OK: I want to do this _legally_

JeffreyZ · January 5th, 2003

It's been months since I last played ePSXe, or used ZSNES, etc. I've deleted all my illegal ROMs, mp3's, programz, etc. and so on. I've read all the copyright stuff. I have a pretty good idea of what's legal and what's not. So now, I'm "enforcing" copyright law on myself. Why? Because I'm totally nuts; that's why.

I won't even download a PSX BIOS. So now I go through withdrawal. :eyes:

The way I see it, I have two options: PCSX, or VGS. Unfortunately, PCSX doesn't really cut the cheese - choppy mdecs and no ISO support, no anti-aliasing, haphazard Square game support, and frequent slowdowns.

I've heard that VGS is good, excepting for its age and lack of D3D enhancements. But it was long dead before I ever heard of it. Is there no way I can purchase it now? eBay perhaps? Yeesh. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be elated to hear them.

**Yeloazndevil** · January 5th, 2003

PCSX can run ISO's just use Daemon Tools andMount the ISO, Anti-aliasing u enable it in your display settings it as nothing to do with te emulator except for the graphics. As long has u actually own the PSX u can use the Bios Version of that PSX

__________________

Hydra · January 5th, 2003

You could always purchase a PSX, that way downloading he BIOs wouldn't be illegal. They shouldn't cost much anymore these days.

__________________

Mobo: Asus A8V Deluxe
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+
RAM: 1024MB DDR400 Dual Channel
Graphics: nVidia Geforce FX 6600 GT 128MB DDR3
HDD: 260GB
OS: Windows XP SP2

Gismo · January 5th, 2003

Hi,

P©SX is good, ok, u don't have all the features and not the stability of ePSXe, but u can have the same plugins and so the same graphic improvements. More, u can use ISO w/o DAEMON-Tools, direclty using the Mooby's CDR plugin (I tried it from ISO and it works well, I heard it can start even the ZIP, but I never tried it).

For VGS: u can still found the demo version somewhere, it's perfectly legal. Or u can try on eBay if someone sold also an old version, then probably there'r the updates somewhere on the net (and this'll be legal, too).

But, the best thing as GoTrunks said is to buy a PSX (only the first one) and so the bios u'll have won't be illegal.

Thx, bye

__________________

< half-december '02: ASUS L2480C (14" TFT / Athlon XP 1600+ / SiS 630/730 / 256MB SDRAM / 20GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW)

> half-december '02: ASUS L3562T (15" TFT / Pentium4 2.0GHz / SiS 650 / 256MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW)

> end-march '03: ASUS L3568T (15" TFT / Pentium4 2.4GHz / SiS 650 / 256MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW)

> june '03: ASUS M3410C (14" TFT / Intel Centrino Pentium-M 1.3GHz / Intel 855GM / 512MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW)
==============================

always... Debian sid/unstable (& sometimes WXP-Pro+SP1+lastDX) / Super Dual Box (2-players PSXtoUSB) / Sony DualShock 2 Ocean blue

**Dark Watcher** · January 6th, 2003

Quote:

The way I see it, I have two options: PCSX, or VGS. Unfortunately, PCSX doesn't really cut the cheese - choppy mdecs and no ISO support, no anti-aliasing, haphazard Square game support, and frequent slowdowns.

Choopy MDECS = settings can be adjusted to fix this
ISO support = as mentioned Mooby or Daemons Tools
Anti-aliasing = Thats your vid card ..not the emu
haphazard Square game support = Only FF9 and Dew Prism are currently unplayable..all others work (Oh whoops..Xenogears and FF9 will be fixed..sorry..beta)
frequent slowdowns = same deal..settings can help

a question ...if your trying to do things legit...then why do you need ISO support? If your intentions are to back up your existing games then why don't you also back up your PSX BIOS? There are methods on that net that explain how to do it.....oh wait..you may not have a PSX...you can buy one for less then $40USD used...that would have been the same cost Connectix was Bleem were charging for their commercial emulators...

but wait! thats right...both Connectix VGS and Bleem are no longer in production...and to find them on the net would most likely mean you have found an illegal warez copy...

damn these legal issues....

__________________

Gismo · January 6th, 2003

to Dark Watcher: FFIX is playable on P©SX w/ @ruantec patch

. I don't remember the thread, but he made this patch after having talked w/ linuzappz

.

