[sword-devel] Cool idea: Commercial Linux /Windows Bible program based on Sword

[Paul Gear]

Chris Little wrote:
> 
> > ...Generate a key based on a MAC address - if there is no network card
> > installed generate the key from the OEM number from the hard drive. In
> > either case the legal user of a module couldn't share the key with anyone.
> > The key would work only on the machine for which it was generated. We do
> > this with our commercial software.
> 
> That seems a bit extreme.  Besides, I'm not sure how we would manage
> distributing modules with such unique keys.  I guess we could use the
> MAC/OEM to encode/encrypt the real cipher key.  For example, an unlocker
> utility sends our server your MAC/OEM, and it replies with a key that must
> be decrypted with your MAC/OEM to reveal the real key (which would be the
> same for all users).  I suspect we'd get a lot of angry users though, when
> people started changing their hard drives & NICs.

Amen.  Hardware tying is a crazy idea for an end-user application
program.

> Here's a novel idea... maybe there are some commercial Bible software
> developers out there who would be interested in adopting an open source
> project, merging with us, or just marketing modules in our format.  Maybe
> Larry Pierce/OLB since we seem to have (somewhat) similar markets and goals?
> Maybe OliveTree since our products /don't/ have similar markets (but mostly
> because I know they're on the list and have mentioned interest in OS)?

Why would any of these people want to do that?  I can't see a motive for
them other than the open source issue, and they can do that themselves
without any help from us.

> ...
> Maybe Logos/Libronix because I assume there must be some reason Bob
> Pritchett is interested in being on the list?

So he can gloat about how far ahead of us he is.  ;-)

Paul
---------
"He must become greater; i must become less." - John 3:30
http://www.bigfoot.com/~paulgear