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April 16, 1985 - Image 1

Resource type:
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Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1985-04-16

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Computer pirates elude the

law

By ROB FRANK
Ask Joel to open his top desk drawer and
what you see could be considered a small for-
tune. A fortune not in cash but in bootleg com-
puter software. If apprehended and
prosecuted to the extent copyright laws per-
mit, Joel could face fines totalling $5 million for
the 100 illegal copies he owns.
Theft of licensed software by individuals like
Joel (a pseudonym) is the latest chapter in at-
tempts by the software industry to make
products "user-friendly" while protecting the
investment of months, sometimes years, of
research, development, marketing, and adver-
tising.

WHILE THE theft of business and office,
related software products is often easier to
notice because of the need for extensive
manuals and documentation, software such as
games and products for home use are often
pirated with little problem or likelihood of
prosecution.
"Basically, there's not a hell of a lot you can
do," said Roy Harvey, a software developer for
Ann Arbor Softworks and author of computer
games for the Macintosh.
Harvey, a former editor of the newsletter for
the MacTechnics users group, noted that in a
community such as the University, enforcem-
ent of copyright laws become nearly im-
possible. "Most of the copy protection scemes

are really easy, and anything you're looking for
you can get your hands on,"he said.
BESIDES GAMES, word processing
programs have also been the victims of illegal
reproduction. Wordstar, a word processing
package for the I.B.M. system of microcom-
puters, has been one of the targets.
'I'm sure that's why Wordstar classes are so
popular," said Phil Harding, manager of
Inacomp, a local computer retailer whose store
offers classes in many of the more
sophisticated software packages.
Rick Weir of Complete Computer Center
concurred. "We're finding much more interest
in I.B.M. training," he said.

Joel proudly admits that he has had "no
problem at all" getting not only commercial
software, but "promotional, demonstration,
and pre-released" programs as well. "I have
four versions of Macwrite that haven't been
released yet," he said, referring to the word
processing program developed by Apple Cor-
poration. His most recent version, Macwrite
4.0, is not expected to be in the stores until May.
AMONG THE losers from the widespread
copying of licensed software are local retailer
who have already suffered from the Univer-
sity's entry into the computer hardware
market. "It takes a lot of business away from
us," said Karl Gambrell, assistant manager of

Software City, a store which sells only sof-
tware.
Gambrell said at least once or twice a week
people come in to ask about buying documen-
tation for software without the diskette. HP
suspects this is due to the relative difficulty of
photocopying a 300-page manual as compared
to copying a diskette whick takes only a minute
or two.
Harding said theft is definitely a problem for
those in the software business. He cited one
recent report from a software developer which
placed the loss of revenue from bootleg
programs at $160 million a year and said one
See SOFTWARE, Page 5

+ Breezy
Ninety-five Years La itianiiaai1ndBreez
Of Mostly sunny and windy with
Editorial Freedom W highs in the mid 60s.
Vol. XCV, No. 156 Copyright 1985, The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan - Tuesday April 16, 1985 Fifteen Cents Eight Pages

Exorcists'
free bicycles

from b
By DAVE ARETHA
A near-frantic woman with short,
blond hair and long, green t-shirt shook
and screamed at a green bicycle in
front of the Graduate Library yesterday.
A dozen other green-clad students
lined up in front of the library's steps,
each driving out the evil of the green
ten-speeds, five-speeds, and clunkers
beside them. One short, dark-haired
student hopped up and down on one
foot, while pointing both fingers at the
evil ten-speed next to him ("You, you,
you, you,"' he chanted sardonically).
A Diag crowd of several hundred
cheered as the woman and the others
continued the exorcism of the green
bicycles.
'You have no business here,"
screamed the woman at the bike in
front of her, her voice now turning into
a squeal. "This bicycle is free. You have
no business here. You have no business
here. These bicycles are free!"
The aroused crowd clapped their
hands above their heads. Many joined
in a chorus:
"Down from the sky!
Up from the sea!
Oly-oly-oly-oly oxen free.
Out of the bikes. Surrender
and flee!
Oly-oly-oly-oly oxen free. "

And with these words, the 16 green
bicycles, locked up in garages and
chained to racks for so many years,
became free to the public. They are now
communal property. With the exorcism
complete, the green bikes were no
longer possessed.
THE 40-MINUTE exorcism on the
Diag was created by a group called The
Green'Bicycle Project. Members of the
project, which proposes a "green"
alternative to American capitalism and
Russian Communism, envision a
decentralized global government where
communities and regions would be
joined cooperatively.
Project members say they chose bic-
ycles as targets for their exorcism
because they best symbolize an op-
pressed and materialistic world.
"One purpose was. to exorcise the
green bikes of their commodity value,
and all their spirits, which lock them
and chain them and keep them from
being useful," said natural resources
,school sophomoreSteve Austin. "We
tried to get the spirits out of the bikes,
and get the bikes out where people
can ride them.
THE PROJECT'S members are also
supporting the national Bikes Not
Bombs campaign, which sends bicycles
to Nicaragua.
See EXORCISTS,' Page 3

Daily Photo by CAROL L. FRANCAVILLA
An "exorcist" identified only as Susan gestures toward one of the 16 bicycles liberated at yesterday's rally on the Diag. The bicycles will be available to
anyone on campus who needs to use them.

