Larry Qualig wrote:
Roy Schestowitz wrote:
SafeNet Sentinel Hardware Keys for Linux
,----[ Quote ]
| SafeNet has announced the release of Sentinel Hardware Keys for
| Linux platforms, allowing software developers in the Linux
| community to protect 32-bit software applications from piracy
| and implement flexible licensing models.
`----
http://www.it-observer.com/news.php?id=6898
Hmmmm.... so here we see the Linux equivalent of WGA. Copy protection
that's being used to ensure that people don't illegally copy (read -
pirate) software. Or to paraphrase many other posts... Linux software
that "treats customers as if they were theives."
Not really. Hardware keys do not stop you copying software, what they
do do is to stop you running several copies simultaneously.
That allows for a quite flexible license. I don't know whether or not
companies who use dongles still take advantage of that, I haven't worked
in that field since 1989 or so.
If done on Windows it's immoral and insulting to the user who bought a
legit copy of the app. But now this is somehow a positive "benefit"
because it's being done on Linux.
Nice rant, but a little premature. Sentinel has released a range of
hardware keys that can work on linux, or more properly has developed
software routines under linux that interact with their hardware keys.
Whether or not linux programmers start using them is yet to be seen.
No doubt some of the companies that develop expensive closed source
applications that run on linux will consider them, but then closed
source companies are always looking to the bottom line.
Put this in the same category as
"RedHat phones home" but that's now a positive thing too.
Not to me it isn't.
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