Re: The TERRORFYING Trio

From: hutch-- (hutch_at_movsd.com)
Date: 11/30/04 

Date: 30 Nov 2004 02:31:11 -0800

Long ago this "debate" started when Betov in the win32asm forum
started spewing sh*t at anyone who would not drop what they were doing
and start following his way. Years ago Betov coined the phrase
"legally stolen" and hammered it both in the win32asm forum and the
ALA newsgroup.

After suffering this mindless crap for some years, I have started to
retaliate and it is done on the same basis as what has been dished out
by Betov for years, legal issues related to the licencing of software.
The difference is I did know what I was doing in 1998 when I read the
EULA for the then current WIN98DDK and supplied a number of Microsoft
binaries under the conditions in the EULA complete with the contract
(EULA).

In contast, Betov wrote his original self replicating program with
commercial software that he neither paid for or licenced and in direct
contrast to the rights extended in the licence for the asm32 software,
he distributed that derived work.

With the Microsoft EULA, it contains a clause for removal of licence
if the user violates the licence so under the conditions of the EULA,
Microsoft can close down ANY use of that software ANY time they like
if they deem its use to be outside of the granted rights.

Now of course this does not effect me personally as I use my own
licenced version of MASM which has NO conditions attached to it.
(Middle 90s boxed version). The MASM32 Project is finally built with
my own version of MASM that is in no way related to the version
supplied in the MASM32 project that is covered under the licence for
the WIN98DDK.

The motive as I see it in repeatedly attacking the MASM32 project is
to try and create doubt in the mind of programmers who are interested
in writing assembler so they can be pursuaded to waste their time
using lesser tools yet no-one has any reason to be threatened by the
style of attack that has been used against them. All they need to do
is read and understand the EULA supplied with the project and make
sure they comply with that licence.

The rest of the noise that occurs around here is based on ignorance,
fear and directly misleading information. The only thing I am required
to do with the project is to supply the EULA so that the legal rights
and interests of Microsoft are protected under their terms. There is
no other condition that either Microsoft or myself are bound to
observe when their binaries are supplied under the conditions of the
EULA.

At the risk of repetition, I have already made it public that I asked
Microsoft to verify the EULA from the WIN98DDK in the context that I
have supplied a number of their binaries under that EULA and the
answer that cam back from Microsoft was that the EULA is valid and
they expect users to properly comply with that EULA. Now the important
part to note is that Microsoft impose no other conditions on the
MASM32 project, thy do not restrict the use of the binaries to
personal use only as this directly contradicts the original EULA.

They do not require any other form of notification to anyone about how
they choose to licence their software and the EULA does not contain
any other requirements related to notification either.

With the MASM32 project having been a high profile download for over 6
yars, its not as if Microsoft don't know about the project and in any
case, a number of Microsoft people have belonged to various MASM based
forums over the years who are VERY FAMILIAR with the MASM32 project
and have helped with technical support for MASM users so its not like
Microsoft have no way of knowing about the project.

I do see such questions as being useful in promoting MASM as it
exposes the massive technical capacity of the worlds most powerful
assembler for the world's most popular operating system and the level
of support that Microsoft have extended to the Windows development
community over many years.

This is not what the Mickey Mouse Club want to hear but then, its not
like their opinion matters much when they have no equity whatsoever in
either the Microsoft EULA or the MASM32 project. The project has from
its origins been a method of empowering programmers using the best
available tools to write high powered software for Windows and to the
irriation of its detractors, it succeeded long ago.

Differing from the Mickey Mouse Club, the MASM32 project has never had
to try and take people from other backgrounds as it has always been
powerful enough to create its own user base of new users. the attacks
on the project are not aimed at me, they are aimed at programmers who
want to write high powered software for Windows and with a download
rate well over 1 million, they have failed there as well.

Regards,

hutch at movsd dot com

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Herbert, Herbert, wherefore art thou Herbert ?
    ... being for personal use, the licence says otherwise. ... Microsoft EULA because you simply dot't own it. ... is it legal to download MASM from the ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
  • Re: f0dders fabulous folly.
    ... Microsoft is to GPL, there is no love lost in either direction when it ... many years complete with a licence that says you can use it to develop ... understand what the protection the MASM user has when using this ... The EULA for OFFICE ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
  • Re: 10 reasons to use linux
    ... *No* - Microsoft's EULA is very explicit about this. ... Licence to use the software. ... The software remains the property of Microsoft ... Three scientific equipment companies, three robberies, and what was ...
    (alt.os.linux)
  • Is www.masm32.com an official Microsoft site?
    ... "The MASM32 project legally supplies a number of Microsoft binaries ... under the WIN98DDK licence and that licence as used by the MASM32 ... the MASM32 project has supplied the binaries owned by Microsoft ...
    (microsoft.public.vc.language)
  • Re: A response to Phil Carmody.
    ... > kind of an agreement with Microsoft... ... The EULA is not only valid but all I am required to supply for the use ... established the legal right to use the software under the licence ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
Loading