have no legal department addresses for any of these companies - > have you? Unfortunately not... What do you think would be the best way to get in touch with the appropriate departments of these companies? I believe NEC is going to be the toughest to deal with. It's difficult to find ANYONE in NEC Home Electronics, USA who even knew that they *produced* the 8201 & 8300 line of computers! I sure do hope that Microsoft keeps archives of EVERYTHING...... Gary.