Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

<$0.02>
oldguydrummer said:
> I don't beleive EULA applies to a product, typically just software.
> There isn't any software included with the Dtxpress II, just
> Hardware.

Hmmm have to disagree with you there. Just because software doesn't come
on CDROM or floppy, doesn't mean you were not provided with software. The
Software is saved to Read Only Memory chips (ROMs) inside the DTXPress
brain and it is very much covered under an end user license agreement.

You will typically find that all commercial software is covered with a
slew of restrictions on its use. The ROMs in the DTXpress are covered
under the same EULA as any other software provided by Yamaha with their
products. I'd be willing to bet any Yamaha rep would back me up on this.

> And as such there is no "end user" but rather an "owner".

This is a surprisingly widely held (and very wrong!) conclusion. Just
about every piece of digital electronic equipment has a microcontroller
of some type in it. These itty-bitty computers each have software that
guides their actions, and someone wrote that software and someone
(intrinsicly) has a copyright on it. For an example of one of these tiny,
embedable computers (which I use a bunch myself) look here:

http://www.parallax.com

The Basic Stamp is the one I use for small projects.

> The software you buy is licensed for use, you as the purchaser do not
> own the software, you are given, a grant of usage for a specified
> period of time.

Absolutely correct!

> Thus as an "Owner" of the product and not licensee
> you would not be subject to a EULA.

This conclusion doesn't follow. If I purchase the DTXpress unit, I own
the metal, plastic and silicon, but I do not *own* the software code that
makes the contraption useful. I can do as I please with the physical
pieces (except of course copy any aspect of the system covered by a
patent, but thats a different thread all together!) but I am not allowed
to extract the software that makes the machine run, and then copy and
sell it to others. In fact the "classic Game" industry has had problems
with this for quite a while.

If I were to follow the reasoning above, I would be able to purchase a
stand-up "PACMAN" machine, remove and copy the ROMS and then sell them to
people to use with a software product like "MAME" ( http://www.mame.net/
).

To be clear: When ROMS contain software, the copying of that software is
at the discretion of the copyright holder.

The reason I had to chime in on this is that I just finished getting my 
Certified Software Asset Manager (CSAM) certificate from IAITAM
(http://www.iaitam.org) and the legal use of software is the core of this
course.

I could carry on an in depth discussion about this and about how I think
some of the EULA restrictions by some of the manufacturers of software
are despicable, but thats not a topic for *this* forum. ;)

Suffice to say, the DTXpress forum does not condone, nor will we allow
the discussion of, methods to deprive vendors of their intellectual
property.

If you need new ROMs, contact Yamaha and ask them. They've provided them
to other users without charge in the past. Lets not give them a reason to
worry. :)

Vern

--
Vern Graner CNE/CNA/SSE    | "If the network is down, then you're
Senior Systems Engineer    | obviously incompetent so why are we
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