#STREET ATLAS 'Tricks'
4 messages in this thread
If all they are trying to do is make a subset of a very expensive program
available at a more reasonable price they sure did it on the cheap.
Secondly, I seriously doubt that any software license that prevents users
from using DEBUG to change a single byte would stand up in court,
especially since you don't even see the license until after you've shelled
out for the program. But more importantly, the point isn't whether or not
it's kosher to hack the program but whether it's kosher for you to
intimidate people into not posting messages which you find unsuitable.
That's censorship and I find it pretty repugnant. I find it hard to
believe you have Compuserve's backing on this.
RZ,
Thanks for your comments. I'm certainly not trying to censor any messages
nor have I asked CompuServe if they agree. Ignoring all of the banter
about first amendment, censorship etc., what would your opinion be on the
matter if your were a/the software developer? How about if you were the
sysop? How about if you were a user of DeLorme's more expensive product?
My intent (and my job) is not to censor (I worked for CompuServe for 3 1/2
years and know the power of the medium and I _HATE_ that other online
service that makes censorship a practice) but rather to try to keep the
message postings in line with 1) the wishes of the forum "patrons" 2) the
word and the spirit of CompuServe's Service agreement that we all agreed to
when we signed up our accounts and 3) the interests of computer related
manufacturers for without them, we wouldn't have much to talk about here.
– Lupes
I am a software developer and I tried the hack to Street Atlas. My main
response from a professional point of view is as follows. DeLorme had this
great product call XMap or whatever it was and they could charge an arm and
a leg for it and it is no doubt worth it. They decided they also wanted a
piece of the low end of the market. Fair enough. So what they did in
their code was to test one byte and if it was set equal to a certain value
the program presented the cheap interface and if it was set to another
value it presented the expensive interface with vastly improved
functionality. The trouble is that the overhead remains the same with both
versions. So the user is paying for the cheap way DeLorme chose to
implement their version change system. No self respecting software
developer would leave all that code in their program, not because a hack
could so easily exploit it but because it is so easy to remove the unused
code and have a leaner, faster system.
As sysop I would honestly try to keep as low a profile on a forum as
possible. Anyone who was on this forum before you got here would have to
agree the forum is a better place for your presence and I am not
criticizing you by any means. I'm just a lot more sensitive to alleged
censorship than I am to alleged hacking or even pirating. I've seen too
many forums ruined by overmanagement. It happens on Prodigy and on Bix as
well as here.
As far as if I were a user of XMap, I don't see what that has to do with
anything going on here. They got what they paid for.
PS Street Atlas is the best CD around with or without the kluge. I don't
see what DeLorme loses financially by the kluge getting around. They may
look pretty stupid but is there any overlap in potential customers for the
two products?
Having also done the hack and tried Xmap I agree with your points however
one thing has to remain perfectly clear the software license clearly states
that you may not hack the code. Period. So what does that mean? That means
that you CAN tell anyone "Here is what you do to hack the code etc etc "
that is perfectly legal and protected by your 1st amendment rights as long
as it doesnt comprimise someone/things safety. Like you couldnt tell
someone how to break into the Government Computers and launch bombs. So we
are clear on that right? Once again the publishing of that information is
perfectly legal. Now that you have the information and you apply the hack
to the software now what have you done? You have breached the
contract/license between you and the software company. Clear and simple no
denying it, you did it and thats that. So what does that mean? It means
that the software company may terminate your license and repossess the
software by whatever means necessary. Period. You aren't breaking any laws,
you have breached a contract. A contract that is enforcable. The only
question is can the software company sue you for Anticipatory losrevenue?
The answer is yes. Although you published that information under your 1st
amendment rights you also must be willing to take the conseqences for those
actions. It works like this: You can say :"I will kill the President
Friday" and thats perfectly legal but be prepared to have a visit from a
lot of guys in raincoats and earphones everytime you and the President are
within 100 miles of each other. Those are the consequences of your actions.
So everyone stop with the freedom of speech crap cause its getting old and
tired. Say/type what you will but be prepared for whatever happens and
don't yell "freedom of speech" cause ya gotta live by all the laws not just
the ones that suit you.
BOTTOM LINE, lets drop it and move on.