19 replies to this topic

[pscEx]

Sorry, I found no 'better' subforum and therefore I start here. Maybe some administration moves to a better suited forum.

JanuzChmiel asked an intersting question here:

Dear Peter,
Oh, this is excellent. I will finally send Windows 7 problematic memory management issues when Winbuilder.exe is calling wiminfo.exe to some farr places which are far away from me.

By The way, do You think, that There is very dangerous times, that poverful Microsoft will cancel this forum and that all live projects based on Winbuilder.exe will become illegal for all users throught of The world?

I Am very sad because of this, if it will happen, because Winbuilder live projects have brought very big freedom for me like a visually impaired system administrator.
MR Amalux have modified some other project based on Windows PE, but there are not so excellent user interface like while using winbuilder.exe.
I think, that Yours project would stay also because of licensing, because there are not so many integrated applications inside it.
I would be sad, if poverful Microsoft would send all developers on this forum to prison and all users of this project.
I hope, that it will not happen.
What users and developers can do to not cause licensing issues?
Is it real?

Some facts:

In the last weeks M$ locked ChrisR's win7pe_se project and Amalux's modified LiveXP project in the clouds.
I'm not familar with these projects, and therefore I have no opinion, whether perhaps anywhere is something 'forbidden'.

But some days ago also tsetya's "Build Windows 7 PE without WAIK" has been locked.

I looked through the published data, and found really NO M$ file here. The very fiew included files are reboot.pro internal, e.g. PENetwork.

Why did they lock?
A possible answer can be:
The publication contains several *.reg files.
And here the conjecture comes up:
The *.reg files contain a snapshoot of something in a "personally licensed OS" (e.g. for VistaPE it could be NightMan's content).
Distributing such *.reg files may violate law.

BTW: I'm currently working on building the *.reg for private use in my private PE on my local host using only my licensed ressources. WBS2reg is the first step.

When I have success with it, every user can build his own PE from his own licensed CD and his own licensed OS.

The final published project will contain NOTHING indistributable, also no *.regs catched from the host.

Peter

[Tripredacus]

As far as I know, it is not illegal to distribute .reg files. But I can see maybe it would go against the whole "don't work around intential limitations" thing (or whatever the exact wording is) in the EULA.

But you say "locked in the cloud" you mean the downloads no matter work? That one example you made, that file is not hosted on a microsoft website.

[pscEx]

I see winpe_se downloadble again, on the same URL which was locked before: http://www.mediafire...cahtp5sa2dgazdm
Amalux's LivePE is still unavailable: https://rapidshare.c...7/LX.061412.exe
tsetya's batch is still locked: http://www.mediafire...lt8pf8ph56hdqnq

Peter

[ChrisR]

An Idiot reported to Microsoft my project as illegal with the result that my files were suspended (temporarly) on Mediafire.

In front of this stupidity and childish behavior, I made several mail exchange with Microsoft LCA World Wide Anti-Piracy Team and Mediafire.
After investigation and research, M$ did not find anything to say about unlicensed copies or unauthorized activities in my project.
Therefore, my project considered as legal, was restored by Mediafire, it is available for download as before.

During this period, the project remained on the official server http://w7pese.cwcodes.net/ "Cooking With codes" that will not be affected by childish behaviors.

Reminder: WAIK files are downloaded once at the first build with http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=287.0, and Windows 7 files are used from the source directory.

More details can be found at :http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=327.0

Win7PE_SE is used by many users for years, this is one of the most popular PE3 projects so far, a great success well known.
It was also copied numerous times with (sadly) other names too. This is not very honest to change the project name and to pretend to be the author (even with an old base).
It would be better to name them Win7PE_SE xxxxxxxx following scripts and applications added or author name and give credit to the base project.

I could not be responsible from any unofficial distributions, copies around internet or illegal ISO compilations shared.
Aside, Reboot.pro distributes unofficial old copy of Win7PE SE. It's still quite annoying, it will be fixed, deleted soon, I hope.

[pscEx]

After investigation and research, M$ did not find anything to say about unlicensed copies or unauthorized activities in my project.
Therefore, my project considered as legal, was restored by Mediafire, it is available for download as before.

Thanks, ChrisR!

That makes my concerns obsolete, that perhaps something in distributing *.reg files may be illegal!

Peter

[MedEvil]

Sure distributing reg files is illegal, just as distributing documents, you created with word or pictures, you created with paint.
What kind of logic lead you to that idea?

[Brito]

Sure distributing reg files is illegal, just as distributing documents, you created with word or pictures, you created with paint.
What kind of logic lead you to that idea?
...

The logic is that if you use paint to create a picture that happens to be a Microsoft Logo then you're in trouble and have no defense.

A reg file per se is harmless, a reg file creating a full registry hive can be constituted as Microsoft Intellectual Property.


