ROM dump legal?
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ROM dump legal?
I have a question about the legality of ROM dumps. I am planning on making
a compiler for DOS which has a Borland-like interface and will compile for
all calculators platforms at lightning speed. I will even have library
support (for those of you who want to make libraries and share with others
but keep the source to yourself). Also, I want to have emulation of a
program for any calculator platform. What I understand I will need is a
ROM dump from each calculator I wish to emulate. I know it is illegal to
have a raw output ROM dump and give it to people, but what if I encode each
ROM dump and then decode each byte as it is needed in memory (and re-encode
it once I'm done with that byte or instruction)? Is it illegal once I have
it in that format and delete the original raw output ROM dumps? I don't
think I am because my decoding/encoding algorithms will be kept secret and
all the emulator will be used for is to test games and allow programmers to
work on a variety of platforms. Now will TI lose money because of this?
NO is the answer because if I just wanted to use a calculator on my
computer, I would enter Windows and go into accessories and use the
calculator Micro$oft supplies. If I just wanted to play TI-Basic games I
would port them to my 82 or play REAL games for the PC. If I want to play
Assembler games that aren't on my calculator, I just get the source and
port it or ask someone else to do it. So, the real reason for an emulator
is to avoid crashing the calculator when running volatile ASM code and also
for allowing programmers to reach a wider audience making them better known
in the calculator community. Sure there might be those who would attempt
to hack into my code to get the ROM, but I have methods on my side to make
sure they don't ever figure the encoding scheme out. So, is it legal or not?
Thomas J. Hruska -- thruska@tir.com
Shining Light Productions -- "Meeting the needs of fellow programmers"
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/8504
http://shinelight.home.ml.org
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