EFF Question "Tech" 4.  "What are other concrete examples are there of occasions in which
reverse engineering has been critical to achieving a technological breakthrough in an industry?  
Are there examples of other attempts to prevent such activity and what was the result?"

maintained by Rob Warren
last updated 3/20/2000

Introduction

Notes

	"The number of examples range in the thousands. For example, in the early days of
	data comm (1969-70 time frame) the modem was the 201C and it was owned lock, stock
	and barrel by an oddity we referred to as MaBell.  It morphed into today's 56K
	modem as a direct result of reverse engineering.  I worked in data comm at the time
	for one of many companies who did exactly this.  A number of OS designs, some more
	well known than others, evolved in much the same way from UNIX System III and
	System V.  Basing tomorrows technological advances on today's accumulated knowledge
	is not the exception.  It is pretty much the rule.  As such, reverse engineering
	(no matter how done) plays a pretty important role in the evolution of technology
	and it is very safe to assume that without it, we would not be where we are today,
	from a technological point of view."

	(RH)


Conclusion

Sources

	http://members.dencity.com/jas/fravia/
	Georgia Tech's Reverse Engineering Group - http://www.cc.gatech.edu/reverse/
	http://shimano.me.utexas.edu/~irem/rev_eng/lecture.html
	http://www.backerstreet.com/cg/work.htm
	http://www.softpanorama.org/SE/reverse_engineering_links.shtml

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