A tale of one upgrade - This will blow your socks off!
-
Note my response in said thread:) ------------------------------------- Do not do what has already been done. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.. but it ROCKS absolutely, too.
:doh:
We say "get a life" to each other, disappointed or jokingly. What we forget, though, is that this is possibly the most destructive advice you can give to a geek.
boost your code || Fold With Us! || sighist -
Thats interesting. I bought a single Developer license, 100% sure of it, even if their e-mail at the bottom indicates User license. My (original) interpretation is that a single Developer license allows one user (me the developer) to use it on one CPU. and royalty free distribute it up to 10000 users. Reading it more carefully it is easy to miss the words User "License". At the time I bought the software they did not have a "User License". It is on the website now but it is flagged as a "NEW" product. Also there were no terms supplied with the product download so it is impossible to say what the actual license was when it was purchased. I do know however that the website order page changed from the date of my original order. Essentially what it means (based on current terms) is that I am licensed but my client may not be. Thanks for the insight. D. -- modified at 14:07 Friday 2nd December, 2005
Have a closer look at their current order page. Single USER licenses are only available for ActiveX controls. All windows forms controls have at least one developer license (including 10000 user licenses).
-
OMG. They are threatening legal action on me. lol This is a tale about one little request for component updates that has found the company threatening legal action on me. It is hilarious in the extreme. I have attached the thread of the e-mails for you purusal. Names have been edited to protect the guilty. I dont need a frivalous libel suit. Some context: I am one of the little guys. Single Developer, own small business, a few clients. I need a barcoding component and shop around until I locate a barcode component supplier (lets call them SleaseSoft) which have a component that I can distribute Barcode components to multiple end-users without needing an additional license for each end-user. I buy it about a year ago at a promotional price and I make a simple request to get current binaries as they cant be downloaded from the site.
Queue wavy musicAnd this is where the tale begins... PLEASE READ FROM THE BOTTOM UP from this point or you will lose the context of the story. Come back here when done.... So... Amazing eh. So basically in their words I violate the terms of their agreement by developing applications with their component? What am I supposed to use it for? a paperweight? Am I out of line? If I am a single user using the software do you think I have violated the terms of their agreement. I dont think so but I'd like your opinions. Cheers, David --------------------------------------------- PLEASE READ FROM THE BOTTOM UP from this point or you will lose the context of the story. --------------------------------------------- First: These terms are not included in the software supplied, nor do I believe that they were spelled out on the web site at the time I purchased the software. (The web site changed and I have proof that it did). Second: Your (current) terms specify: "The Single User License allows one user uses the SOFTWARE on ONE CPU Single Developer License allows one Developer royalty-free distribution of the Software internally (in the same organization) and externally (outside the organization) up to a limit of 10,000 user licenses The 3 Developer License grants the rights of the Developer License for up to 3 developers and 15,000 user licenses. The 5 Developer License grants the rights of the Developer License for up to 5 developers and 20,000 user licenses. Single Server License is for using our component(s) on one server with 1 CPU in your organization." In my view I have complied with all the specified terms. I AM THE user (I h -
Have a closer look at their current order page. Single USER licenses are only available for ActiveX controls. All windows forms controls have at least one developer license (including 10000 user licenses).
Certainly have. This is also not the original order page that I placed my order on. I could be mistaken but I dont think this was the same terms that I ordered the software under, and since the software package never had a license we may never know. Only recently have I become aware of the User version of the software. If you look at the product desription on the bottom of their first e-mail to me the product name is not even the same as the ActiveX. In fact it is exactly the same name as the developer controls. Where the "Single User License" came in I can only attribute to error on their part. It should probably have read "Single Developer License". Also when I see ActiveX in the software name I assume that means VB6 com based components. There is no .Net "User" control that I can find in their product set. I was 100% certain when I bought it that it was a promotionally priced functional control for development and the software that they actually sent me was a full version of the software. In either case if I had inadvertantly purchased the wrong version of the software I would certainly comply with their licensing terms. I am very moralistic when it comes to licencing of software. I have fully licensed versions of Winzip and other shareware applications that many people use routinely used in demo mode forever. Since it would appear that the user licenses are possibly in violation I will correct this with due haste. That is part of the reason I posted here in the first place. I wanted input from peers as to whether I am out of line with respect to how I handled the matter. I felt that the company was quite heavyhanded in their dealings with me. I may have sounded a little surprised or frustrated in my e-mails that they wanted to charge me for updates to software versions I felt I had purchased licenses for. But certainly not to the extent that they should whip out the "we will consult our lawyers" schtick, and imply that I am a criminal. This could have been handled so much more tactfully by them. The comments from forum members have been good and provided some context to the issue. Cheers, D.
-
You've really gotta tell us the name of that company :-)
-
FWIW I use an excellent barcode product by a company called DLSoft[^]. They provide 1D and 2D libs which are very easy to integrate.