Thx, bye

PS the P©SX-FFIX thread is this

__________________

< half-december '02: ASUS L2480C (14" TFT / Athlon XP 1600+ / SiS 630/730 / 256MB SDRAM / 20GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW)

> half-december '02: ASUS L3562T (15" TFT / Pentium4 2.0GHz / SiS 650 / 256MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW)

> end-march '03: ASUS L3568T (15" TFT / Pentium4 2.4GHz / SiS 650 / 256MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW)

> june '03: ASUS M3410C (14" TFT / Intel Centrino Pentium-M 1.3GHz / Intel 855GM / 512MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW)
==============================

always... Debian sid/unstable (& sometimes WXP-Pro+SP1+lastDX) / Super Dual Box (2-players PSXtoUSB) / Sony DualShock 2 Ocean blue

**cooliscool** · January 6th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffreyZ
It's been months since I last played ePSXe, or used ZSNES, etc. I've deleted all my illegal ROMs, mp3's, programz, etc. and so on. I've read all the copyright stuff. I have a pretty good idea of what's legal and what's not. So now, I'm "enforcing" copyright law on myself. Why? Because I'm totally nuts; that's why.

I won't even download a PSX BIOS. So now I go through withdrawal. :eyes:

The way I see it, I have two options: PCSX, or VGS. Unfortunately, PCSX doesn't really cut the cheese - choppy mdecs and no ISO support, no anti-aliasing, haphazard Square game support, and frequent slowdowns.

I've heard that VGS is good, excepting for its age and lack of D3D enhancements. But it was long dead before I ever heard of it. Is there no way I can purchase it now? eBay perhaps? Yeesh. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be elated to hear them.

ROFL!!! That is SO lame. :eyes:

__________________
Bottles' Glasses - Banjo Kazooie/Tooie model viewer and ripper

**Demigod** · January 6th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by cooliscool

ROFL!!! That is SO lame. :eyes:

What's so lame about trying to be a good citizen? He's among the only few people in the world who are actually trying to follow the rules. I don't think this is the first time you've heard this, but if you don't have anything useful to say then don't say anything at all.

__________________
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Mobo: Intel DX48BT2 Memory: 8192 MB PC10600 DDR3 Videocard: PNY Geforce 9800 GX2 Soundcard: On-board SigmaTel High Definition Audio Hard drive: 1 TB Seagate & 1 TB Hitachi Optical drive: LG GGW-H20L (2x BD-R DL) PSU: Nexus 1000 Watt OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)

dn · January 6th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Demigod
What's so lame about trying to be a good citizen? He's among the only few people in the world who are actually trying to follow the rules. I don't think this is the first time you've heard this, but if you don't have anything useful to say then don't say anything at all.

Words of wisdom Demigod.

__________________
“A commonplace man marvels at uncommon things; a wise man marvels at the commonplace” - Confucius

Zeke_D · January 6th, 2003

JefferyZ, just purchase a used PSX at a pawnshoppe or a used game store, then just download the appropriate bios that matches your model number. you can pick up a used psx for around USD$29

__________________

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ | 2.0GB PC3200 | Maxtor 120GB sATA| GeForce 6800 GS 256MB

Insignia IS-CM100751 19" | XP Pro SP2 | LG 16x Lightscribe DVD+/-RW | Realtek Audio

**ammoQ** · January 7th, 2003

I consider it good behaviour to buy the PSX games (instead of downloading isoz) but it would not have sleepless nights for the BIOS even if I did not own a PSX. Actually, I think most psx-emu-users own a PSX an use the emu for several reasons, like better graphics, savestates, infinite memcards.

__________________
If you think my English is bad, wait till you read my Polish.

**cooliscool** · January 7th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Demigod
What's so lame about trying to be a good citizen? He's among the only few people in the world who are actually trying to follow the rules. I don't think this is the first time you've heard this, but if you don't have anything useful to say then don't say anything at all.

It isn't that, it's that if i was going through withdrawals over something and it was in front of me, i'd take it. :eek:

__________________
Bottles' Glasses - Banjo Kazooie/Tooie model viewer and ripper

Esturk · January 7th, 2003

If you're gonna buy a Playstation just for the BIOS then why not just play the game on the real thing? I'm sure that the game will then run perfectly.

