Is this guy selling your hard work? (3 Viewers)

[mrdooby]

Yup. No reference to MS any more on further listings they are selling.

I have luckily saved jpgs of one of the auctions that said MS. If you guys need a copy let me know. I have sent it to MS complaining.

Will report back if I hear anything.

Oh, and 'hello' cytechnet if you are reading!!

cheers... :lol:

 

[sigh]

Charging a fee for making and sending a CD is all well and good but not if it reaches 70 bucks or more and has reference to it being a Microsoft product. It is purely extortion and should be stopped instantly.

My 2cents.

It seems the foundation and license that this project and community is built upon feels differently than you.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html][/url]
Since free software is not a matter of price, a low price isn't more free, or closer to free. So if you are redistributing copies of free software, you might as well charge a substantial fee and make some money. Redistributing free software is a good and legitimate activity; if you do it, you might as well make a profit from it.

 

[db23]

I was bored so i've also been contacting bidders on the auctions and ebay. The sellers account has been suspended too.

 

[mrdooby]

Charging a fee for making and sending a CD is all well and good but not if it reaches 70 bucks or more and has reference to it being a Microsoft product. It is purely extortion and should be stopped instantly.

My 2cents.

It seems the foundation and license that this project and community is built upon feels differently than you.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html][/url]
Since free software is not a matter of price, a low price isn't more free, or closer to free. So if you are redistributing copies of free software, you might as well charge a substantial fee and make some money. Redistributing free software is a good and legitimate activity; if you do it, you might as well make a profit from it.

nonononono.
Please read and understand my comments before writing yours.
I was making reference to cytech saying 'microsoft'.

I mean look@ at this LOL!

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7180903777

 

[mrdooby]

Now just for comparison, look at this genuine OEM MCE advertisement and you tell me if cytechnet isn't blatantly, deliberately, misleadingly, extortioning prospective customers....

Would you care to comment on this user sigh or is it phil from cytechnet (?)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Windows-XP-Medi...179872740QQcategoryZ41888QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Flerbizky]

Just took the liberty of warning another lost soul who's about to buy this POS... Somebody need to put the seller down like the sick dog he is...

 

[jazZman]

Charging a fee for making and sending a CD is all well and good but not if it reaches 70 bucks or more and has reference to it being a Microsoft product. It is purely extortion and should be stopped instantly.

My 2cents.

It seems the foundation and license that this project and community is built upon feels differently than you.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html][/url]
Since free software is not a matter of price, a low price isn't more free, or closer to free. So if you are redistributing copies of free software, you might as well charge a substantial fee and make some money. Redistributing free software is a good and legitimate activity; if you do it, you might as well make a profit from it.

Sigh, I think you may have misinterpreted the intent and spirit of the GPL. You are absolutely correct, can be distributed and supported for a fee. No agrument here. What you cannot do, is misrepresent the product and or service provided. This seller has and still is deliberately implying in his discriptions that the product he is selling is a retail package. Quote from add :
XP Media Portal Edition 2005 - Full 2-Set CD *Retail box not included

He has also misconstrued the name of the product, anyone searching google on this title (as above) will be presented with out of the first 50 listings, 45 hits on M$ product and 5 on Media Portal.

If your going to sell a pile of bricks, then call it a pile of bricks, not a kit home...

 

[mfo]

Just got this anwser from those fu..ers:
"Actually you are just ignorant to the facts! This software runs under the GNU GPL license which legally allows me to sell this software. See for yourself: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html
Perhaps you should educate yourself before you look like a fool."

And here's my answer:

"Ok so GPL allows to sell this software, but what is your added value here ? Are you honest with your customers when not long ago you were selling this software with the Microsoft name inside (which you promptly removed when you were threatened to be disclosed to Microsoft) making it look like it was Windows Media Center Edition 2005. You already removed Microsoft from the product name, go a little further and remove the "Center 2005" which is nowhere to be found in the real product name. Are you telling your customer that you sell them a software they can download for free ? What magnificent stuff do you pack on your 2 freaking CDs when the software is around 80MB (pr0n, hacked copy of Windows XP ?). You are plain and simply a crook, I mark my words and your little "enterprise" won't last long. Lots of guys are being pissed off by your behaviour and trust me, it's not good to piss of the guys who develop and support the software that you are selling to ignorant people."

 

[JohnW]

I suppose one way of stopping this guy would be to undercut him by selling CD versions of MediaPortal for a reasonable price (to cover media, postage and a contribution to support development) as a buy it now sale.

The advert can make it clear that MediaPortal is not commercial software (even though it is way better than a lot of the commercial efforts) and is still under development, with a link to the website.

It may also help to raise the profile of MediaPortal, and provide a useful service for users who don't have broadband. The only risk is the listing fee if the auction does not get a buyer.

 

[mrdooby]

Keeping a close eye on our friends, I see they have slowly changed and almost conformed by removing the word 'miscrosoft' etc. from the adds. They now say 'Turn Your PC Into An Affordable DVR Like Tivo ReplayTV' and removed are the references to 'never used, duplicated' etc... I just wish people who bid actually knew the software was free to download and use and it wouldn't even waste 2CD's let alone 1!

Needless to say there are now no bids whatsoever on the items.

So phil if you are reading this just try to do things by the book in the future eh? and don't bother trying to mislead for your own profit and gain. It really is cowardly. Maybe even try a real job.