Re: [NTLK] Hacked WiFi driver

dear milan,

i too have a license, but i really do not agree with sonny.

newt relativity and other emu projects aro also in the gray zone, but
i cant see the damage to any commercial projects. yes, hiroshis sw
offer was a well-needed injection to the newt community, but
seriously - is there anyone that can even confirm hes still alive?
regarding to the many fruitless attempts to communication with
hiroshi in recent years, he will not even answer e-mails.

releasing hacks to old code that is not available by other means is
in my opinin not an offence, as long as it will not strike personal
commercial interests.

one way to get around the moral dilemma, is to release a time-limited
hack. the hacked version could be set to expire after say six months.
this way hiroshi would be able to take his hands back to the project.

i do not imply that others that paid are jealous, but i will not feel
bad about late-comers having access to this software. this has
definitely nothing to do with sonny and his stand, it is just my
opinion. sonny is just a decent man who wants to protect private
property. i do not always see this argument as valid, certainly not
when it comes to abandonware.

also, i seriously doubt the releasing of certain abndonware titles
for the NOS would taint the reputation of the community. this has
always, and will always happen with abandoned platforms. see it as
helplessly lost in the middle of nowhere and finally settling in an
abandoned house. as long as you show respect and intend to compensate
its original owners of the house on demand, i would not denote this
behaviour immoral. yes, it might be *criminal*, but who will enforce?
laws are simply meaningless without enforcement power and thats what
labelling actions as "criminal" is all about. personal moral and the
community spirit is what decides in the final end. my opinion is that
releasing this software code fits within the community spirit, at
least i find it very likely that the majority of its members also
thinks so.

/ ®

On 7 jan 2007, at 03.08, Sonny Hung wrote:

> On 1/6/07, Milan Votava <votava@mageo.cz> wrote:
>>
>> It appears I have managed to hack Hiroshi's Wave LAN driver so I can
>> connect to WEP enabled network even after the trial period (30 days)
>> has expired.
>>
>> Now I have a moral dilemma: Shall I share my hack with other
>> Newtonians, who have like me no chance to register the driver anymore
>> due to Hiroshi's decision to do not process registration any longer?
>>
>> Your thoughts?
>
> Dear Milan,
>
> I really would suggest that you NOT pass this version of the software
> around.
> This is not in the spirit of the community.
> We will not benefit the Newton Community if we begin to condone
> this type of
> action.
> There are few software developers already for the Newton Platform.
> With this action you will put doubt into the minds of current and
> future
> Newton Developers in their consideration of spending their time in
> Newton
> Development.
>
> Hiroshi has his legal right to sell or not sell this software. He
> has the
> right to answer or not answer emails regarding this matter. But we
> do not
> have the right to start dictating that Hiroshi sell, license or to
> collect
> money for him. The actions are wrong no matter how unfair it may seem.
>
> I was fortunate to have the opportunity to purchase a license prior
> to the
> closure of his offering. I purchased two licenses even though I
> didn't need
> to do so to show my support to Hiroshi for providing this WiFi
> Driver as
> long as he had at that time.
>
> The future of Newton is Einstein with Relativity and Beyond!
> It's great to be able to use the Newton, but this action will
> tarnish the
> Newton Community. To my knowledge we have lost many long standing NTLK
> members due to the spirit of the community changing for the worse.
> I fear
> that this action will continue to cast a bad shadow on us all and more
> members will continue to leave.
>
> I for one see that this is a possible future for myself one day. As
> more
> people begin to act in this manner (ex. we don't honor the developer's
> wishes and such...) the inherent trust which binds us together as
> the Newton
> Community sight unseen will wither away.
> If this is of no concern to you we will eventually turn into one of
> those
> cracking lists .......
>
> Just my thoughts on this matter...
>
> --
> God bless,
>
> Sonny Hung
> the Hung Family
>
>
> --
> This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all
> inquiries
> Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
> WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles: http://tools.unna.org/
> wikiwikinewt/
>

vänliga hälsningar / warmest regards,

/ ®

roman pixell, freelancer
karmatic experience group
kåkbrinken 11a 3tr
111 27 stockholm

email: roman@pixell.net
AIM: doppler@mac.com
MSN: roman@pixell.net
ICQ: 3698764
skype: romanpixell
cell: +46 709 10 35 51

-- 
This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries
Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles: http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/