Selling GNU Licensed Software - It’s Just Wrong, Or Is It Right?

Posted by multippt

Personally, I fell that it is simply wrong to sell a person something that is generally available for free. Then again, the GNU license does permit a person to sell the given software licensed under it. So… is it alright to do it? Lets go through the pros and cons of selling such stuff on lets say… ebay.

The Pros

The seller would be can skim off a little profit for something free legally, and the profit gained from selling such stuff would be considerably more profitable than selling other stuff (with some exemptions though). The buyer, in turn, would get to know more about the product/software. Thus, its a win-win situation. Furthermore, what if the buyer do not have a good internet connection speed to download such software (eg, who would want to even think of downloading 1gb of stuff such as live cds?)? Thus, the purchaser of these sold software would be able to get their hands on these software (maybe by CD?), which would have otherwise taken weeks to download. Furthemore, the GNU license permits the selling of the said software, provided the source is made available.

The Cons

How would you feel if you were to buy something, then find out that it can be downloaded for free? Wouldn’t you feel as though you had been conned? Thus, it is this very idea that makes the selling of such software very wrong, even if its legal. Also, what if the means of distribution of the software after paying it is via digital distribution (that is… by download through internet)? Its the same as downloading the same software, except you would have to pay it. Its even worse if the seller just give you the link to the official site after you pay him.

Despite the cons of selling such software, it’s the buyer’s duty to check out more information on what they are buying. Hence, this concludes this scenario of selling free software on internet auctions.

Via Digg

New service policy

Posted by multippt

I changed the service policy (a.k.a. Terms of Service) after thinking of what users might do with too much freedom. Fearing that people might steal away your credit and claim it as theirs, I’ve decided to modify the service policy so as to prevent this problem from happening.

Cool Gadgets - Self Stirring Mug

Posted by multippt

Its interesting how lasy one can get. A self-stirring mug have been developed, and makes an ideal present for your caffeine-loving friends for this coming Christmas. It costs roughly US$30. How to use it? Well, you only need to press a “stir” button and it does everything else for you.

Its amazing how automated our lives can get.

Via Youtube

CNET’s editor goes missing

Posted by multippt

James Kim, a CNET senior editor of digital audio, together with his family have gone missing a few days ago. James Kim’s missing presences have been felt throughout sectors of the tech community. It seems that James Kim and his family went missing in their family vehicle, which was a silver Saab station wagon. James Kim is yet to be found. Aerial searches by helicopters may yield some results.

Cool Gadgets - A fire-starting torchlight

Posted by multippt

If you think torchlights can’t be used as weapons other than for meleeing, you’re wrong.

With a little modification (or maybe more than that), the torchlight can be used to set fire to old pieces of newspaper in minutes. Now then, something like this isn’t very new, since the same can be applied by using a magnifying glass. But, the best thing is, it runs on batteries! Though, it uses alot of energy. The main modification was the bulb, being replaced by a different one that produce a far more intense light. The second modification was the reflector, made to withstand high temperatures generated. Lastly, modifications were made to the batteries and roughly 14 volts were supplied. The reason why the bulb was able to produce such intense light was the amount of current supplied to it. An immense 10 amperes of current is supplied to it. Thats going to produce alot of heat (and light)!

Anyways, its possible to construct one yourself.

Via extremegeek.

The Trends - Web 2.0: The dark side

Posted by multippt

Earlier I was saying how web 2.0 actually helps us, now then, have you ever thought how web 2.0 can be of an annoyance to us? I shall show you how web 2.0 can be as bad as it can be as good.

Spam

Spam, of which I’m referring to the electronic mail version (not the brand of canned meat), is increasing every year. I know, although a little spam is a minor annoyance, when these spam messages pile up, it can haunt you and your mailbox. Its been estimated that on average, each person receives roughly 15 spam messages each day (I don’t know about you, maybe you don’t receve any, or maybe you receive alot more than that). In fact, the amount of spam being sent has multipled quickly over the years, reaching billions. Of course, the spam messages you receive may depend on what you’ve done on the web. Some bots are designed to collect email addresses scattered around the internet. If it just so happen to find yours, your email address might be added to one of those large mailing lists (that may send out advertisements). Also, people who have gained a reputation on the internet would generally receive alot more spam messages (do I need to state examples?…). Why do people spam? Well, it promises money of course! People don’t just do things like that, and they are probably recruited by some advertiser or service that provides PTM (paid to mail).

Privacy

Privacy on the internet is another issue. Its been a concern that some sensitive information such as your bank account number and credit card number might be leaked into the web. If that happens, you might have a huge problem in your hands. There are some people who have fallen prey to scams that involve the revealing of one’s private information. The reverse effect of having too much privacy have given rise to several problems. Afriad of revealing their true information, some people decided to surf the net behind proxies, hoping that this would conceal their IP address. Of course, this is not a good thing, since hackers also make use of these things.

Thats Just Wrong…

With the internet becoming more vast, and information becoming very accessible, some users of the internet might seize the opportunity to download whatever they can get their hands on. Sometimes, the things they find on the internet is simply just wrong… (very bad content, inclusive of dirty-minded ones). Also, there is the problem of copyright infringement, which is the probable result of the misinterpretation that every content available on the internet is in the public domain, which isn’t true. Copyright infringement cause copyright holders alot of money. There is another problem of intellectual property theft, in which one party claims that the product they have is their creation, when it is not.

Phishing and scams

Phishing sites, or sites that mimic the official site, pose a great threat to one’s privacy. Phishing sites simply exploit a human behavior, in which when we want something, we would go straight to it. Thus, users who are not cautious of the environment would be tricked into giving their credentials alway. Scams, which includes selling vaporware, is likely to result in the loss of large sums of money, which is something no one wants.

Money

All this was made attractive to perform due to the opportunity of making money online. In a world nearly driven by money, it makes people all the more willing to get as much revenue as possible.

Windows Vista to be released to volume license customers

Posted by multippt

Windows Vista, which represents the new generation of the Microsoft Windows operating system, would be released today, which is the 30th of November, to customers making volume purchases of it. This means that companies could get their hands on it soon.

However though, the vast majority of us would not be able to purchase it, until the 30th of January, next year, 2007.