Texas Instruments sent a DMCA takedown to a site archiving data sheets • Hacker News Board

Re: Texas Instruments sent a DMCA takedown to a site archiving data sheets

#121

Post by 10000truths » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 3:37 AM UTC

minimuffins wrote: post #98

ballenf wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stabbing a bit in the dark, but maybe TI wants to prevent a competitor from being to say "we didn't steal anything from you, we got all this info from sites that you were perfectly happy to let continue to operate freely". The legal departments within companies have very, very different measures of success than that of just about anyone else. If you have weak company leadership, legal will start to drive policy more…

> If you have weak company leadership, legal will start to drive policy more than it should. That's a really interesting dynamic I have never experienced or heard of. Explains a lot! Do you know other examples? (ed. clarify which part I wanted examples for)

Oracle is the example.

Re: Texas Instruments sent a DMCA takedown to a site archiving data sheets

#122

Post by xondono » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 11:02 AM UTC

tsomctl wrote: post #77

xondono wrote: post #33

I’m going to post the unpopular opinion here and say that this is OK in my book. This archive is distributing out of date documentation without making it clear that it’s out of date. This could cause a major problem for someone that uses it. The documentation for the same chip is perfectly available on TIs website, although to get older datasheets you’ll need to dig further (by design). There’s a ton of sites mirrori…

It's a perfect example of the general shittiness of life. Just little things that, in of themselves, aren't bad, but they add up to make everything more difficult. Once an IC is designed, the datasheet doesn't substantially change. It isn't a computer program that gets continuous updates every couple of months. They might add some errata for some corner cases or clarification. What happens when the IC is discontinued…

The datasheets in question are from parts like 555 and logic, parts that are functionally generic. No one has a doubt about how it works, but details like timmings specification and other small print parameters have had a lot of changes, because the design has been ported along each time the manufacturing process has changed.

It’s cases like the one you mention when you want to know that the new parts have different parameters and you might need to change other components to compensate.

Re: Texas Instruments sent a DMCA takedown to a site archiving data sheets

#123

Post by bborud » Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 12:05 PM UTC

lights0123 wrote: post #59

bborud wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does this indicate that TI are in financial trouble?

Nothing like making it harder to buy their products if they're in trouble!

It isn't unthinkable that some customer segments cost more to support than they generate in direct revenue - that is: are inefficient. So spending less on customers and sales channels that are inefficient may save them money.

I'm not sure that would explain them attempting to limit the availability of their datasheets though. That doesn't make much sense to anyone.

Re: Texas Instruments sent a DMCA takedown to a site archiving data sheets

#124

Post by varispeed » Sun, Jan 10, 2021, 6:06 PM UTC

b1ackb0x wrote: post #19

varispeed wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is to create barriers to entry where possible. If you are rent-seeking greedy co, then why would you give away useful knowledge, not to mention for free? Also good documentation could make you create a replacement product or have better understanding what to look for in a substitute.

Not really, they are only making it less likely that we use their chip in our product because we never tested it and can’t make a prototype with it.

I think that was my point. Smaller companies will not use these chips, but big co will have all the documentation they need.