5 ms·

So...? Don't do this at work. Who actually takes software licenses seriously in their own home?

by curried_haskell 10y ago

karlmdavis 10y ago
I do. I mean... seems pretty hypocritical for a coder who's made most of their income from software NOT to.
- Symbiote 10y ago
  I'm sure there are plenty of us who've only written open source and/or bespoke software.
cm3 10y ago
I write software for free and as a living, so I surely take it seriously. How can a software developer justify stealing software, unless they're trapped in a poor or technologically restricted situation (Cuba)? EDIT: There's some confusion as to what I replied to: My reply is to this Who actually takes software licenses seriously in their own home? If this doesn't imply one's okay with stealing, then I take my comment back.
- josteink 10y ago
  > How can a software developer justify stealing software Oh come on. Running a legally obtained OSX installation on hardware you own is hardly stealing. I don't see why OSX "fanboys" constantly bring up this tiresome meme about OSX being this near "holy" OS which cannot run on anything but this similarly holy Apple hardware. It's a generic consumer OS designed to work on what is mostly run of the mill X86 hardware. Get with the times.
  - cm3 10y ago
    My reply is to this Who actually takes software licenses seriously in their own home? If this doesn't imply one's okay with stealing, then I take my comment back. Because you seem to assume I use a mac, I must confess to not owning one and therefore not using macos.
    - josteink 10y ago
      I read it as "who cares about obscure constraints which if violated will severely limit my ability to get support should I need it", not as a blanket licence to pirate software. Obviously in a professional context, you will care about things like support. But probably not for your lets have fun hackety hack project at home.
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
    - gakada 10y ago
      Think you're reading too much into it. Most software license agreements have silly rules and restrictions that nobody takes any notice of - at home. Businesses have to be more careful.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- FreakyT 10y ago
  It's not "stealing" if you paid for a license. By your logic, jailbreaking an iPhone would constitute theft.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - manarth 10y ago
    It's more akin to installing iOS on a Nexus phone.
    - FreakyT 10y ago
      Which, in turn, would be a pretty impressive achievement, and certainly worthy of an HN story.
- n_yuichi 10y ago
  Agreed. I am surprised at how many people on HN show negative attitude toward compliancy with the EULA. I thought HNers had a respect for software license.
  - FreakyT 10y ago
    I would hope that most people on HN are knowledgeable enough to agree with the EFF's take on EULAs -- they are of questionable legality, and "dangerous for consumers and innovators alike"[1]. [1]: https://www.eff.org/wp/dangerous-terms-users-guide-eulas https://www.eff.org/wp/dangerous-terms-users-guide-eulas
  - prodigal_erik 10y ago
    When a tool dictates how and where its human owner is allowed to use it, that's too dystopian for me to support.

So...? Don't do this at work. Who actually takes software licenses seriously in their own home?

karlmdavis 10y ago

I do. I mean... seems pretty hypocritical for a coder who's made most of their income from software NOT to.

Symbiote 10y ago
I'm sure there are plenty of us who've only written open source and/or bespoke software.

cm3 10y ago

I write software for free and as a living, so I surely take it seriously. How can a software developer justify stealing software, unless they're trapped in a poor or technologically restricted situation (Cuba)? EDIT: There's some confusion as to what I replied to: My reply is to this Who actually takes software licenses seriously in their own home? If this doesn't imply one's okay with stealing, then I take my comment back.

josteink 10y ago
> How can a software developer justify stealing software Oh come on. Running a legally obtained OSX installation on hardware you own is hardly stealing. I don't see why OSX "fanboys" constantly bring up this tiresome meme about OSX being this near "holy" OS which cannot run on anything but this similarly holy Apple hardware. It's a generic consumer OS designed to work on what is mostly run of the mill X86 hardware. Get with the times.
- cm3 10y ago
  My reply is to this Who actually takes software licenses seriously in their own home? If this doesn't imply one's okay with stealing, then I take my comment back. Because you seem to assume I use a mac, I must confess to not owning one and therefore not using macos.
  - josteink 10y ago
    I read it as "who cares about obscure constraints which if violated will severely limit my ability to get support should I need it", not as a blanket licence to pirate software. Obviously in a professional context, you will care about things like support. But probably not for your lets have fun hackety hack project at home.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  - gakada 10y ago
    Think you're reading too much into it. Most software license agreements have silly rules and restrictions that nobody takes any notice of - at home. Businesses have to be more careful.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
FreakyT 10y ago
It's not "stealing" if you paid for a license. By your logic, jailbreaking an iPhone would constitute theft.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- manarth 10y ago
  It's more akin to installing iOS on a Nexus phone.
  - FreakyT 10y ago
    Which, in turn, would be a pretty impressive achievement, and certainly worthy of an HN story.
n_yuichi 10y ago
Agreed. I am surprised at how many people on HN show negative attitude toward compliancy with the EULA. I thought HNers had a respect for software license.
- FreakyT 10y ago
  I would hope that most people on HN are knowledgeable enough to agree with the EFF's take on EULAs -- they are of questionable legality, and "dangerous for consumers and innovators alike"[1]. [1]: https://www.eff.org/wp/dangerous-terms-users-guide-eulas https://www.eff.org/wp/dangerous-terms-users-guide-eulas
- prodigal_erik 10y ago
  When a tool dictates how and where its human owner is allowed to use it, that's too dystopian for me to support.