Morph OS license questions

[runequester]

Hopefully one of the people involved frequents here, as I aren't keen on signing up for another forum just yet.
 
1: I've seen mentioned that if the machine croaks, the license can be transferred. What exactly is involved in this process?
 
2: Any provisions for transferring a license to a newer machine?
F.x. I buy a G4 powermac, and later get a mac mini
 
3: Any other benefits of registering other than losing the 30 minute slow down limit?
 
4: How sensitive is the license to swapping equipment? F.X. RAM or video cards
 
 
Thanks in advance!

[zylesea]

Hopefully one of the people involved frequents here, as I aren't keen on signing up for another forum just yet.
 
1: I've seen mentioned that if the machine croaks, the license can be transferred. What exactly is involved in this process?
 
2: Any provisions for transferring a license to a newer machine?
F.x. I buy a G4 powermac, and later get a mac mini
 
3: Any other benefits of registering other than losing the 30 minute slow down limit?
 
4: How sensitive is the license to swapping equipment? F.X. RAM or video cards
 
 
Thanks in advance!

1*- provide valid evidence that the maschine got broken, then you get a new license.

2 - w/o breaking the maschine a license transfer is not an option, hence no fees for that. If the maschie got broken I guess the new license will be issued for free. Dunno if it happend yet. For "license transfer" best is to sell the maschine with the license off and take the money. Depending on market demand this can be a better or a worse trade. But it is the most feasible.

3 - no. demo is 100% identical to reg'd version.

4 - not sensitive at all. The license key is bound to the mainboard MAC adress, swapping cpu mudul, RAM, gfx et al. doesn't matter at all.

[redrumloa]

Hopefully one of the people involved frequents here, as I aren't keen on signing up for another forum just yet.
 
1: I've seen mentioned that if the machine croaks, the license can be transferred. What exactly is involved in this process?
 
2: Any provisions for transferring a license to a newer machine?
F.x. I buy a G4 powermac, and later get a mac mini
 
3: Any other benefits of registering other than losing the 30 minute slow down limit?
 
4: How sensitive is the license to swapping equipment? F.X. RAM or video cards
 
 
Thanks in advance!

I'm not an expert, but I think I know the answer. Piru or a dev can correct me if I am wrong.

1) The MOS team tells you a specific procedure to prove to follow to prove the machine is truly dead forever. i don't know the procure, but I suspect prying off a vital chip and mailing it to a team member.

2) No.

3) No, expect for supporting MorphOS future development.

4) Not sensitive.

-PERSONAL OPINION-
The compulsory licensing scheme that ties the license to the machine is crap. I understand why they are doing it, but I don't like it. All things considered and compared to the Amiga clone alternatives, it will be worth the money for me. I will be registering either tonight or by this weekend, if all goes well.

[Franko]

YIKES... well bang goes my interest in MorphOS...

I didn't realise you needed a licence for it and all that malarky, I thought you just purchased it and it was yours to use as you see fit (and I don't mean pirating it)...

Oh well, guess that saves me looking for another Mac now... shame really...

[Piru]

In addition it might be worth noting that new MorphOS versions are free to registered users (meaning that the keyfile works with future versions). This has been the case ever since MorphOS 2.0 release where the registration fee was introduced. This means that MorphOS 2.0 users have gotten 7 free upgrades so far.

[runequester]

Franko > You can use it for free, but my understanding is it slows down after a 30 minute period, requiring a reboot.
 
Piru > Are there any central update option, ala synaptic, or are updates and patches installed by hand ?

[Firedawg]

In addition it might be worth noting that new MorphOS versions are free to registered users (meaning that the keyfile works with future versions). This has been the case ever since MorphOS 2.0 release where the registration fee was introduced. This means that MorphOS 2.0 users have gotten 7 free upgrades so far.

Good point Piru.  Been very pleased with my MorphOS experience.

The Dawg

[Franko]

Franko > You can use it for free, but my understanding is it slows down after a 30 minute period, requiring a reboot.
 
Piru > Are there any central update option, ala synaptic, or are updates and patches installed by hand ?

I don't mind paying for it but when it comes to being told things like you need to prove your machine is broken, when you sell your machine you need to take it off etc... then I'm afraid that's a big No No to me...

If I pay for something I expect to be able to do with it as I please and not be told what I can and can't do with it...

Nothing against MorphOS as I was really getting very interested in it but when it comes to that kind on stuff then I'd rather not bother...

