The Legality of Video Game Emulation
Nearly everyone likes to play console video games, whether the console is the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sega Genesis, or the Sony PlayStation. But consoles break down, and the popularity of personal computers gave way to a special category of software called emulators, such as Nesten for the NES, KGen for the Genesis, or bleem! for the PlayStation. Emulators were not created to play video games; in fact, according to the Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, emulation means either “to imitate the functions of (another computer system) by means of software” or “to replace (software) with hardware to perform the same task” (429).
The term emulator comes directly from IBM employee Larry Moss, who in 1964 coined it for computer use when describing his proposal to the company for the IBM 7070 mainframe, which would run “the same software, but on a different machine,” namely, the forthcoming IBM System/360 computer series (“Sharing” 2). Emulation became a standard tool for cross-compatibility and sheer impressibility during the next 25 years, mainly beginning in 1980 with Microsoft’s Z80 SoftCard, which ran CP/M software on the Apple II (“Basis” 7) and culminating in 1989 with the release of the impressive Readysoft A-Max, a hardware/software adapter that worked with Macintosh BIOS ROMs to run the MacOS on the Commodore Amiga (“History” 3.2). The hardware BIOS ROMs—which had to be purchased from Apple—were later eliminated by hackers and replaced with faster software ROMs (3.2). Apple was obviously angered by this, but could do nothing, for the A-Max had users legally use purchased BIOS ROMs and MacOS boot disks, and the illegal use of software-copied and distributed BIOS ROMs w...
... middle of paper ...
...ro.htm>
---. “Basis for Emulation, The.” Emulation: Right or Wrong? aka “The EmuFAQ.” 10 Mar. 2000. EmuFAQ. 25 Oct. 2000.
---. “History of Emulation, The.” Parts 1-3. Digital Chameleon: The Rise of Computer Emulation. 24 Oct. 1999. Zophar’s Domain. 25 Oct. 2000. , ,
---. “Sharing the Software.” Digital Chameleon: The Rise of Computer Emulation. 13 Sep. 1999. Zophar’s Domain. 25 Oct. 2000.
---. “Sony v. Connectix – Analysis and Implications.” Emulation: Right or Wrong? aka “The EmuFAQ.” 16 Mar. 2000. Zophar’s Domain. 25 Oct. 2000.
Throughout history, revenge, or vengeance, has been altered by several cultures and even the American culture. This is shown throughout many ancient greek epics. Throughout these two epics, what is just revenge and what the action of revenge is are much different than what Revenge is seen through today’s society. Revenge is the main theme in The Iliad, with Achilles’ revenge on Agamemnon and Hector, and in The Odyssey, with Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus and Odysseus’s revenge on the Suitors, and these epics define how revenge was seen in the ancient Greek world.
The universal distinction between justice and revenge is quite distinctive, is there more beyond their differences? Revenge is retaliation by a wronged party against the person or people they see as having caused the wrong. The person at whom the revenge is directed may have harmed the person carrying out an act of revenge indirectly or not at all, but on some level there is a perceived personal grievance. An unaffected third party, on the other hand, can carry out Justice. In most developed countries it is considered vital that the judiciary be independent from the government, partly for this reason, which is justice also doesn't necessarily involve any act of retribution. For example, the “acquittal” of an innocent person can be considered an act of justice, but it certainly isn't reveng...
The idea of revenge has existed as a staple of human society for as long as we as a race (human race) can remember. We are the only species on this planet where its seems as thought revenge is the very thing that fuels our society. Most other animals let things go and see them as just a part of the cycle of life humans, are quite different. We want to extract punishment for every little infraction committed against us even if it’s not major. We are a society that believes a lot in fairness and one of the main ways to keep things “fair” is with revenge. As we have seen over the past several months in our society is so called revenge at its worst. This is the scenario where thousands of people having nothing to do with a certain case of revenge suffer. I believe this is true on both sides of the table. We sometimes confuse revenge with justice and I believe that September 11, and events similar have helped to blur the line between the two. I think revenge shows up so much in life because it’s a part of human nature. I think it shows up in literature because fiction and non-fiction books imitate life. Our literature is a reflection of what is going on in a society. If you want to know what was happening or what the social norms were for a certain time period all you have to do is read the popular fiction of the time.
