Paul, If someone was trying to cheat Durametric with malice I'd be of the same mindset you present. Since that was not the case and since Durametric themselves did not request the unit be destroyed, maybe you could lighten up a bit.

AND If you're as altruistic as you wish to present yourself why not busy your energy on doing something positive for someone today instead of trying to judge a guy looking out for his forum friends? If you think it through clearly, he was looking out for Durametric too, telling us it's an old version and a bootleg is going to stop the rest of us from making the same mistake, which was his point all along. Worry about the dirt in your own yard, I'm sure you have some human edges that could use a trim, get back to your own work...

I judged no one, just asked questions.

ohhhh!
 

first one i pull up and all i can say is "wow"!!!now I feel bad about taking off the label on my mattress!!! :eek:

Thanks alot! I am glad you toke the time to share your badluck with us


And I guess you NEVER EVER downloaded an mp3 without the proper right?.. and that you pay every single piece of software on your computer?

I also make my living developing software.. but taking such attitude won't get sympaty of anyone buying more software..

and by the way, Durametric give away there software for free.. they sell the cable.. they say you can try their software with other cable, but that It will most likely not work.. Someone reverse-engineered the Durametric Cable and had it to work.. so where is the problem??
Also don't forget that Durametric itself reverse-engineered Porsche PST2 and PIWIS..
All those Durametric Cable get alot of $ away from Porsche Dealers..

So do you realise that you are actually defending a compagny who copied someone else product and make money on someone else behalf?.. and you do so talking us about peoples stoling intelectual property ?..

The OBD2 protocol
 

is an open protocol meaning that anyone can use it. It is specifically designed by the lawmakers to allow third parties to maintain cars and not restrict repairs to authorized dealers.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/opendiag/ would give an insight to the many people using that interface.

Now somehow using an open protocol for what it is designed for as Durametric does seem ok to me. See Actron et al.

Porsche has lawyers and somehow I think that if Durametric was violating some right that Porsche wished to assert via a cease and desist, Durametric would have heard by now.

Now if Durametric specifically permits by license ( as opposed to merely feeling there is no point in incurring the legal costs of enforcing the license) the use of their s/w with third party cables, then I owe the OP an apology. And if his intent was to point out the advantages of buying the real Durametric cable and s/w then again, I apologize. There is no s/w license info on the Durametric web site that I know of. (Yes, I read the darn things before ordering. I wrote them in a prior life.)

Hey Mike, it's all good. This sparked off an interesting debate and I have to admit that I was surprised by the direction the thread took, and by how strongly some people feel about these issues. As far as I'm concerned, everyone is entitled to their opinion (well, except that guy that came on here and referred to the love of my life as "disposable crap" - he oughta have his nuts slammed in a drawer! :D ) and where better to express that opinion than in a discussion forum.

you bought it in good faith so no foul.....of course if the FBI comes for you ...dont be taken alive...inmates take a dim view of copywrite preverts :D

Actually, it would be the Mounties, and I always keep a box of donuts by the door just in case.

None of my questions were intended to lecture anyone or question anyone's ethics. This reminds me of the old cliché "if the shoe fits, wear it."

I just wanted to discuss an interesting subject since more and more of this is happening in just about every industry.

Indeed, given the circumstances I agree with Mark's solution, but in the end this is just another indication that our way of life will be continued to be threatened by others that can do things cheaper than we can.

.."our way of life" ? ....you do know this is an imported car forum ;)

wait... this is one of them foreign car websites? well i'll be...

So aftermarket brakes, rims, lights, radio's, maintenance parts etc etc etc are no problem?

Since it does the job on older models, where can I buy this cable?

And with that I have to say...Touché !

I wonder if Paul bought a $50,000 Monet painting whether he would then destroy it if it was discovered to be a forgery.

Seriously, for the price of the real durametric cable, and specially of a Used one..
I would highly suggest you to go with the Real Durametric cable.. they where tested in every situation.. the last thing you want is to damage your car electronic with that clone.. It may work, but It may be instable in some situation..
Save yourself a bunch of trouble and buy the peace of mind for 200$.. :)
Also You want to Encourage Durametric so they continue their research enabling new feature.. :) Because Even if OBD2 Protocole is public, I'm pretty sure the custom features from porsche have no documentation about them and is a lot of work to implement. And Durametric give a very nice Support service if you have any question about the functionnality :)

Not exactly
 

It isn't the older models it works on but a limited set of functions it works with and being restricted by the copy-cat cable will limit you to. There are other cables and free s/w with license that are available too if you look but they too are limited in functionality compared to Durametric's latest. I swear I've seen those cables mentioned for $50 or less.

There are lots of things that the Durametric new cables allow to work with later versions of their software. What later versions implement can be understood by their version history on their web site.

Durametric s/w started out as little better than a code reader and gradually got better and better as more people bought the s/w and funded their development.

I would collect the money from the company that guaranteed it to be an original.

The problem clearly lies with the manufacturer and seller of this fake cable rather than an end user who bought the item in good faith, thinking it's real.

What's more, Mark decided to warn us about the existence of such cables. Good on him.

IP laws has many flaws, and is long overdue for an overhaul. But I absolutely agree with the principle that people who spend their time developing technology and software should be justly rewarded.

Nothing is being argued here in this tread:

Yes, IP of developers like Durametric should be protected.

Yes, Mark was an unfortunate victim of counterfeit goods.

Yes, the blame chiefly lies with the counterfeiter.

Well let's assume for this exercise there was none Paul, you can't re program Kobyashi Maru Captain Kirk. I'm sure at least some Art studios have gone out of business long after some poor guy has discovered the issue, like on antiques roadshow.

Edit* Here's one for ya: Why doesn't Turin burn that phony shroud proven time and again to likely be a forgery? Know how much money Italy has made off of that sheet? A lot! Whether it's fake or not doesn't seem to matter.

Yes, and lawsuits against criminal organizations selling counterfeit art are always so successful....

You know, Paul, I don't begrudge you your opinion at all, but you came on here with this aggressive, confrontational attitude and then, when you found that your position wasn't quite as popular as you had expected, you try and backtrack with this lame " I was just asking questions" routine. Give it up, buddy - you're just embarrasing yourself.