>>> I got a email note from APC saying they would license the APC
>>> Smart-UPS protocol for a nominal $50 fee.  [...]
>> Do they make you sign anything, or is it just a fee you pay?
> I did this a while back.  I made sure I got it and it looked good
> _before_ I bought the unit (Smart-UPS 2200 -- I wasn't gong to drop
> that much money on a product unless I was damn sure I knew everything
> I might want to know about it first)

Sensible of you.

> and I had to sign an NDA.  And not only can I not distribute source
> for my software, but no binaries either [...]

Sheesh.  Screw 'em.  I played with one a while ago (a couple of guesses
got me a working serial-line cable, and once I found the Y command,
most of the protocol proved to border on trivial).  See sjg's apcmon
web page; last time I looked it had a pointer to a file I wrote
describing what I had discovered of the protocol....

> Interestingly, all the people I talked to at the companies seemed to
> think (speaking for themselves) that the situation sucked, and that
> the protocols should be available.

Or at least they realized you felt that way and didn't want to upset
you more than they had to.

> And APC was nice to deal with.  So, don't hassle 'em.  Relative to
> industry average, they're the good guys.

That strikes me as kinda like saying that a mugger who takes just your
wallet shouldn't be hassled 'cause most of 'em will take your watch and
keychain too.

					der Mouse

			       mouse@rodents.montreal.qc.ca
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