TomeViewer workaround for Mac OS ROM file (sheepshaver)

[Dennis Nedry]

Obtaining the Mac OS ROM file requires an old Mac to run TomeViewer and extract it from the Mac OS ROM update installer. This is not readily available to everyone who would like to use Sheepshaver. Would it technically be legal to provide a patch that once applied to the compressed Mac OS ROM Update tome, would transform it into the actual ROM file?

The user already has the ROM file - the patch would not provide that - the patch would only bypass the use of the TomeViewer application, and require that the user already has the ROM by means of the Mac OS ROM Update, which is provided by Apple.

 

[Forrest]

You can get the Mac OS ROM files here http://www.redundantrobot.com/sheepshaver-tutorial/

 

[Dennis Nedry]

Yes, it's always possible to find Mac ROMs on the internet, but these are not necessarily legal downloads. The advantage of the Mac OS ROM update is that it comes straight from Apple and can be downloaded legally.

So what I'm wondering here is if a patch to the Mac OS ROM update download is legal to provide to the public - as it would get around needing an existing old Mac to extract the ROM file with TomeViewer. Or would the nature of this patch still be illegal? Its sole purpose is to enable people to obtain a ROM file without needing to own a Mac.

An alternate approach would be to hack the Tome format and provide a utility that extracts any Tome - this would have a multitude of uses and no longer have a purpose specific to this file. But this is a lot more difficult than making a patch.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

You know what would be even better is if sheepshaver would delve into the hard drive image or installer CD and automatically access the Mac OS ROM file before starting the Mac emulation.

 

[Watchsmart]

I think that would be a wonderful contribution. If it is legal to extract a ROM with TomeViewer, why would it be illegal to extract it with some other piece of software?

 

[Gorgonops]

I'm sure the license agreement boilerplate attached to any and all MacOS software updates includes some blather in it specifying that the included binaries are only for use by the original purchaser of the associated OS when run on original Apple-Labled hardware, blaw blaw. Thus in the eyes of Apple's lawyers it's probably at best only a shade less "unauthorized" to extract the ROM image for use with an emulator yourself than it is to just skip the middleman and download it seperately.