Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 25th Apr 2008 15:01 UTC
When PsyStar announced they would be offering their own Macintosch clone, pre-installed with Apple's Mac OS X Leopard, they opened up a whole can of worms. Despite the fact that the company itself was shrouded in mystery and dubiousness, the possible implications of their actions sparkled an interesting debate here on OSNews as well as other discussion venues: can PsyStar and its users just discard Apple's End User License Agreement for Leopard? Instead of relying on my own limited layman's understanding of Dutch Common Law, I decided to contact Dutch legal experts, and ask for their opinions on Apple's EULA, and EULAs in general.
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Member since:2006-02-15
It's just that US copyrights have FAR too much power over software you can "rip" your CDs legally to iPods but you can't hack your legally purchased OS DVD to run on 1 machine of your choosing. See how silly that is!
I am a layman ( girl actually, silly english :O ) when it comes to laws but I have understood that here it is legal to hack, burn or whatever you may wish the copy of software you have bought as long as you don't break the copyright law by sharing those hacks or modified copies of the software. So atleast here it should be totally legal to install OSX on any computer you own, I just doubt you would be able to sell computers with hacked OSX pre-installed. You _could_ sell a computer and non-modified OSX together along with instructions on how to hack it yourself though.
RE[2]: sale of shiny discs
by Doc Pain on Fri 25th Apr 2008 20:15
in reply to "RE: sale of shiny discs"
Member since:2006-10-08
[...] I have understood that here it is legal to hack, burn or whatever you may wish the copy of software you have bought as long as you don't break the copyright law by sharing those hacks or modified copies of the software.
This would be the case in Germany, too, as far as I do understand it. The legal term is "private backup copy" (private Sicherheitskopie) which allows you to duplicate, for example, installation CDs / DVDs for your individual use; regarding the intended use of these installation media, i. e. the installing process itself, you are required to have the license to do it (usually a shiny sticker on the back or the bottom of your computer) with the respective registration code. You even may give the duplicated media to someone else, as long as it is an 1:1 copy (no modifications), the person given the copy will of course need to have a license, too.
So atleast here it should be totally legal to install OSX on any computer you own, I just doubt you would be able to sell computers with hacked OSX pre-installed.
Well, I think so, too. In both regards.
You _could_ sell a computer and non-modified OSX together along with instructions on how to hack it yourself though.
This could be possible. The only situation interesting would be if it's allowed to sell these instructions ("how to do something that is not intended and may be illegal"), but you can surely sell a PC, a set of Mac OS X installation media, and give some sheets of printed paper as a "thank you present". :-)
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 17:52 UTC
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:38 UTC
"The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:30 UTC, submitted by JRepin
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 22:06 UTC
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:45 UTC
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 15:53 UTC
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 22:43 UTC
The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 21:50 UTC
PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:15 UTC
"This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.More News »
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Member since:
2005-07-17
European courts are very shy on restrictions beyond copyright. Imagine if a cookbook maker said those recipes were only "licensed" for parties, in your home, of under 10 people... it's a BOOK silly. Why that was ever allowed. As long as you are not making copies of the shiny disk then you should be good.
I'm sure they've already secured a box of legally bought OSX disks from Apple. Under European rules, they can make the programs on the shiny disk do whatever they want, they are supplying one legally bought disc per machine so they are not violating copyright. It's just that US copyrights have FAR too much power over software you can "rip" your CDs legally to iPods but you can't hack your legally purchased OS DVD to run on 1 machine of your choosing. See how silly that is!