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Fandango at Home Forum Guidelines

The Fandango at Home Forums are designed to help viewers get the most out of their Fandango at Home experience. Here, Fandango at Home customers may post information, questions, ideas, etc. on the subject of Fandango at Home and Fandango at Home -related issues (home theater, entertainment, etc). Although the primary purpose of these forums is to help Fandango at Home customers with questions and/or problems with their Fandango at Home service, there are also off-topic areas available within the Fandango at Home Forums for users to chat with like-minded people, subject to the limitations below.

Please post all comments in English. When posting a comment in the Fandango at Home Forums, please conduct yourself in a respectful and civil manner. While we respect that you may feel strongly about an issue, please leave room for discussion.

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Vudu & Open Source?

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    #16
    Re: Vudu & Open Source?

    Originally posted by BigReg View Post
    This is an interesting thread from an open source licensing and software business perspective. I'm not saying that I think Vudu has done anything wrong, but how does one know that a claimed proprietary piece of software is not actually encumbered by an open source or other license? Is everyone to be given the benefit of doubt?

    I know how real these issues are, I'm an engineering manager at a Fortune 100 company in a group that primarily produces software. Sticky questions....
    There are organizations that will warranty that you are not building upon GNU/GPL code and its rather expensive. Its like title insurance for your software instead of your house.

    If I was writing commercial software and utilized licensed code I would also seek out protections from the licensor with guarantees.

    Comment


      #17
      Re: Vudu & Open Source?

      Finally found it:
      http://streamcentric.com/blog/?p=3

      "Hard drive analysis:
      >> 11 partitions?!
      >> Linux OS confirmed
      >> Most partitions appear to be encrypted, will check in detail shortly
      >> Because of the above, mount attempts on a Linux machine failed"



      Originally posted by Nded View Post
      Can you please point to your source for this statement? I'd like to see a link to the reference. If you can't provide a valid source, we pretty much have to reject your premise.

      Comment


        #18
        Re: Vudu & Open Source?

        Merry Christmas All:


        I dont know how they confirmed linux, but IF true, wouldnt that mean vudu is in breach of the license?

        BTW-How long is the evangelist offer good for? By when do I need to use the coupon offer?
        (The email did not say "use by December 26'th 2007".

        Thanks

        Comment


          #19
          Re: Vudu & Open Source?

          Originally posted by qz3fwd View Post
          I dont know how they confirmed linux, but IF true, wouldnt that mean vudu is in breach of the license?
          No it doesn't mean that they have to publish the code. Just becuase a kernel is used doesn't mean that any of the custom VUDU code that was written using GPL source code or enhancing any exisitng GPL library.

          "Any software created with GPL tools must be released under the GPL."
          According to Stallman's "freedom 0", "The freedom to run the program, for any purpose", a free software licence must not impose such a restriction. In the case of the GPL, the program is only required to itself be released under the GPL if it includes GPL source code or it is linked with a GPL library.

          Comment


            #20
            Re: Vudu & Open Source?

            Originally posted by qz3fwd View Post
            I dont know how they confirmed linux, but IF true, wouldnt that mean vudu is in breach of the license?
            There are a lot of secure and closed Linux systems out there. Barracuda Networks uses a hardened Linux for their spam and web firewall systems (and I HIGHLY recommend their product). There's another anti-spam product that I can't remember the name of but it runs on a hardened Linux as well. Just because something runs under Linux doesn't mean the GPL applies. I think Vudu knows what they need to do in this area and not do.

            BTW-How long is the evangelist offer good for? By when do I need to use the coupon offer?
            (The email did not say "use by December 26'th 2007".
            The program is closed. I am not sure if invited participants can still get in, but no new applications are being accepted. Best to do is try and see if it works.

            Comment


              #21
              Re: Vudu & Open Source?

              If it does use any GPL code, then I think the license must be documented and any and all source changes to the GPL code need to be made avaliable. There is no acknowledgement of the GPL anywhere. If it is used in whole or part I think this would put it in breach.

              Comment


                #22
                Re: Vudu & Open Source?

                Originally posted by qz3fwd View Post
                If it does use any GPL code, then I think the license must be documented and any and all source changes to the GPL code need to be made avaliable. There is no acknowledgement of the GPL anywhere. If it is used in whole or part I think this would put it in breach.
                ERGO, they must not have used any GPL code. Case closed.

                Comment


                  #23
                  Re: Vudu & Open Source?

                  Originally posted by Nded View Post
                  ERGO, they must not have used any GPL code. Case closed.
                  EXACTLY. Why do you seem insistent on claiming Vudu is in breach of some license? Does the absence of smoke prove there is fire? Why don't you trust that Vudu has followed all applicable laws and regulations?
                  Last edited by Nded; 12-25-2007, 03:54 PM.

                  Comment


                    #24
                    Re: Vudu & Open Source?

                    Well, I believe them, but I understand that not everyone will. However, since they say the code is proprietary and isn't based on GPL code, someone someone who could be harmed if it was true and wants to claim damages would have to show some kind of proof or reason to a court that they're lying about it in order to get a lawsuit in front of a judge. While a company could try it, every employee who worked on or with the code would have to be willing to lie under oath, which anyone with enough forethought to manage a division, much less a company, must realize is virtually impossible.

