> Don't get too hot under the collar, Kerry. You do have good logic, but
> this whole issue was a little new to me, since MACR used to have stubs
> available on their site, and MACR people used to post that it was OK on
> Direct-L. MACR's policy has changed, it makes sense, but don't take it too
> personally when people wonder about other methods.
>
> Sure, you can make someone else a "product" that's just a stub...assuming
> you comply with the MACR licensing agreement and include a 4 second MACR
> logo in your stub.
No, I don't think that's accurate. I distinctly remember this as an item in
the license agreement.
> Most of us who've done any development realize you NEED the other platform
> copy to debug and work on that platform...I suspect that many people
> looking for a mac-stub probably don't even have a Mac computer.
Perhaps, but that's not a good legal argument. Few courts accept "ignorance"
defenses.
> And finally, I've just changed jobs, and for the first time in my 5+ years
> of MACR programming, I have legitimate copies of all the software on my
> machine and none of them are being "stretched" between multiple
> machines. Director, the OS, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, etc.
http://www.bsa.org/ - if you work for a company that is reluctant to comply,
then you really are morally obligated to try to change their thinking. If an
individual or organization is making money from the use of software
products, then they absolutely should be paying for the tools. By explaining
to the management that one disgruntled employee notifying the BSA will
probably exterminate the business (the fines are, shall we say, steep), you
might make a point.
> The last job I had, in the US, the salesguy said "get the sound from
> Eye4U.com".
> I said "I tried, but they haven't responded to my email."
> "No, I think <salesguy> and <ceo> just want you to capture it." said
> <projectManager>.
> "Uh...you can't do that!" quoth I.
> "Sure you can....just hold the microphone up to the speaker," said <ceo>.
> "You can't do that" I said.
> "Oh yeah, the soundcard won't play and record. Here, let me help push this
> computer closer so you can capture from a second computer." <ceo>
>
> I ended up holding out and the client ended up buying music for the project
> (or reusing music they already had the rights to (but who knows if they had
> unlimited rights?)). Eventually I convinced this company to buy A copy of
> SOME of the software everyone was using, and now, almost all the employees
> are working under valid work-visas.
Then you are doing your part. I think it's healthier to put a little
pressure on, internally, than to "bust" a company. If we all work towards
compliance, it will be far more effective than what the BSA could cover on
their own.
> I'm certainly not saying it's right, just realize what some people running
> shoddy companies that are uncomfortable to work for are doing. Coming
> across with a little more legal, educational rant would probably help more
> than just the moral or group-altruism rant. "It's the only legal way,
> now." not "You're a bad person and you're endangering our
> livelihood." Trust me, <ceo> fired the accountant out of the blue and
> caused the secretary to quit by asking her to not share the financial
> numbers with the guy who bought the company...he really doesn't care a lot
> about whether MACR's existence is solid to make your paycheck stable.
Don't really know what your point is. Are you saying that it's acceptable to
ensure your paycheck by working on illegal copies of your tools? In the end,
Kerry's absolutely right. You can justify it all you want, but using illegal
copies of software is wrong. You know it's wrong. Whether or not that makes
you a "bad" person, I don't know - you decide for yourself. But the issue is
not gray, it's pretty black and white - accept the license agreement, or
don't use the software. If the company is "uncomfortable" to work for, then
you have to ask yourself whether it's worth getting tainted by their filth.
An aside, for Buzz and the other good folks who bring us Director. When I
went looking for my software license agreement in order to verify that my
memory of "no stubs" was accurate, I couldn't find it. There's nothing in my
Dir app folder, and several searches of the MACR site turned up nada.
I didn't feel like reinstalling Dir just to print the license agreement
(especially since I'm a longtime Dir user, and just LOVE having to enter two
serial numbers both in the installer and then when I launch the app for the
first time... what's up with that?). I think it would be nice of MACR to
make the license agreement available online, or, if it is available, make it
accessible.
Sorry if this is percieved as a rant,
Kurt
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