If no dialogue is possible with MediaFire, just use another hosting provider. Heck, we even provide proper hosting at reboot.pro to help other developers.

So, plenty of other options available on hosting that will last years, instead of swiftly disappear at the whim of Microsoft whistles. Of course that on our case we don't provide a single cent for each download as those guys do, so, less blood and will to hunt us down.

Take care,
Nuno Brito

[pscEx]

Sure distributing reg files is illegal, just as distributing documents, you created with word or pictures, you created with paint.
What kind of logic lead you to that idea?

The *.reg files contain a snapshoot of something in a "personally licensed OS" (e.g. for VistaPE it could be NightMan's content).
Distributing such *.reg files may violate law.

Peter

[steve6375]

More to the point - why is it fair to allow someone to report some content/file as
'infringing on the file creator's copyright protection' but not actually saying what EXACTLY it infringes or which part of it (if it is a compressed file) is the offending part?

This is a case of 'guilty until proven innocent'. If someone objects to some content, they should at least state EXACTLY which part is in question so as to allow a reply from the author/originator.

I bet if Apple complained about some M$ content infringing copyright, M$ would not immediately take the content off and then try to justify the content afterwards! So why is it one rule for 'small fry' like us and a different rule for giants?

Also, from reading the 'The Oven' mail sequence you posted, it seem to me that M$ merely reported some content that was reported to M$, without checking the actual file content first! So if I were you I would ask for an apology and damages (i.e. $) from MediaFire and M$ (personal inconvenience and your time needed to correspond, etc.) - they probably will refuse and state their T&Cs at you, but at least it might make them think a bit more before they react to the next download reported as 'infringing copyright' without the complainant stating any details?

Lastly, I don't see that M$ have said that your content is not infringing copyright and is legal, merely that they haven't said that it is infringing copyright... there is big a difference...

[MedEvil]

The logic is that if you use paint to create a picture that happens to be a Microsoft Logo then you're in trouble and have no defense.

Sure i have, like i used it for artistic purposes or as satire. There are lots of ways to use a company logo, that are covered by free speech.

@Peter
That's just silly! Copyright protected configuration files?
How should a file without static content even be protected by law?

Last but not least, has anyone even bothered to check, if the request to take the files offline even came from M$ or were the Hosts acting on their own?

[Wonko the Sane]

Lastly, I don't see that M$ have said that your content is not infringing copyright and is legal, merely that they haven't said that it is infringing copyright... there is big a difference...

More accurately they failed to say anything within a given deadline, which is even a bigger difference.... .


Wonko

[MedEvil]

This is a case of 'guilty until proven innocent'. If someone objects to some content, they should at least state EXACTLY which part is in question so as to allow a reply from the author/originator.

What do you expect? Witchhunt is witchhunt!
No matter if they hunt witches, jews, japs, comunists, islamist, "pirates", ...

So why is it one rule for 'small fry' like us and a different rule for giants?

There are no two rules. Just some misconception of the rule on the part of the 'small fry'.
The rule isn't there to be obeyed, it's there to be used like a sword, to vanquish your enemies.

[Wonko the Sane]

.... like a sword, to vanquish your enemies.

The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses and clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.

Wonko

[MedEvil]

Watch out! Temujin, the clever hound he was, probably copyright protected all his speeches!

[Wonko the Sane]

Watch out! Temujin, the clever hound he was, probably copyright protected all his speeches!

Naah, he didn't , but IF he would have done that, he also would have known very well how to stop the infringements, in a way MUCH more effective than a "cease and desist" notification or DGMCA....

Just think aboout how - unlike many kings and emperors before and after him - he managed to have the "privacy" of his tomb respected....
http://en.wikipedia....of_Genghis_Khan



Wonko

[Brito]

he managed to have the "privacy" of his tomb respected....

In the process, he didn't managed to respect much the privacy of others, 0,5% of human population shares his genes.. http://en.wikipedia....his_Khan_Effect

[MedEvil]

but IF he would have done that, he also would have known very well how to stop the infringements, in a way MUCH more effective than a "cease and desist" notification or DGMCA....

Hence: "Watch out!"

[MedEvil]

In the process, he didn't managed to respect much the privacy of others, 0,5% of human population shares his genes..

That's the way the world should work. Those, who are more successful in life, should have more offspring, than the less successful.
Evolution of the human race has basicly stoped, with the introduction of monogamy.
And we already talked about the Idiocrazy theory of evolution.

[Wonko the Sane]

In the process, he didn't managed to respect much the privacy of others, 0,5% of human population shares his genes.. http://en.wikipedia....his_Khan_Effect

Hadn't you noticed, the "clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters" is/was a figure of speech, I suspect he did something more than merely "clasping"


Wonko

[MedEvil]

Don't bad mouth Temujin! He never did anything but clasping!