[Coco] [OT] Fundraiser for CoCo Enthusiast

[Ty Sopko]

Hello Joel,

Thanks for the comments and insight.  I think we are on the same page -- I personally believe the patent system needs an overhaul.  I have no intent on filing software patents, as they seem especially questionable (Alice) and have no international standing.

My need for patents is simple.  I need to prevent large companies from acting [on the threat my business poses] before I can even get a product out the door.  As you noted, patents prevent competition.  If I were to offer you the big reveal, the big players could develop a similar, but not identical, disposable product from my announcements.  Their time-to-market would be much faster, since these industries are profit hungry and have deep pockets.

And then Shift Sight is perceived as the knock-off, late to our own party.

To illustrate the schedule concern, I have worked on durable hardware and "durable software" (e.g. cannot crash or lives or lost).  My experience suggests the schedule can be up to three times as long.  Post-release software patches are highly undesirable as they may require requalification to an IEC standard.  What you release had better be complete, much like a published book.  If you take a disposable product and couple it with "best practices" for consumer-grade software (perpetual beta / SaaS), I do not have a leg to stand on, time-wise.

To my knowledge, Shift Sight is the only electronics design company that genuinely has the planet in mind.  My desire to prevent competition is not rooted as a business need, but as a humanitarian need.  (Investors, however, will want to know their investment is protected.)  Shift Sight intends to release full specs and freely cross-license to like-minded businesses.

I hope this clarifies why I am taking these steps moving forward.

Ty


-----Original Message-----
From: Coco [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On Behalf Of Joel Rees
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2017 8:11 PM
To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [Coco] [OT] Fundraiser for CoCo Enthusiast

Ty,

I think the concept of accessible tech is very much on topic here.

I read your announcements here and I am intrigued. I have no money to offer, but I think I might be able contribute intellectually to such an effort (especially if you really are hiring). But one thing drops a huge barrier in front of me.

Patents.

And the fact that they prevent you from disclosing the very things that would make it more than intriguing for me.

The abuse of the patent system is the real root problem that generates throw-away tech. It's also the reason recycling basically means reducing the components to raw materials to start again.

The US waited too long to fund a patent library searchable by ordinary mortals, and without such a library, it's impossible to properly attribute and refer to all the prior art.

Now we have a huge clot of meaningless patents ready for the well-funded to use to prevent competition -- especially including real solutions because real solutions don't (seem to) bring quick monetary profit.

(I haven't kept track of this, but there was a while when the patent office would offer a cheaper patent registration for purely defensive patents. It would be a great idea if and only if failing to declare prior art could really be used to void the rights to a registered creative work.)

If I can't see what sort of circuitry you're building, I can't judge whether you are really building something I can and would want to work with.

In the context of this list, I can mention that the lowly 6809 is closer to the kind of CPU that would drive such a series of devices than any existing CPU that I am aware of except for certain CPUs that directly implement Forth. (68K and ARM are sort of workable, but went the wrong directions.)

When the curtains come down, I may be interested.

2017/11/29 3:21 "Ty Sopko" <ty.sopko at gmail.com>:

> Hello Folks,
>
>
>
> It has been probably 10 years since I posted anything to this group.  
> I have read the posts throughout the years and always learned 
> something new or was fascinated by some of the debates.  I am 
> surprised to see that my rendering of the CoCo3 schematic is still at 
> the top of Google (“color computer 3 schematic”).
>
>
>
> I cannot tell you my whole story of the last 10 years in one sitting, 
> so I am jumping to the conclusion.  I am starting a social enterprise 
> designed to curb e-waste at the source.  This will be done with a 
> durable product designed for STEM education.  (To understand the 
> connection between these two seemingly disjoint topics, please refer 
> to either link at the bottom.)
>
>
>
> What I can tell you about my product is that it allows you to learn 
> how to program naturally, much the same way that I did on my Color 
> Computer 3 about 27 years ago.  BASIC is one of the languages, and the 
> dialect is fairly similar to the CoCo3 – it is not finalized by any 
> means, and it may be possible to customize the command set to mirror many retro BASICs.
>
>
>
> You see, a main problem with STEM education is that we are teaching 
> programming without creating programmers.  The latter encourages 
> creative problem solving and is why the CoCo is so fun after all these years.
>
>
>
> Fundraising for a social enterprise is difficult.  I am pursuing both 
> accredited investors and grassroots means.  The latter is why I am 
> reaching out to you today.
>
>
>
> If you are able to contribute to my company, it will benefit humanity 
> and the environment.  If you are not able to contribute, I please ask 
> that you share my campaign in your networks.  Any amount, no matter 
> how small, will benefit our cause.
>
>
>
> You have my deepest thanks for your attention and generosity.
>
>
>
> Kind Regards,
>
>
>
> Ty
>
>
>
> Company website is at http://www.shiftsight.com/
>
> Direct link to the fundraiser is at 
> http://www.gofundme.com/shiftsight/
>
> --
> Coco mailing list
> Coco at maltedmedia.com
> https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>

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