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It's a good idea and apparently a slick package, but useless due to the restrictive license and binary-only distribution. I certainly won't build and distribut

It's a good idea and apparently a slick package, but useless due to the restrictive license and binary-only distribution. I certainly won't build and distribute mobile apps with whatever obscure (and non-removable according to ToS) "security features" Intel has decided to bundle with the runtime e.g. to comply with arbitrary requests by various rogue government agencies. If they want us to build HTML5 apps for their own sake (Intel's, they want to fight back against native ARM binaries), they'll have to try harder. Make it Open Source and ask a lawyer who hasn't been stuck in corporate litigation and patenting stuff for several decades to write a modern license (or use the LGPL/BSD/MIT license...).

general_failure 13y ago
Completely agree with the open sourcing part. It looks like they want to create HTML5 app for their own sake.
cabbeer 13y ago
Can you please explain what the restrictive licences and "binary-only distribution" are in layman's terms. I'm a front end developer this looks like a good introduction to developing and distributing mobile apps. How will the ToS hinder me from doing so?
- lazyjones 13y ago
  For a complete analysis you'll have to ask a lawyer. But for me, the fact that you "may not reverse-assemble, reverse-compile, or otherwise reverse-engineer any portion of the Intel Materials provided solely in binary form" (http://appcenter.html5tools-software.intel.com/TOS/ http://appcenter.html5tools-software.intel.com/TOS/, see II.2.C) is enough of a red flag already. I'm not going to use or distribute something to my users for which I signed away my rights to examine and see what it actually does. Furthermore, they want the right to disable access to some content somehow if they think it is illegal (i.e. they have rights to arbitrary censorship of content and apparently also some mechanism built into the runtime to enforce it). Am I going to distribute or even sell stuff to users that Intel can disable any time they like? Certainly not. If they wanted a license that puts off developers who have plenty of choices nowdays, they succeeded.
xmnboy 13y ago
The license you are referring to (http://appcenter.html5tools-software.intel.com/TOS/ http://appcenter.html5tools-software.intel.com/TOS/) applies to the XDK itself, not to the apps you create with the XDK. Intel is not restricting how you choose to redistribute the apps you produce with the Intel XDK, they belong to you and you can redistribute them however you wish (in source form or binary form).

general_failure 13y ago

Completely agree with the open sourcing part. It looks like they want to create HTML5 app for their own sake.

cabbeer 13y ago

Can you please explain what the restrictive licences and "binary-only distribution" are in layman's terms. I'm a front end developer this looks like a good introduction to developing and distributing mobile apps. How will the ToS hinder me from doing so?

lazyjones 13y ago
For a complete analysis you'll have to ask a lawyer. But for me, the fact that you "may not reverse-assemble, reverse-compile, or otherwise reverse-engineer any portion of the Intel Materials provided solely in binary form" (http://appcenter.html5tools-software.intel.com/TOS/ http://appcenter.html5tools-software.intel.com/TOS/, see II.2.C) is enough of a red flag already. I'm not going to use or distribute something to my users for which I signed away my rights to examine and see what it actually does. Furthermore, they want the right to disable access to some content somehow if they think it is illegal (i.e. they have rights to arbitrary censorship of content and apparently also some mechanism built into the runtime to enforce it). Am I going to distribute or even sell stuff to users that Intel can disable any time they like? Certainly not. If they wanted a license that puts off developers who have plenty of choices nowdays, they succeeded.

xmnboy 13y ago

The license you are referring to (http://appcenter.html5tools-software.intel.com/TOS/ http://appcenter.html5tools-software.intel.com/TOS/) applies to the XDK itself, not to the apps you create with the XDK. Intel is not restricting how you choose to redistribute the apps you produce with the Intel XDK, they belong to you and you can redistribute them however you wish (in source form or binary form).