Next MorphOS version: 3.0! (Not 2.8)

[Dementhor]

@commodorejohn
I too have been a little bit concerned about the licensing issue, but as my project requires building a really nice looking case for my G4 Mac mobo, it's taking dear time, so I'm not in particular hurry. So I've been wondering if it occurred to you (or anyone else) to actually ask the MorpOS people nicely before starting to bitch about it. I mean - they've apparently got the best loved OS (at least development-wise) in the Amiga scene, so I would assume they might be willing to address the issue if asked nicely. You always have the option to start bitching AFTER you ask nicely and nothing happens. I think that's how it's supposed to work among civilised people, right?

And speaking of Windows licensing scheme as an example - there are two kinds of licences you can buy: the OEM licence which gets tied to the HW when you first install it, and the 'box' version, which is freely transferable BUT more expensive, so perhaps something along those lines might be applied here?

[mongo]

Much better for whom exactly?

It is safe to say that a very large percentage of all future sales will be for portable computers. In the case of an Apple Powerbook, having to carry around a USB key is not only impractical, but it also means you lose 50% of the available USB ports just so you can run the operating system.

A USB key is small enough that you can leave it plugged in all the time, and if you're carrying around things to plug into the USB ports, you can carry around a USB hub too.

[itix]

Roadshow has been pirated?? Do you have a link to the news?

Pirated as in stolen from Olsen's desk, cracked and uploaded to Pirate Bay? No. But it has been leaked outside OS4 beta testers years ago. I doubt anyone is using it anymore, though, since almost everyone has left Amiga. But anyway, I find it is good example how things just happen. When MorphOS 1.5 was leaked you could find it even from, humm, #morphos channel :-)

[hbarcellos]

I might be repeating myself, or this might have been already answered in the middle of those extremely long threads around here, but:
1) I got a fine 1.67 PB. Not the latest one, but the first 1.67.
2) I paid a reasonable amount of money for it, including stupid Brazilian custom taxes
3) Its perfectly fine, up and running OSX leopard.
4) I'm willing to buy MOS 3.0 when it comes out
5) if my beloved PB fails (like any hardware, specially those extremely hot steve jobs notebooks), I'm unable to transfer MOS license to another HW?

[jj]

No if your hardware fails, the procedure is to contact the MorphOS devs who will inform you of the procedure to obtain a new kwy for your new hardware.
 
I repeat in the vent of hardware failure you can transfer the key to a new machine after contacting the MorphOS devs.

[pVC]

Anyway, if MOS was really so popular that people want to pirate it then it would have been cracked by now.

Although MorphOS probably has the best copy protection any Amiga product ever has had. And as there aren't any active crackers left even in classic Amiga....

But anyway, it would be silly to claim that there wouldn't be interest for pirating it. People pirated AOS3.5/9, Amithlon, MorphOS 1.5, some OS4 versions etc, why wouldn't they do that still. Many still use Amithlon etc and only fraction have actually bought it. Lots of people having Pegasos systems with MorphOS 1.4 still.. I bet we'd have many of them using 2.x if it would be possible anyway without costs. Only thing preventing it is that it isn't cracked.

I bet there would be something like 10x more users and 50% less registrations if it would be available freely (cracked or legally), but it's up to developers what they want. Illegal copying never ends if it's possible, no matter how small the community gets. People like to use systems because they like to use it.. it has nothing to do with honesty. Some percentage just want to do it legally and some don't or just can't (afford to).

BTW. how reliable those USB dongles would be... you can't make backups of them like you can with the keyfile. Suddenly your system is useless if it breaks down or you lose it. And if there wouldn't be any service from the team anymore etc..

[takemehomegrandma]

if my beloved PB fails, I'm unable to transfer MOS license to another HW?

No they allow a transfer from broken hardware to functioning one. If that happens you should get in contact with the MorphOS team directly.

[Duce]

What part of "lock registered OS instance to unique hardware identifiers" don't you people understand?  Hardware components have unique keys, as does the software.  One will not work without the other, therefore your "piracy" angle is a crock of horseplop.  You can find code on the net going back years on PPC HW how to do this.

It already does this in some form, ffs - it's 15+ year old tech, do your homework.  The issue is decommissioning an OS key from a previous HW "key" to a new one after the old HW component is no longer used or otherwise unfunctional.

I don't care how a particular company chooses to exercise copy protection, but the clownshow going on here and the avoidance that it really isn't 1993 still is hysterical.

Mongo, the USB/dongle model is workable, but not by todays standards.  Most modern PC components have internal serial type numbers that can be tapped into that there's no real need for dongles.  USB ports are too valuable to waste with tacked on bobs of hardware, esp on laptops.

So Takemehomegrandma, what you just told me.  I can reg this now for my Mini, I can come back to the devs with photos of said broken Mini once I find a better machine, politely stating that "this machine no longer works, I would like the keyfile transferred to another PPC Mac".  Right?  Broken original hardware, I can re-use the initial license, yeah?  OK, we're on the same page here.  See the lack of logic?