__________________
Necrosaro: Windows XP Pro x64 Edition SP2 | Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache | Asus P5Q Deluxe, Intel P45 Chipset, Socket 775 | 4GB Kingston PC5300 DDR2 | Nvidia GeForce 8800GT, 1024MB | Creative SB X-Fi Fatality Edition | Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD, 150Gb, SATA, Western Digital WD5000AAKS, 500GB, SATA | LG 16x DVD-RWx2 SATA.

**Chrono Archangel** · January 7th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Esturk
If you're gonna buy a Playstation just for the BIOS then why not just play the game on the real thing? I'm sure that the game will then run perfectly.

But it would have crappy graphics...probably the reason he wants to play with an emu

__________________

When Pigs Fly: The Death of Oink, the Birth of Dissent, and a Brief History of Record Industry Suicide.

Esturk · January 7th, 2003

Crappy graphics! It is what the graphics are supposed to look like.

__________________
Necrosaro: Windows XP Pro x64 Edition SP2 | Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache | Asus P5Q Deluxe, Intel P45 Chipset, Socket 775 | 4GB Kingston PC5300 DDR2 | Nvidia GeForce 8800GT, 1024MB | Creative SB X-Fi Fatality Edition | Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD, 150Gb, SATA, Western Digital WD5000AAKS, 500GB, SATA | LG 16x DVD-RWx2 SATA.

JeffreyZ · January 7th, 2003

Thanks for the encouragement - especially the PCSX tips. Just a few notes.

As far as _downloading_ a BIOS, I understand that this is illegal even if one owns an actual Playstation. It might seem irrelevant whether you generate your own BIOS or get it from someone else, but it isn't: the reason copyright laws exist is to ensure that the private originator of the work has rights over distribution and derivate works. Since the PSX BIOS is about as far from the public domain as you can get, downloading it from an illegal distributor is just as illegal as distributing it yourself. And that's old law - it far predates the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

Morally, it's reduceable to the Golden Rule: if you work hard on a product, you have the government-given right to choose how it is distributed. Some give it to the world for free - this is wonderul! But I'm sure that not even the ePSXe authors would force their personal decision on another programmer who wanted to _sell_ his/her software. When you download protected software, you're forcing the author to give it to you for free. You've destroyed another person's legitimate right. And that person could just as easily be you.

A consistent attention to human rights considers that other people have rights that can and do conflict with our personal desires.

Anyway, back to the topic:

As far as dumping the BIOS, this wouldn't be difficult to do. Buy a PSX, a Gameshark, and a Comms link and I'm set. Unfortunately, Nintendo set a nasty legal precedent.

Read about it here: http://www.worldofspectrum.org/EmuFAQ2000/EmuFAQ_Y2KAddendum2.htm

One might legally copy a Playstation CD onto their computer and be protected under the Fair Use clause, since the CD and the hard drive are both "disks." However, that protection may not (and concretely, in the case of Nintendo cartridges, cannot) apply when the storage format of the data changes from a cartridge to a disk format or vice-versa.

This is why it is often documented that a Playstation BIOS cannot be legally dumped even if there is no distribution involved. Chip vs. disk. Derivative work. Darn.

The legal case only made the distinction between cartridge vs. disk formats - which is kind of like performing surgery with a hack-saw, since other _substantial_ storage format differences exist as well that are never mentioned. CD's are optical, but hard drives are magnetic; then there's RAM, flash-RAM, and so on. Between analog tapes and bio-molecular-data storage, there are hundreds of distinct technologies, and multiple formats within those technologies. On a logical level I don't think that format changes cam constitute derivative works, since other similar activities are allowed by fair use, such as copying a copyrighted ink-printed sheet of paper onto transparent overhead using a standard toner copier. You've changed the format and the mode of viewing: paper to plastic, ink to toner, direct observation to projection. Derivative work: illegal. So, the law becomes subject to a "reducto ad absurdam"

This is the logic behind the document I linked to, especially when it discusses the BetaMax case. I recommend everyone read it.

Thus, if not explicitly _legal_, it is nevertheless legally defensible to dump one's cartridges and chips to the PC. I guess that sort of means, do it until a judge says you can't.

But downloading copyright-protected BIOS's and ROM's from the Internet is unquestionably always illegal.