[Piru]

Are there any central update option, ala synaptic, or are updates and patches installed by hand ?

Not as such. The new MorphOS release is announced and there will be a new ISO image to download. In order to upgrade the system must be booted from the ISO. This can be done by either burning the ISO on a CD-R/RW and booting from it, or by placing the ISO on HDD and booting with special boot option to mount the ISO from the HDD.

When you install a new release over old one the installer presets options to upgrade (default) or to perform a new install. Old settings and installed applications are preserved on upgrade (this is possible because MorphOS has a separate directory for the OS components, allowing safe upgrading of the components).

In some rare occasions we might provide quick fixes between releases (for instance the LhA year 2011 issue fix earlier this year). These are accompanied with instructions on how to install them manually.

So in all, not as fancy as various linux distributions such as Debian based ones, but at least the upgrade process is quite painless.

Some notes: The OS is functional when booted from the CD. This way it is possible to use the CD as a rescue disc or livecd. For example it's easy to boot from the CD in case the HDD installation somehow fails to boot due to some recently installed 3rd party component. Also, since the CD boot doesn't write to the system HDD (unless if you proceed to install the OS) it is useful for safely testing MorphOS on systems that have other OS installed on the HDD already.

[Piru]

I understand this licensing scheme could be considered draconian by some, but other options (such as activation over network & periodic license validity checks over network, or some scheme that would be easy to pirate) would IMHO be even worse. The downside clearly is that we cannot offer discount packages such as "family packs" and the need to manually transfer license in a case of a HW failure.

[zylesea]

I don't mind paying for it but when it comes to being told things like you need to prove your machine is broken, when you sell your machine you need to take it off etc... then I'm afraid that's a big No No to me...

If I pay for something I expect to be able to do with it as I please and not be told what I can and can't do with it...

Nothing against MorphOS as I was really getting very interested in it but when it comes to that kind on stuff then I'd rather not bother...

The maschine binding is probably not ideal from a user's POV. But it is not that big issue tehn again. If your maschine goes kaputt - you get a new license.
If you want to upgrade, sell teh old maschie with license off. May lead to a little loss, but that's it. Before registering you have enough time to evaluate it. The demo version is 100% identical to the reg'd version except that it will slow down after 30 min (a warning is issued a minute before) and you have to reboot. But I agree, ideal for the user is a version wothout keys at all. But then again it is about fairness. There's a trade off between cnvenience and ROI for the development. Difficult to balance, though.

[Franko]

@ zylesae

I was (possibly still am) looking to try MorphOS for myself but when it comes to these licence things then I have my doubts. It's nothing to do with money as I would be quite happy to pay if I found that I liked it. However you do say it has an evaluation period so that sound good to me...

(interest re-kindled...

[zylesea]

When you install a new release over old one the installer presets options to upgrade (default) or to perform a new install. Old settings and installed applications are preserved on upgrade (this is possible because MorphOS has a separate directory for the OS components, allowing safe upgrading of the components).
.

Which really works well. On my Efika I did 7 updates and never lost my settings. On my Mac mini the updates also went fine (but were fewer, since support for that maschine was introduced with 2.4).

[zylesea]

@ zylesae

I was (possibly still am) looking to try MorphOS for myself but when it comes to these licence things then I have my doubts. It's nothing to do with money as I would be quite happy to pay if I found that I liked it. However you do say it has an evaluation period so that sound good to me...

(interest re-kindled...

I fully understand your concerns. I myself am also not too happy with that system, but eventually I accept it since it seems the most fair one.

[Tempest]

The maschine binding is probably not ideal from a user's POV. But it is not that big issue tehn again. If your maschine goes kaputt - you get a new license.
If you want to upgrade, sell teh old maschie with license off. May lead to a little loss, but that's it. Before registering you have enough time to evaluate it. The demo version is 100% identical to the reg'd version except that it will slow down after 30 min (a warning is issued a minute before) and you have to reboot. But I agree, ideal for the user is a version wothout keys at all. But then again it is about fairness. There's a trade off between cnvenience and ROI for the development. Difficult to balance, though.

For me it's a big issue, big enough to stop using MorphOS after 7 years. I don't mind paying for a license, as a matter of fact I did.

I don't want to be bothered by selling my computer with a registerd MorphOS copy just to upgrade to a better computer or convince the MorphOS team my computer is broken. I just want to be able to buy better hardware if available and supported by MorphOS and use my registered MorphOS copy on that without any fuss.

As long as that restriction exists I'm not going to invest in MorphOS again.