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ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

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Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#41

Post by zodttd »

fungi wrote: post #28
zodttd wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author names were the reason for removing those posts, as I noted in my comment. Really that post has nothing to do with open source, and these matters can be handled by emailing me directly if it's such a concern, as I noted.

props for sticking up for yourself in a public forum (and i should stop bitching about some guy and some product i know next to nothing about) but really i'm not seeing why you can't address the issue that every one seems to have it in for you on. personally i'll grab the popcorn and stfu, if the copyright holders have issues with your distribution i'll let them handle it.

Appreciate this. I didn't know there were that many people with this mindset until just recently. I've had my GitHub for quite awhile. I will definitely be in full compliance if I freshen up my sources to the latest versions on a couple projects there, and remove a Cydia Store project (as I've just been made aware of). That's the extent of this issue.

Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#42

Post by TheAmazingIdiot »

zodttd wrote: post #38
shareme wrote: post #35

ah sorry ZodTTD but you have shown a clear habit of violating the android market agreements. What was Google to do pat you on the head and say good job? No, instead they followed the agreement you signed. Rather than blame Google why not read the damn thing you signed?!

Cute. But in reality they could tell me what I violated in their terms, and take down those specific application(s). Then if there was a trend, they could terminate the account as they normally do. That's the trend. They broke this trend with me by not only removing the apps but following up with no interaction on my part by suspending my Google Checkout (!) and Android Market account for my company and I for life. N…

It almost sounds like Google's way of being unreachable, and all mighty. "You, the peasant, are allowed to work in Our field".

I do hope you get some sort of answers. I loved the stuff you made, and ended up playing Chrono Trigger with a wiimote on the iphone (and getting crazy looks at that).

Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#43

Post by Aissen »

zodttd wrote: post #36
valisystem wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Go ahead and continue the negative talk about me in regards to licensing violation claims if you must. If you want to gain credibility on this, I suggest you to do an extensive research from your past work, see what open source code you used, and explain for each case, with more or less verifiable material, what actions, mandatory or courteous, you have taken in order to respect software license and their author (c…

Thanks... This all comes down to freshening up my GitHub and removing a Cydia Store product. This will be done but I let this mob mentality continue for too long. I spread myself pretty thin. I can count 20+ projects depending how far into the couple years I go. I have well over 4GB of development files with the majority being source trees. Some of these will be fairly straight forward and not require much action at…

Indeed, this is a hobbyist doing tens of programmers' job in his free time (this is a compliment) aka a hacker.

All these problems you describe remind me of most GPL violations: people not caring much where code comes from (gotta prototype fast), not using source management for their internal process, and then finishing a huge pile of code with no traceability whatsoever with regards to what come from where and whom. Add to that the fact that you come from the emulator community, who is more interested in credits and who did what than licenses and legal stuff (as opposed to OSS communities).

Obviously, you've learned how to use git and other modern tools by now, but the damage has already been done, and your reputation tarnished. Regaining that back is not gonna be an easy one, because everyone is watching your every steps.

I already talked to you on Twitter about a violation in psx4droid: you published libpsx (https://github.com/zodttd/libpsx) which is the emulation library, the core of the app. But this is just a library, and not the whole app. And this library is under GPLv2, and you're basically linking to it and distributing it in your apk. Therefore, the whole app (psx4droid) should be released as GPL, including the UI, and all the candy around(buildscripts…). And that's with this kind of borderline behavior that you find so many people bad-mouthing you here on HN (no one is against the guy making a buck).

Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#44

Post by seabee »

zodttd wrote: post #27
georgemcbay wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually it doesn't matter what license it is. It isn't so much that the GNU GPL allows or disallows you to sell a commercial version without source but rather that the original copyright holder can release the software under as many different licenses as they want to, similar to the way that Nokia (née Trolltech) used to release Qt as GPL but also sell commercial licenses that allowed you to not be beholden to the G…

What truth am I to tell?

Presumably, the 'truth' that they originally found out about. Given there have been a few spins on the story and one player (Google) is being characteristically quiet, not everyone will believe you, or be generous to suppose an innocent misunderstanding happened.

Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#45

Post by TheAmazingIdiot »

zodttd wrote: post #39
danssig wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does Android automatically pick up open source code and publish it to the app store itself? No? Then isn't the effort of packaging it up, etc. worth something? This is largely a site by and for entrepreneurs. Claiming that making money from working isn't ethical isn't going to go over very well here.

