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Nobody would fault FTDI for releasing new drivers that don't work with counterfeit parts. That alone would cause enough inconvenience to manufacturers to make
by swamp40 12y ago
Nobody would fault FTDI for releasing new drivers that don't work with counterfeit parts.
That alone would cause enough inconvenience to manufacturers to make sure they use legitimate parts.
It's the (unethical) bricking of the parts that has everybody up in arms.
- tptacek 12y agoTangentially: people totally would fault FTDI for releasing drivers that don't work with counterfeit parts. See: Apple detecting and rejecting counterfeit iPhone cables.
- wolfgke 12y agoThe correct way is to detect counterfeit parts, display a huge warning and let the customer continue on their own risk. A similar process is used by the Linux kernel developers for non-opensource kernel modules: If you load them, the kernel becomes "tainted" and you won't get any support from the kernel developers if something goes wrong.
- cnvogel 12y agoYes, this would be smart. Probably just putting a message with priority "Error" in the windows event log would be enough to warn computer-literate users.
- Dylan16807 12y agoYes, people would fault them for removing functionality. The problem in that case is not the actual new drivers, but the process of uninstalling the old working drivers.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- tmp26 12y ago"bricking" doesn't seem to be the right word. FTDI is making it so that the counterfeit chips don't work with any FTDI drivers, old or new. (Per the thread, all that happens is the PID is changed to a PID that no FTDI driver will recognize)
- swamp40 12y agoHey, an FTDI employee! I'm surprised you found time away from scrubbing your Facebook page clean of all the disparaging comments. My advice: Skip breakfast tomorrow morning - you're going to be eating quite a bit of crow for lunch.
- tmp26 12y agoRight, I forgot, anyone who isn't part of the lynch mob is a shill. I rarely eat breakfast in the first place, sadly.
- click170 12y agoThere is no apology sufficient for maliciously and intentionally damaging the private property of your customers. Refusing to work with counterfeit hardware is entirely appropriate, destroying it in a way that most consumers cannot recover from is in no way acceptable or defensible. You may as well have come into my home and destroyed my cookware because I bought a stove from you and the pots I had weren't your brand. It's uncalled for, inappropriate, unethical, and immoral and I'm not certain that it's not illegal. Your employer has no leg to stand on.
- Dylan16807 12y agoOr any other drivers, because it breaks it at the USB level, doesn't it?
- tmp26 12y agoI don't think so. There was at least one guy in the thread who reprogrammed the PID back, and the chip worked with the old FTDI drivers again, which means the USB interface was working just fine (or else how could he access it to change it back).