The Rob Blog
Google Talk: robert.caldecottYikes, The list of products is daunting. What would I need to order for Code39 barcoding in a smallish .Net application for about a dozen end users? Also the licensing terms are as confusing as the company I was dealing with... -------------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from their site (most applicable product that I found) -------------------------------------------------------- dBarcode.NET 2D Universal - .NET - V2.0 Add 2D barcodes to your .NET project. dBarcode.NET 2D Universal components are fully-managed code components for adding barcodes to your .NET projects. dBarcode.NET Components are designed to work with Visual Studio.NET and require the .NET run-time to be installed on any computer using the components. Example code is provided with each component for users of Visual Basic .NET, C# and J#. Single License - will only work on the PC on which the product is installed Developer License - licence permits run-time distribution up to 10,000 copies -------------------------------------------------------- From this porduct description it reads to me like you can freely distribute it to 10000 users but I doubt it. I am betting that each installation needs a seperate license. These terms look suspiciously the same as the outfit I was dealing with. How is yours licensed for your application if I may ask? Is there just one developer license period, or does each client install have a seperate license? Just curious... I know that there was a barcoding article on CodeProject. I am going to revisit it. Maybe I'll just roll my own. But thanks for the suggestion. Cheers, D.
-
A good guess would be http://www.easesoft.net/[^]. ;) Of course, this is just a guess. Joseph Dempsey joseph_r_dempsey@yahoo.com
-
Yikes, The list of products is daunting. What would I need to order for Code39 barcoding in a smallish .Net application for about a dozen end users? Also the licensing terms are as confusing as the company I was dealing with... -------------------------------------------------------- Excerpt from their site (most applicable product that I found) -------------------------------------------------------- dBarcode.NET 2D Universal - .NET - V2.0 Add 2D barcodes to your .NET project. dBarcode.NET 2D Universal components are fully-managed code components for adding barcodes to your .NET projects. dBarcode.NET Components are designed to work with Visual Studio.NET and require the .NET run-time to be installed on any computer using the components. Example code is provided with each component for users of Visual Basic .NET, C# and J#. Single License - will only work on the PC on which the product is installed Developer License - licence permits run-time distribution up to 10,000 copies -------------------------------------------------------- From this porduct description it reads to me like you can freely distribute it to 10000 users but I doubt it. I am betting that each installation needs a seperate license. These terms look suspiciously the same as the outfit I was dealing with. How is yours licensed for your application if I may ask? Is there just one developer license period, or does each client install have a seperate license? Just curious... I know that there was a barcoding article on CodeProject. I am going to revisit it. Maybe I'll just roll my own. But thanks for the suggestion. Cheers, D.
>From this porduct description it reads to me like you can freely distribute it to 10000 users... Correct. I have one developer license and a runtime distribution license - I use one of their products in a server application and having to license each copy would be a nightmare. I actually use the DLL versions: "Each dLSoft dBarcode DLL may licensed as a single computer product or as a developer version which permits Royalty-free distribution of the DLL as part of the developer's own project for up to 10,000 distributions."
The Rob Blog
Google Talk: robert.caldecott -
>From this porduct description it reads to me like you can freely distribute it to 10000 users... Correct. I have one developer license and a runtime distribution license - I use one of their products in a server application and having to license each copy would be a nightmare. I actually use the DLL versions: "Each dLSoft dBarcode DLL may licensed as a single computer product or as a developer version which permits Royalty-free distribution of the DLL as part of the developer's own project for up to 10,000 distributions."
The Rob Blog
Google Talk: robert.caldecottWhat is interesting though is that the component that I bought has nearly the exact same description. What I think the company (that I bought the control from) imply in their license (thanks to insight from CP members) is that the company allows you to distribute the barcode component up to 10,000 users. However each user (CPU) must have their own "user licence". Or in the case of a server side control you would need to buy a specific licence for a web server installation (that would be different than the developer license). I hope you are right but you may want to take a very close look at the licencing again because it sounds so similar to my situation. D.
-
What is interesting though is that the component that I bought has nearly the exact same description. What I think the company (that I bought the control from) imply in their license (thanks to insight from CP members) is that the company allows you to distribute the barcode component up to 10,000 users. However each user (CPU) must have their own "user licence". Or in the case of a server side control you would need to buy a specific licence for a web server installation (that would be different than the developer license). I hope you are right but you may want to take a very close look at the licencing again because it sounds so similar to my situation. D.
I have checked the terms of their license and as long as I do not exceed 10,000 copies, I do not need to license each CPU. Such a scheme would be almost unworkable anyway! "...grants to you right to distribute the licensed component(s) up to a maximum of 10,000 of each component, only as part of software which you have developed, and on condition that the distributed package is not substantially similar to the SOFTWARE PRODUCT. You agree that our support personnel will not be required to make any efforts to solve any problem issues with the components of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT which you have distributed."
The Rob Blog
Google Talk: robert.caldecott