Anyway, thanks again for the feedback, but I really must be going. Exams!

JeffreyZ · January 7th, 2003

Happy news! I'm a jackass!

Mooby's CDR plugin wasn't working because I had a bad ISO dump. Changed to CDRWin and now I'm set!

For some reason, I was using Pete's D3D Dx7 plugin instead of OGL - that explains the performance issues.

Everything's dandy now - but I just gotta figure out why FF VII crashes at battles.

Dark Zero · January 8th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Esturk
Crappy graphics! It is what the graphics are supposed to look like.

Totally agree with you on that. Why is it the psx graphics were suitable during its time, "they looked nice", and now that something better is out they are labled as crap. Shouldn't they still be nice in their own respect? Why is it that something better is out thus making the old one crap? The graphics are the same thing today as the first day you saw them. We shouldn't compare different things such as those. Ex: "NES is garbage because Ps2 is better" How does that make any sense, those are two totally different pieces of hardware! Hopefully someone understands my point on that.

**ammoQ** · January 8th, 2003

Granted, but graphics still look a lot better in an emu in many cases. Plus some other advantages when using an emu.

__________________
If you think my English is bad, wait till you read my Polish.

**ammoQ** · January 8th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffreyZ

But downloading copyright-protected BIOS's and ROM's from the Internet is unquestionably always illegal.

First of all, in this forum there are people from all over the world, living in different countries having different laws. Are you sure it´s illegal in all those countries, espcally if someone owns a PSX?

On the other hand, I'm confident that it is perfectly legal in many countries to get the bios directly from the PSX by appropriate means (Of course it would be illegal to distribute it). This is, because in many countries, the respect for privacy is stronger than copyright; this means that I can do what I want with the things I legaly own as long as I do not distribute copyrighted stuff. These days, the guy called "DVD Jon" (one of the creators of deCSS) was found not guilty in Norway; the judge decided that it is legal to to rip DVDs using deCSS for private use.

So when it's legal to get the bios from the PSX, it's legal to have a copy of the bios on the PC. The download itself may still be illegal; the problem is, before I have the file on the PC, I do not know its contents; probably I do not know it's copyrighted stuff eighter.

__________________
If you think my English is bad, wait till you read my Polish.

January 5th, 2003	#1 (permalink)
JeffreyZ Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Leuven Belgium, orig. Tucson AZ. Posts: 123	OK: I want to do this _legally_ It's been months since I last played ePSXe, or used ZSNES, etc. I've deleted all my illegal ROMs, mp3's, programz, etc. and so on. I've read all the copyright stuff. I have a pretty good idea of what's legal and what's not. So now, I'm "enforcing" copyright law on myself. Why? Because I'm totally nuts; that's why. I won't even download a PSX BIOS. So now I go through withdrawal. :eyes: The way I see it, I have two options: PCSX, or VGS. Unfortunately, PCSX doesn't really cut the cheese - choppy mdecs and no ISO support, no anti-aliasing, haphazard Square game support, and frequent slowdowns. I've heard that VGS is good, excepting for its age and lack of D3D enhancements. But it was long dead before I ever heard of it. Is there no way I can purchase it now? eBay perhaps? Yeesh. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be elated to hear them.

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January 5th, 2003	#2 (permalink)
Yeloazndevil Tsundere-chan Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 10,388	PCSX can run ISO's just use Daemon Tools andMount the ISO, Anti-aliasing u enable it in your display settings it as nothing to do with te emulator except for the graphics. As long has u actually own the PSX u can use the Bios Version of that PSX __________________

January 5th, 2003	#3 (permalink)
Hydra ???!!!???!!!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: In your lunchbox. No don't open the lid! Ack the light it burns. Posts: 2,184	You could always purchase a PSX, that way downloading he BIOs wouldn't be illegal. They shouldn't cost much anymore these days. __________________ Mobo: Asus A8V Deluxe CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ RAM: 1024MB DDR400 Dual Channel Graphics: nVidia Geforce FX 6600 GT 128MB DDR3 HDD: 260GB OS: Windows XP SP2

