Moral Dilemma - what would you do? The 1 cent solution

This may have been touched on in another thread but I think some consensus is needed. This issue will only increase as more hpc programs are dropped by developers.

I finally found older versions of Listpro, Ewallet, VirtualWallet and some other needed goodies to round out my hpc programs.

Of course, all of them are older versions and out of production and further, no longer sold or supported by the developer, or any other source that I can ascertain.

So we have a conundrum. The developer has no reasonable expectation of further financial gains from these products, and the end user has no reasonable expectations of support or updates, and use of the program without a license is copyright infringement.

In a normal business contract both parties are expected to provide something to the other to complete a binding deal.

I suppose I could email the developer and ask them what they thought was fair renumeration but IMO, if the developer specifies a price it is construed as an offer of sale with the obligations of warranty and support attached.

But if I initiated the offer, say of 1 cent to the developer, for a valid license, with no expectation of support, implied or otherwise and the developer accepted we have satisfied any legal obligations of a software license. I'm then in no danger of copyright infringement, nor IMO, is the developer on the hook for support or updates.

It goes without saying I will prefer to buy from such accomodating vendors if/when they offer new hpc products or if I need software for my current/future ppc.

Let's face it, the older hpc version is likely reduced in features and as mentioned, supportless. Why should anyone pay even remotely close to the current retail price of the PPC version?

Again, this situation regarding older hpc programs is only going to grow as more and more hpc programs are dropped by developers.

Thoughts?

Wouldn't it be easier to provide free license "at your own risk"?

good idea

i will buy every software in the world for 1 cent each.

to be more serious... it's a real problem. and the solution could work.
there should be a period after that the program is definitely&officially abandonware and anyone can use it (if no other way then with crack/serial).

I think there already is an expiry on all copyrights. But it's like 100 years or something

I really think this is an issue with some serious implications. It's certainly not intelligent to deny users decent software nor does it make sense for a developer to limit thier community exposure (advertising/goodwill) simply because some of their products aren't mainstream.

Copyright is the hindering factor. As mentioned, it is some ridiculous time period, perhaps exceeding 100 years when the product is a work for hire by a corporation. (Thank a has-been ex- partner of Cher lobbyist working on behalf of a large eared octogenarian rodent for passing that retarded law )

Anyhow, free would create problems for a developer still in business and planning to stay that way. It could be argued that free constitutes placement in the public domain allowing others to utilize the code for commercial purposes. No, free won't help us or the developers in the long run.

Hum, as an example, released a keycode knowing they were closing down and expected no further sales of any product, hence no further profits. IIRC, Hum was built on a 3rd-party engine (the name escapes me now) and that firm either went bust or didn't mind the executable engine code being distributed for free. So there is some precedent regarding releases into the community from defunct companies, but we're concerned with the living.

However, I'm pretty sure some commercial developers hang here. Why wouldn't they? The gentlemen operating this site have great reviews of a lot of products. If I were a developer I'd be here to read how my product was being reviewed.

I'm always ready to pay well for an updated and supported product, but if that's not practical then I'll buy my current software from developers who offer me sweetheart deals on their golden oldies.

So developers in hiding, please chime in on this issue. After all, we're virtually begging to get more of your software into our aging but robust weapons.

i think there's a difference between freeware and opensource. if a developer releases a commercial software for free (but not opensource), you won't get the source code with that... and you're not even allowed to use the code.
so i don't understand your problem.

Edited by cmonex 2005-05-19 11:20 AM

I think Wally could be talking about developers who are still in business but decides to EOL certain products because the cost of maintaining them or providing support is not worth it anymore.

By EOLing a product, they can regroup their team of developers on newer products that currently makes real money for the company.

I know that some company did release their binary to the open domain when their company went belly. Other times, we are not so lucky. They may be bought over by another company in a merger, and the old EOL product become intellectual property that gets shelved in the basement until one day it is lost while moving to a new building!

Maybe developers can do something that was mentioned, licensed without support. Its kinda like us getting HPCs on eBay, knowing that all we prob get mostly are non-DOA product assurance.

That kinda falls into most freeware licensing isn't it? Where the software is provided free and AS-IS etc.

I personally think 1 cent solution won't really work as the way planned. I think the developer would just prefer it to be release it free than to 'sell' it at 1 cent for a hard worked product.

For example, GTA, a best hit PC game, was released for free download in exchange of your personal info.

I think here would be more chance of talking to the company to provide the softwares for free.

Hey, the GTA was a good example I forgot about. Free if you provide some marketing info for the developer.

However, I think there's a fundamental diff between the free GTA and our platforms. The free GTA is for older hardware from a different era. I can't see anyone using that code, core or pieces for any commercial purpose.
But the hpc stuff that we want cheaply *could* become the basis for profit by other developers with lower ideals who might figure a small tweak or two on a "free" product qualifies it as unique enough to now sell. GSFinder comes to mind.
IMO, there's a whack of commercial clones based on GSFinder code.
IMO even a 1 cent price tag would provide a mountain of IP protection for the active/original developers.

Looking down the road where are we going to be when/if Resco/Conduits/Softmaker et al make the final decision to abandon the hpc world?
The hpc products from Illium, Applian, Bsquare, and others are sorely missed by reading many posts from wistful users looking to purchase.

It's been mentioned that we can always hack/crack/keygen these older products into service but.....
I'd rather the developers work with us to keep us honest .

I would just pirate the software because I don't see how that is going to affect anybody monetarily wise now that the software is "Dead"

1) i still can't see how anyone would be allowed to use the code freely.

2) it's not about honesty, it's an entirely different matter imo.