Should we really crack IBrowse 2.4???

[Matt_H]

Don't even think about it. Despite the embarrassingly slow pace of development, it's still an active product. Cracking it would not only be illegal (as obtaining the full version of Miami technically still is), but extremely unethical.

The website says "Temporarily unavailable for purchase". They lost their distributor when IOSpirit withdrew from the market, and as much as the developers may deserve some blame for not taking more interest in finding a new one -  for a commercial product that people want to buy, no less - cracking the product is not warranted. A keyfile leaked today will have profound (negative) repercussions on the future of the program. A market this hostile to developers shouldn't expect to hold onto them. Frankly, it's a miracle we have any left. Remember that, legally, there's no such thing as abandonware.

Be polite when contacting the developers. A message threatening to pirate the program is not a good way to draw attention to the problem that it's unavailable. Try asking for a development update on the mailing list. Oliver Roberts, author of the Warp#? datatypes and a member of the IBrowse team, seems to be more forthcoming with information, so try to connect with him.

What are your other options?
-Put up with the demo limitations.
-Use AWeb
-Buy OS4 and use the less-restricted OEM version.

[Matt_H]

@ futaura

Thanks for the info update - always appreciated.

[Matt_H]

@ Nearly-Right

I think you're right on about the lack of news being problematic.

It's a weird dynamic we have in the Amiga market. We have a long history of vaporware announcments, culminating, I think, with Amiga, Inc.'s Executetive Updates in the 2000-2001 period. Eventually even they said that they wouldn't announce anything until it was ready to ship. They've been essentially silent ever since (apart from additional vapor announcements), and I think that others, consciously or not, don't want to be perceived as another Amiga, Inc. (or similar non-delivering entity).

The pendulum's gone too far in the opposite direction, though. We've gone from vapor to nothing and I think that's hurting the "market" just as badly. With no news, it looks like there's no activity and users are ready to throw in the towel, whether that be leaving the platform (as seems to have happened with a lot of Pegasos/MOS users), or declaring a product dead and asking for keyfiles. If I may suggest, no perceptible news leads to no perceptible user interest leads to no developer interest, maybe?

But there is interest, as the occasional, yet lively, IBrowse (and MorphOS2, etc.) threads show.

I think everyone is (or should be) aware that Amiga development isn't sustainable as a primary business and that coding is done on one's own time and therefore takes longer. No problem. I was too harsh with my comments on IBrowse development being slow. Amiga users are patient. They wait. But if it looks like there's nothing to be waiting for, then that's the problem.

Not asking for release dates. Maybe just a semi-annual check-in. What's been worked on, what's still to be done, a screengrab or two (WinUAE is great with these sorts of updates). That's all. And I'm not just talking about IBrowse. Visible activity on any product would help sustain the market (maybe even expand it if some hardware turns up), benefiting users and developers alike.

EDIT: Bottom line: Take pride in your products and let people know they exist! :-)

[Matt_H]

@ AmiKit & thread

I'm going to quote Dave Fisher's AW post directly.

7. Work continues on IBrowse mainly with Oliver atm. If his motivation drops off due to all this crap, chances are thats the end of IBrowse simply as Stefan hardly works on it anymore anyway.

8. If Stefan doesn't reply to e-mails, or read the forums, or care if IB is currently available for sale or not, shouting at Oliver and I, and/or threatening to crack the software is hardly going to help matters.

Emphasis added.

User frustration is inevitable and understandable, but support, not threats, is better in the long run. I already suggested a way for developers to keep users interested and engaged, so it'd be nice if users might return the courtesy by not trying to hasten the demise of a program so they can get it for free. :roll:

[Matt_H]

@ stefcep2

Granted, the situation with IBrowse is bad, very bad, but not catastrophic. There's a demo available and there are other browsers to use in the meantime.