January 5th, 2003	#4 (permalink)
Gismo A man w/ a lot of dreams Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: now Geneva (CH) / past Lodi (ITA) Posts: 732	Hi, P©SX is good, ok, u don't have all the features and not the stability of ePSXe, but u can have the same plugins and so the same graphic improvements. More, u can use ISO w/o DAEMON-Tools, direclty using the Mooby's CDR plugin (I tried it from ISO and it works well, I heard it can start even the ZIP, but I never tried it). For VGS: u can still found the demo version somewhere, it's perfectly legal. Or u can try on eBay if someone sold also an old version, then probably there'r the updates somewhere on the net (and this'll be legal, too). But, the best thing as GoTrunks said is to buy a PSX (only the first one) and so the bios u'll have won't be illegal. Thx, bye __________________ < half-december '02: ASUS L2480C (14" TFT / Athlon XP 1600+ / SiS 630/730 / 256MB SDRAM / 20GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW) > half-december '02: ASUS L3562T (15" TFT / Pentium4 2.0GHz / SiS 650 / 256MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW) > end-march '03: ASUS L3568T (15" TFT / Pentium4 2.4GHz / SiS 650 / 256MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW) > june '03: ASUS M3410C (14" TFT / Intel Centrino Pentium-M 1.3GHz / Intel 855GM / 512MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW) ============================== always... Debian sid/unstable (& sometimes WXP-Pro+SP1+lastDX) / Super Dual Box (2-players PSXtoUSB) / Sony DualShock 2 Ocean blue

January 6th, 2003	#6 (permalink)
Gismo A man w/ a lot of dreams Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: now Geneva (CH) / past Lodi (ITA) Posts: 732	to Dark Watcher: FFIX is playable on P©SX w/ @ruantec patch . I don't remember the thread, but he made this patch after having talked w/ linuzappz . Thx, bye PS the P©SX-FFIX thread is this __________________ < half-december '02: ASUS L2480C (14" TFT / Athlon XP 1600+ / SiS 630/730 / 256MB SDRAM / 20GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW) > half-december '02: ASUS L3562T (15" TFT / Pentium4 2.0GHz / SiS 650 / 256MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW) > end-march '03: ASUS L3568T (15" TFT / Pentium4 2.4GHz / SiS 650 / 256MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW) > june '03: ASUS M3410C (14" TFT / Intel Centrino Pentium-M 1.3GHz / Intel 855GM / 512MB DDR / 40GB HDD / DVD-ROM+CD-RW) ============================== always... Debian sid/unstable (& sometimes WXP-Pro+SP1+lastDX) / Super Dual Box (2-players PSXtoUSB) / Sony DualShock 2 Ocean blue

January 6th, 2003	#10 (permalink)
Zeke_D 100% emulated freak Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Ari-fu ckin-zona Posts: 1,028	JefferyZ, just purchase a used PSX at a pawnshoppe or a used game store, then just download the appropriate bios that matches your model number. you can pick up a used psx for around USD$29 __________________ AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ \| 2.0GB PC3200 \| Maxtor 120GB sATA\| GeForce 6800 GS 256MB Insignia IS-CM100751 19" \| XP Pro SP2 \| LG 16x Lightscribe DVD+/-RW \| Realtek Audio

January 7th, 2003	#11 (permalink)
ammoQ Emu author Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Vienna/Austria/Europe Posts: 1,168	I consider it good behaviour to buy the PSX games (instead of downloading isoz) but it would not have sleepless nights for the BIOS even if I did not own a PSX. Actually, I think most psx-emu-users own a PSX an use the emu for several reasons, like better graphics, savestates, infinite memcards. __________________ If you think my English is bad, wait till you read my Polish.

January 7th, 2003	#13 (permalink)
Esturk Registered User Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Posts: 6,958	If you're gonna buy a Playstation just for the BIOS then why not just play the game on the real thing? I'm sure that the game will then run perfectly. __________________ Necrosaro: Windows XP Pro x64 Edition SP2 \| Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache \| Asus P5Q Deluxe, Intel P45 Chipset, Socket 775 \| 4GB Kingston PC5300 DDR2 \| Nvidia GeForce 8800GT, 1024MB \| Creative SB X-Fi Fatality Edition \| Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD, 150Gb, SATA, Western Digital WD5000AAKS, 500GB, SATA \| LG 16x DVD-RWx2 SATA.