MSA elections bring

By AMY MINDELL
The 1985 Michigan Student Assembly elections are
history, but the issues raised by the three parties in
last week's race continue to divide the assembly as
liberal and conservative members go into their first
meting tonight.
SAlthough the party platforms articulated by this
year's MSA contenders didn't differ radically on
social issues, on the issue of fiscal policy, the parties
clashed.
THE LEADER of the moderate party, Kevin

toward "political" forums. During his campaign
Michaels attacked MSA funding for partisan
educational events, arguing that if students wish to
be politically educated they can read Time Magazine,
watch TV or go to class.
Paul Josephson, the newly elected MSA president,
argued that funding educational events for students
whether or not they are deemed "political" is a
legitimate use of MSA dollars.
The liberal party Josephson headed won the
majority of seats (17) in the assembly, but Michaels
moderates pulled in 12, which means their views will
have considerable sway in the new assembly.

d 0 0
diversity
THOUGH Michaels lost the election to the liberals
on campus, he says he feels the conservatives will be
a force to be reckoned with in the future.
"The moderate/conservative tide has begun," he
predicted after learning the election results last
week. "Maybe I came here a year too soon, but the
moderate activist movement has arrived on cam-
pus."
"(If the assembly) thought it had a debate this year
from me, they can multiply it by twelve next year,"
Michaels says.
See MICHAELS, Page 5

Berkeley chancellor
condemns protesters.

Michaels, opposed the idea of student

fees going

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Student
Sfiles suit
against
Sigma Cli

By CHRISTY RIEDEL
A South Quad resident filed a suit in Ann Arbor small
claims court yesterday to get payment for a bicycle tire that
he said was stolen by Sigma Chi fraternity for a Greek Week
bed race contest on March 29.
David Homyak, an LSA sophomore, said he left his dorm
on the morning of the race and discovered that the front
wheel of his bicycle, along with those of two other nearby
bicycles, had been taken sometime in the late evening or
early morning.
WHEN A friend told Homyak that Sigma Chi had put
together its cart for the bed race the night before, Homyak
said he decided to go over to the fraternity to see if they had
taken his wheel for the race. Upon arriving at the fraternity
house, which is only a block from South Quad, Homyak said
he saw his wheel on the cart and ready to go for the race.

"I went over to the house and I didn't want to make a
scene," Homyak said. "When I got there, it was only a half
hour before the race, so I thought I'd be a nice guy and wait
until it was over (to claim the wheel)."
After the race ended, however, the tires and inner tubes of
the wheels were ruined and the rims were bent out of shape,
Homyak said.
HOMYAK SAID he contacted the other two bicycle owners
who also suspected their tires had been taken by the frater-
nity. The three retrieved their wheels after the race, inten-
ding to use them as evidence to get payment from the frater-
nity.
The other two bicycle owners, two LSA freshmen who room
together in South Quad, asked not to be identified.
See STUDENT, Page 2

By PETE WILMAAMS'
Special to the Daily
BERKELEY, Calif. - An anti-apar-
theid protest, which entered its sixth
consecutive day yesterday, has been
condemned in a statement issued by
University of California chancellor Ira
Heyman.
But the statement was not enough to
prevent a rally of more than 600 studen-
ts on the protest site at noon yesterday.
HEYMAN'S statement, which was
released yesterday morning, said that
the sleep-in would not be allowed to con-
tinue.
"We shall closely monitor this
demonstration," the statement said.
"If it continues as it now is, we shall
take action to open the doors of Sproul
Hall, to take down the signs and to end
the camping out."
Although the chancellor's statement
threatened removal of the demon-
strators, who have remainedson the
steps of Sproul Hall since last Wed-

nesday, no deadline has been set to
allow the protesters to leave volun-
tarily.
STUDENTS have boarded and locked
the doors and committed themselves to
staying on the steps of Sproul Hall until
their demands have been met.
Approximately 30 percent of the
University of California's investment
portfolio is made up of holdings from
companies operating in South Africa.
The demands are as follows:
" A written pledge of complete
university divestment from companies
doing business in South Africa;
" A public hearing, to be held by April
24, at which members of the university
community can comment on the
divestment issue:
" That a decision on divestment be
made by the regents at their May 16 and
17 meeting in Berkeley;
" That this meeting be moved from
Lawrence Hall to a more publicly ac-
cessible place; and
See PROTEST, Page 5

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TODAY
'Spring Break stopovers

'Are you going back to school on Monday?' 'Yes sir?' 'Are
you going to drink again?' 'No, sir. ' " "I love the way they
say that," the judge said. For a while, the Naval Academy
was leading the- race for most arrests, a statistic which
Shutter pointed out to some midshipmen who ended up in
front of his bench. Unruffled by the information, the mid-
dies responded, "Thank you, sir!" In all, 283 students from
180 colleges were arrested this Spring Break, including five

getaway. Off-duty Police Sgt. Peter Holloway, 32, had just
left the prison on Friday when he saw Crosby, 22, by the
side of the road. "As soon as the man stepped into the car, I
knew he was a prisoner," Holloway told the Sunday Mail. "I
said jokingly, 'I bet you've just jumped over the wall,' and
to my amazement, he admitted it. He had no idea I was a
policeman." Holloway drove to the local police station,
"grabbed him and put my foot on the horn. Out ran two of-

start a micro-brewery for that amount," Koch said, "but
you can't make a good lager in a micro-brewery." Samuel
Adams, which debuted Friday in 32 bars and hotels, is now
being made in the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. and will sell for
about 25 cents more per bottle than premium imports. The
recipe for the lager comes form Koch's great-great-
grandfather, who ran the Louis Koch Brewery in St. Louis.
"I'll never make as much money at this as I did as a con-
cnltat " K eh cu"RiA itcomad.a +r,.,.iwaf 44..4

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