Lev Manovich’s Software Takes Command is the genealogy of software and an account of the effect that it’s had on all of us. This includes what he calls the “softwarization” of media which started with taking existing media and replicating its function using software to “create, store, distribute and access cultural artifacts.” Over the last 30 years our old media technologies such as record/cassette/CD players, film cameras, VHS, DVD, floppy disks have all been replaced by media software and despite this radical shift in our concept of media, we know next to nothing about how we got here. He is also interested in establishing and conveying a vocabulary in which to think about and categorize software.
The first major task Seattle Computer threw at Paterson was building an operation system for their new computer; the CP/M. Paterson was a little hesitant at first in creating such a program but he put up to the challenge. "I had always wanted to write my own operating system. I’ve always hated CP/M and thought I could do it a lot better." Little did he know before he started the project that he was about to create the "the world's most widely used computer program."
The Connectix Virtual Game Station emulates the functionality of the Sony Playstation. A consumer could purchase a Playstation game, load it into his Macintosh CD-drive, and play the game using the Virtual Game Station. Connectix created the emulator by purchasing a Playstation, copying the contents of the BIOS into the memory of a Macintosh, and observing the input into the BIOS and the output of the hardware.
Then came Linus Benedict Torvalds. At the time he was a sophomore majoring in Computer Science at the University of Helsinki, his hobby also included computer programming. At 21 he found himself spending most of his time toying with computer systems, trying to see what he could do in order to push their limits and increase their functionality. The key missing in his tests was an operating system that had the flexibility craved for by professionals. MINIX was available, though it was still just a stu...
[3] Mark Weiser, “The Computer for the 21st Century “, "Scientific American" magazine; September 1991
The realization that computer programming was not the sole property of engineers at Microsoft came as a tremendous shock. As a rising seventh grader, I was required to buy a TI-83+. On the first day of class, as the teacher taught how to use the calculators for arithmetic and graphing, a rumor reached me that another student had a game on his calculator. A game? I wondered in disbelief, how does that even work? I knew that calculators were for adding, subtracting and complicated math problems. They were definitely not for games. After class, however, I found out otherwise. As the crowd of kids gathered around to see the now famous calculator, I watched as a downloaded version of a Space Invaders game unfolded on the screen. Space Invaders? I was shocked and excited. Finishing my homework quickly became a top priority in order to have time to learn TI-BASIC, the language that could be written directly on the calculator. Within a couple weeks, I had written my own game, a menu based fight where two characters had two options: attack or quit. In reality, it had the entertainme...
programmed for use. Computers evolved over the next 75 years to become a key component in
Literature has had a major impact on society, and, also our history. Literature has reformed and shaped civilizations, changed political systems, and has exposed injustices (3). Our literature has changed and developed as we have, keeping up with our society. “...literature is crucial for the advancement of society (3).” With literary works, we can convince others to view things a certain way, share our opinions, and more. Literature is greatly intertwined with our society and everyday lives, and they would not be the same without it. Literature plays an irreplaceable role in our
An evolution of convergent and divergent technologies has brought the market for divergent technologies into the information age. Soon, the radio could play cassettes and compact discs, the television could play VHS-tapes and DVDs, and the cellular phone can do just about anything. The laptop originated this convergent phenomenon with the competition of its size. Laptops became so small that they were deemed the name palm-pilot sometime in the mid-nineties due to the ability to fit in one’s palm.
Literature has many purposes, and opens doors to unique worlds. Through Literature, we discover ourselves and world time and again.
Basset, Jonathan. "Keeping a Perspective on Computer Technology." Organization of American Historians Magazine of History 12.4 (1998): 74-76.
Understanding the importance of literature has always been a challenging and pinning task. Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. It mostly refers to creative work ranging from imagination to even non fiction. I believe that literature extends beyond its definition, it is way more than what I can see and perceive. Life is portrayed in the form of literature, it is the foundation of humanity’s beliefs, festivals, custom and traditions. Fiction, comedy, drama, poetry, prose and nonfiction are all forms of literature. Literature has inspired me as a student to broaden my knowledge, observe my reflection and expand my vocabulary. Therefore, literature should be given the importance it deserves.