                    Comment


                      #25
                      Re: Vudu & Open Source?

                      Originally posted by Nded View Post
                      Can you please point to your source for this statement? I'd like to see a link to the reference. If you can't provide a valid source, we pretty much have to reject your premise.
                      This is truly inappropriate. You could have left your comments to the first two sentences, and gotten the same result. We are all adults and would have understood what you meant. Adding the 3rd sentence is tantamount to calling the guy a liar, and really both inappropriate and completely unnecessary.
                      http://www.blitzkit.com - for Oatmeal, Hot Cereal and Whole Food lovers

                      http://www.rushingaround.com - My webpage

                      Comment


                        #26
                        Re: Vudu & Open Source?

                        I don't think it inappropriate at all. If you read the entire thread from beginning to end, the guy has been insinuating all along that Vudu has broken the GPL by using Linux as their OS and not acknowledging any GPL code. He is insisting the absence of smoke proves there is fire. Ed is pointing out the obvious but he's doing it in a nice way. We can't accept his premise if there is no proof. Period.

                        I think it is inappropriate to come on the board and insinuate that Vudu has broken a licensing law without any proof of such.

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Re: Vudu & Open Source?

                          I think I was wrong here. I think I read it wrong. I can understand rejecting the premise based on not seeing the evidence, and therefore not being able to judge it's credibility. I was just reading it incorrectly to mean, basically: show me your source, I don't think it exists. Rather what was meant was probably: Show me your source, I want to judge it's credibility. I apologize, I should have thought more about the intent or at least given you the benefit of the doubt.
                          http://www.blitzkit.com - for Oatmeal, Hot Cereal and Whole Food lovers

                          http://www.rushingaround.com - My webpage

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Re: Vudu & Open Source?

                            Hi all,
                            First post here. I set up my box last night, decided to browse the forums and stumbled upon this thread. A few observations:

                            - Geeks and technophiles, who are usually early adopters of technology like Vudu, have a naturally inquisitive mind. There are people who are going to buy this box just to look under the hood, and most of them will post their findings publicly. If the rules of this forum prevent them from doing so, they will probably share it on their blog or personal web space.

                            - Vudu has put in a lot of technological measures to protect the interests of content owners (and movie studios). This shows it respects Intellectual Property and wants to play by the rules. Software, be it free/open source or proprietary, is also governed by similar (and in some cases the same) rules. Vudu would probably be better served if it leaves no room for ambiguity that it respects software the same way it respects the content it sells.

                            - This forum, as I understand it, is for/about the Vudu community. At the same time, it also provides Vudu with a front row seat to what its users (customers) care about. This particular issue - does Vudu use any free/open source software in its product- is one such issue. If there are Vudu employees on this forum ( I sure hope there are) , I am sure they appreciate being asked nicely rather than be accused.

                            On that note, let me ask a direct question:
                            Does the Vudu box ship with any free/open source software? If yes, can you provide details on how you are complying with the license obligations for those pieces of free/open source software?

                            Phew.. long post for my first one, but that's what you get when you have a passionate customer who cares

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Re: Vudu & Open Source?

                              Hi Vudur,

                              As I am not a Vudu employee, I can't definitively answer your questions, but there is a "Credits" section in the Vudu where credits are given to the HDMI consortiom, Dolby Labs, etc. So Vudu is giving credit where credit is due. The exact nature of Vudu's software is that it is proprietary. It is my understanding that it is not open source. I would expect that if open source software had been used it would have been disclosed. I expect Vudu is obeying the laws. The absence of smoke does not prove there is fire. Just because Vudu has not disclosed any open source software does not mean that they are lying.

                              As a matter of fact, I am certain this is 100% true. Those of us in the beta community have asked for an "open source" sandbox to allow developers to play in to develop things like web based access to the movie listings, etc. Vudu would have to make part of their code open source to allow this soft of thing. We do not have such a sandbox at this time.

                              My assumption (and I think it is a pretty good one based on my knowledge of the product) is that the Vudu does NOT ship with free or open source software. If it did, such software would be detailed and the GPL acknowledged.

                              You guys can insinuate all you want about this, but if Vudu has no open source software, they have no need to state that they do not have it. Please trust the company that they are following all applicable laws and licensing requirements.

                              As for discussing tear downs, etc. and how to "hack" the Vudu - this is not the place. This forum is owned and operated by Vudu. Discussions of ways to try to circumvent the encryption, hack the system, etc. will not be tolerated. If someone wishes to start a 3rd party forum to discuss this or blog about it, that is their prerogative. This is primarily a customer support site and the purpose is to generate a community where users can share experiences, ask questions, make suggestions and get support for the product. The posting guidelines posted at the top of each forum spell this out in more detail. Keep in mind what you would do on other corporate owned support sites for other companies such as Apple Computer, Microsoft, IBM, etc. Those companies wouldn't support threads about how to hack their products on their sites.

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Re: Vudu & Open Source?

                                BTW, I haven't robbed anyone today. I know many of you were wondering until I came right out and said it.

                                Comment

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