Also note that porting from a desktop environment to a mobile phone involves a lot more than simply running it through a different compiler. At times there are very major changes in code required on top of the replacement of input code, and on top of that a GUI to select games and any phone specific features in the HAL. I think people think of this as being very simple. I ask them to write their own MIPS R3000A -> AR…

There's an interesting working theory as to why it happened:

Another commenter, somewhere else on HN, said that Sony was getting ready to release a Playstation Phone. XPeria, I think the name was. Only makes sense they remove competition before the "legit" product comes out.

*spit on Sony. Will only use emulators/TPB rips for playstation games. Will not give any money to them in any way shape or form.

Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#46

Post by zodttd »

seabee wrote: post #44
zodttd wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What truth am I to tell?

Presumably, the 'truth' that they originally found out about. Given there have been a few spins on the story and one player (Google) is being characteristically quiet, not everyone will believe you, or be generous to suppose an innocent misunderstanding happened.

That's a shame. There's not much to this. Summed up here: http://www.zodttd.com/wp/2011/05/open-source-software-licens...

Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#47

Post by zodttd »

Aissen wrote: post #43
zodttd wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks... This all comes down to freshening up my GitHub and removing a Cydia Store product. This will be done but I let this mob mentality continue for too long. I spread myself pretty thin. I can count 20+ projects depending how far into the couple years I go. I have well over 4GB of development files with the majority being source trees. Some of these will be fairly straight forward and not require much action at…

Indeed, this is a hobbyist doing tens of programmers' job in his free time (this is a compliment) aka a hacker . All these problems you describe remind me of most GPL violations: people not caring much where code comes from (gotta prototype fast), not using source management for their internal process, and then finishing a huge pile of code with no traceability whatsoever with regards to what come from where and whom…

Your assessment is fairly accurate. Though I consulted with others over GPLv2 and its usage of libraries. One person consulted with was the author of this software.

The UI is in Java and is part of a closed source project which I have been honoring. The library is called by the JNI. It is not linked statically.

If you have more to say on the usage of libraries in GPLv2, please share.

Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#48

Post by zodttd »

TheAmazingIdiot wrote: post #45
zodttd wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also note that porting from a desktop environment to a mobile phone involves a lot more than simply running it through a different compiler. At times there are very major changes in code required on top of the replacement of input code, and on top of that a GUI to select games and any phone specific features in the HAL. I think people think of this as being very simple. I ask them to write their own MIPS R3000A -> AR…

There's an interesting working theory as to why it happened: Another commenter, somewhere else on HN, said that Sony was getting ready to release a Playstation Phone. XPeria, I think the name was. Only makes sense they remove competition before the "legit" product comes out. *spit on Sony. Will only use emulators/TPB rips for playstation games. Will not give any money to them in any way shape or form.

I am the one who was removed from Google's Android Market. The game company issued a takedown notice to Google. Their motives are unknown.

Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#49

Post by zodttd »

TheAmazingIdiot wrote: post #42
zodttd wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cute. But in reality they could tell me what I violated in their terms, and take down those specific application(s). Then if there was a trend, they could terminate the account as they normally do. That's the trend. They broke this trend with me by not only removing the apps but following up with no interaction on my part by suspending my Google Checkout (!) and Android Market account for my company and I for life. N…

It almost sounds like Google's way of being unreachable, and all mighty. "You, the peasant, are allowed to work in Our field". I do hope you get some sort of answers. I loved the stuff you made, and ended up playing Chrono Trigger with a wiimote on the iphone (and getting crazy looks at that).

I really don't like the fact there is zero developer support for Market given the fact it's self-regulated. The game company / Google partner could easily contact them to remove my app. Fair enough. But how do I contact a human at Google's Android Market? Haven't figured that out yet.

Re: ZodTTD, The Android emulator dev, responds to Google taking down his apps.

#50

Post by TheAmazingIdiot »

zodttd wrote: post #48
TheAmazingIdiot wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an interesting working theory as to why it happened: Another commenter, somewhere else on HN, said that Sony was getting ready to release a Playstation Phone. XPeria, I think the name was. Only makes sense they remove competition before the "legit" product comes out. *spit on Sony. Will only use emulators/TPB rips for playstation games. Will not give any money to them in any way shape or form.

I am the one who was removed from Google's Android Market. The game company issued a takedown notice to Google. Their motives are unknown.

I was indirectly blaming Sony and their general evilness.

What other company removes features from products, and then sues people who restore them? And who got away with infecting tens of millions computers with rootkits?

It is a war in business: you deal with competition any way you can. It's only illegal if you're caught. And it's not like there's a corporate death sentence. Hell, even the baby bells are nearly reformed.

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