A scumbag user could also take a hammer to said $25 Mini to save himself a re-reg fee - hell, pull the mobo out and put in in an oven and wreck the traces, mail it to the devs for "proof".  I find it sort of depressing that I would be better off deliberately destroying or otherwise making good HW broken, when people would be happy to pay for transferring a license that is again LOCKED TO ONE HARDWARE INSTANCE and maybe say donating old Mini's to a school or something.  Initial license is invalid!  POOF!  GONE!  HW is no longer in the database, what you paid for is simply applied to a new entirely unique piece of hardware that it again IS LOCKED TO.

[Piru]

Initial license is invalid!  POOF!  GONE!  HW is no longer in the database, what you paid for is simply applied to a new entirely unique piece of hardware that it again IS LOCKED TO.

What you're suggesting would require active polling of a remote server, something which we certainly wouldn't want to do (not only we think it'd be quite invasive to require someone to connect to some server regularly, it'd also require constant network connectivity). Unless of course if you have a suggestion on how to perform bulletproof remote license revocation?

[Duce]

No if your hardware fails, the procedure is to contact the MorphOS devs who will inform you of the procedure to obtain a new kwy for your new hardware.
 
I repeat in the vent of hardware failure you can transfer the key to a new machine after contacting the MorphOS devs.

Who and what differentiates a HW failure from some jerk deliberately wrecking a piece of PPC Mac HW to take advantage of said offering?  I assume you I can kill any piece of hardware in a matter of seconds in an entirely deliberate fashion and no one would be none the wiser.  I could tell you how to pop any cap on a mobo with a single jumper wire and it could never be detected as being deliberately trashed.

[Piru]

Who and what differentiates a HW failure from some jerk deliberately wrecking a piece of PPC Mac HW to take advantage of said offering?

I'm puzzled, how would that taking advantage of the offering?

[commodorejohn]

BTW. how reliable those USB dongles would be... you can't make backups of them like you can with the keyfile. Suddenly your system is useless if it breaks down or you lose it. And if there wouldn't be any service from the team anymore etc..

While I'm none too keen on the notion of dongles, I would point out that it doesn't have to be an "always plugged in" model. It could simply be the end component of the registration process, plugging it in when un-registering from one machine to put it in "available" state, then into the new machine so that can be registered, at which point it flips to "in use" state. That would make it something you could just lock away in the box with your MOS CD and only pull it out when you're doing a migration; much preferable to the "always-in" model.

[takemehomegrandma]

Although MorphOS probably has the best copy protection any Amiga product ever has had.

There are pros and there are cons with all licensing philosophies. If you add up all pros I think that they outweight the cons in the MorphOS case. For instance, I think you should weight in the fact that this license method makes it possible to download a generic ISO containing the entire OS *for free* (they could have put it on "the Pirate Bay" themselves even, to save server bandwidth) that works on *all* supported machines, and you can use it for for 30 minutes without paying a dime. It's the full version! Try before you buy, on mainstream machines available from *everywhere* (i.e. *not* just from the MorphOS Team or its partners, as is the case with a competing solution), no need to use strange, custom, low quantity HW that can only be bought for over price! And you have been granted free upgrades all the way from 2.0 to 2.7, and now even 3.0, which is great! The other way is to do it "the OS4 way"; i.e. only provide the OS on a physical CD as a hardcoded bundle to expensive, low volume, custom made HW, where the HW is function as a big, fat dongle, no chance to try it before you buy it, etc. OS4 team prefer it that way, the MorphOS team prefers it their way. It's up to the customer to decide what *they* prefer. But I must say that from these licensing discussions that pops up on a semi-regular basis, I get the feeling that some people simply don't want to pay *at all*...

[koaftder]

If they went the dongle approach, you'd have to wait however long it is to get it shipped from europe and it would increase the cost of the license.

I don't have a problem with the way licensing is implemented for MorphOS. The license I bought for my emac was by far the best bang for the buck I ever got on an amiga investment. If you could just transfer the licenses around then the MorphOS crew would have to require payment for upgrades if they ever wanted any new funds. As it is right now the license is stuck for the machine but it looks like upgrades are always free. That's a pretty good balance imho. I'd have a hard time complaining that I couldn't transfer my license from my emac to the most bad ass ppc PowerMac/MacPro or PowerBook after those guys put in all that time and effort to support those models.

[Templario]

At the Amiganoid 2011 event held on 17th of September 2011 in Essen/Germany, the MorphOS team were present and demonstrated the latest development version of MorphOS on PowerBooks (among other HW). During this time they also released the news that version 2.8 is "cancelled", and instead MorphOS will bump up to v3.0! Among the news is also a now official announcement of support for Power Book laptop computers from Apple.

Here is a MorphOS developer's comments on the issue:

(Link)

Also, it won't be released before December.

Congratulations for the users of this Amiga operative system, Amiga you don't forget!

[nicholas]

Some percentage just want to do it legally and some don't or just can't (afford to).

Exactly.  Those people wouldn't buy it whether it is copy protected or not, so the MOSTeam haven't lost anything.