January 7th, 2003	#15 (permalink)
Esturk Registered User Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Posts: 6,958	Crappy graphics! It is what the graphics are supposed to look like. __________________ Necrosaro: Windows XP Pro x64 Edition SP2 \| Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache \| Asus P5Q Deluxe, Intel P45 Chipset, Socket 775 \| 4GB Kingston PC5300 DDR2 \| Nvidia GeForce 8800GT, 1024MB \| Creative SB X-Fi Fatality Edition \| Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD, 150Gb, SATA, Western Digital WD5000AAKS, 500GB, SATA \| LG 16x DVD-RWx2 SATA.

January 7th, 2003	#16 (permalink)
JeffreyZ Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Leuven Belgium, orig. Tucson AZ. Posts: 123	Thanks for the encouragement - especially the PCSX tips. Just a few notes. As far as _downloading_ a BIOS, I understand that this is illegal even if one owns an actual Playstation. It might seem irrelevant whether you generate your own BIOS or get it from someone else, but it isn't: the reason copyright laws exist is to ensure that the private originator of the work has rights over distribution and derivate works. Since the PSX BIOS is about as far from the public domain as you can get, downloading it from an illegal distributor is just as illegal as distributing it yourself. And that's old law - it far predates the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Morally, it's reduceable to the Golden Rule: if you work hard on a product, you have the government-given right to choose how it is distributed. Some give it to the world for free - this is wonderul! But I'm sure that not even the ePSXe authors would force their personal decision on another programmer who wanted to _sell_ his/her software. When you download protected software, you're forcing the author to give it to you for free. You've destroyed another person's legitimate right. And that person could just as easily be you. A consistent attention to human rights considers that other people have rights that can and do conflict with our personal desires. Anyway, back to the topic: As far as dumping the BIOS, this wouldn't be difficult to do. Buy a PSX, a Gameshark, and a Comms link and I'm set. Unfortunately, Nintendo set a nasty legal precedent. Read about it here: http://www.worldofspectrum.org/EmuFAQ2000/EmuFAQ_Y2KAddendum2.htm One might legally copy a Playstation CD onto their computer and be protected under the Fair Use clause, since the CD and the hard drive are both "disks." However, that protection may not (and concretely, in the case of Nintendo cartridges, cannot) apply when the storage format of the data changes from a cartridge to a disk format or vice-versa. This is why it is often documented that a Playstation BIOS cannot be legally dumped even if there is no distribution involved. Chip vs. disk. Derivative work. Darn. The legal case only made the distinction between cartridge vs. disk formats - which is kind of like performing surgery with a hack-saw, since other _substantial_ storage format differences exist as well that are never mentioned. CD's are optical, but hard drives are magnetic; then there's RAM, flash-RAM, and so on. Between analog tapes and bio-molecular-data storage, there are hundreds of distinct technologies, and multiple formats within those technologies. On a logical level I don't think that format changes cam constitute derivative works, since other similar activities are allowed by fair use, such as copying a copyrighted ink-printed sheet of paper onto transparent overhead using a standard toner copier. You've changed the format and the mode of viewing: paper to plastic, ink to toner, direct observation to projection. Derivative work: illegal. So, the law becomes subject to a "reducto ad absurdam" This is the logic behind the document I linked to, especially when it discusses the BetaMax case. I recommend everyone read it. Thus, if not explicitly _legal_, it is nevertheless legally defensible to dump one's cartridges and chips to the PC. I guess that sort of means, do it until a judge says you can't. But downloading copyright-protected BIOS's and ROM's from the Internet is unquestionably always illegal. Anyway, thanks again for the feedback, but I really must be going. Exams!

January 7th, 2003	#17 (permalink)
JeffreyZ Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Leuven Belgium, orig. Tucson AZ. Posts: 123	Happy news! I'm a jackass! Mooby's CDR plugin wasn't working because I had a bad ISO dump. Changed to CDRWin and now I'm set! For some reason, I was using Pete's D3D Dx7 plugin instead of OGL - that explains the performance issues. Everything's dandy now - but I just gotta figure out why FF VII crashes at battles.

January 8th, 2003	#19 (permalink)
ammoQ Emu author Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Vienna/Austria/Europe Posts: 1,168	Granted, but graphics still look a lot better in an emu in many cases. Plus some other advantages when using an emu. __________________ If you think my English is bad, wait till you read my Polish.