Originally Posted by mousearoma
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Aiding individuals in returning the original state is a good stance since you're helping restore the functionality that they were granted upon purchase and steer them away from piracy, considering it a 'lesson learned.' However, helping them continue to use an illegal ROM is another ballgame. To me, it's no different than:
1.) A member downloading a pirated, modified version of Vista, having the 'reduced functionality mode' (pre-SP1) clamp down due to the uploader not being thorough in circumventing the anti-piracy controls, and then asking for support to resolve the problems so that (s)he can continue to avoid purchasing a legal copy.
2.) A thief stealing a car, having the wheels blown out by tire spikes in a police chase, and then asking you to repair them so (s)he can continue driving the stolen car.
The point is that without support in fixing the illegal ROM they would have to instead ask for support in returning to a legal state. Conversely, by allowing other to offer support in fixing the illegal ROM you are facilitating piracy, more or less giving them a pat on the back and saying 'it's OK, you don't need to give up on piracy...someone here may help.' Thus, I believe the relaxed rules take it too far, crossing the line of both legality and ethicality.
John
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1.) A person can legally purchase upgaded/better OS for other computers. Not in this case. An upgraded/better legal OS for axims do not exist.
2.) A person who buys a car (since we have all paid for our axim's), but is having electircal problems. The person wants to by a new electrical harness only to find out the manufactuer of the car no longer supports the car. The car can function with the electrical harness it has now, but it is unreliable. That person calls the manufacturer to try to get help and are told "we dont support that car anymore sorry, we cant help you. You should buy a new car." So, instead the person goes to you and you know another person, who has a legal map of the electrical harness, can make that person a new electrical harness that is superior to the OEM and gives it to that person for free (doesnt make a profit from the legal copy of the map to the electrical harness), all so that person can have a reliable car that the person bought legally. That is what is happening here.
You talk about legality, ethics and morals? Where is the legality, ethics, and morals of Dell and Microsoft here? Do they not have any legal, ethical, and moral obligation to the people who paid for a product with a faulty OS? They can not include/support the people who purchased their product and OS, when an upgrade/better OS is made? Especially when the people who bought the product and the faulty OS are more than willing to pay for an upgraded/better OS, that they should fix for free.
Is it really piracy when someone buys a legal copy and hacks it to include their product, then gives it away for free, not sells it, or makes a profit over it, but gives it away for free? Is it piracy to want your perfectly good hand held, that is not obsolite and has hardware the still rivals anything newer, to function at its best, but can because they want you to buy a new hand held, to go along with their new OS? Now if Dell and Microsoft annouced they were going to make a patch that included the axims, and everyone still downloaded the hacked copy, I would agree with you. But the patch is not coming, not now, not ever. They left us high and dry and figured we should "Just buy a new one", "if we dont support them, they will give in evertually and buy a new one". I for one am never buying a Dell or microsoft product again. Im switching to Apple and getting an iPhone. All because Dell and Microsoft refused to support their product.
They could have kept me for years just by supporting my axim. I would have paid $40-$100 for an upgraded/better OS. But, they did not. Now they will never get the money I spent on software and hardware, Apple will.
So talk to Dell and Microsoft about legalities, ethics and morals, not the people who just want their, expensive and paid for, hand helds to function properly and correctly.