Stan,
You are correct. It is possible to
create similar software. Much of the information is
simply almanac style lists. Many of the other lists are
title/author, painting/painter, etc. Anyone else who has
signficant experience in academic competition could compile
this same data and make reasonable judgments about the
relative difficulty and group the information accordingly.
The trick is actually taking the time to do so. I
spent a few hundred hours compiling the data in my
program. Let's assume it takes someone just 100 hours to
create the same program. That person's time would have
to be worth only $1/hour to make it worth their
while to do so rather than purchasing my program.
I also submit that my judgment is better than your
average bear. Ask anyone you know who might have played
against Georgia Tech in the mid 90's and I expect they
will give me a good referral.
By the way Stan,
what team are you associated with. Just curious. I
haven't figured out who dpu refers to.
Anyway,
thanks for listening.
Mike