Is this a violation of license?
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@cyperghost There are plenty of guides out there that tell you exactly what you need - even we have a small overview on the site - https://retropie.org.uk/documentation/building-your-own-retropie-machine/
and there are plenty of people selling everything you need in a kit. The user just has to follow the basic instructions of downloading/copying/booting etc.
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As there is a reputable sellers list, I wonder if a "Rogues Gallery" would help make clear that some sellers are clearly operating illegally.
Or perhaps that would just give them more promotion...Please read the Docs before asking a new question.
RetroPie Help Guides: https://goo.gl/3gcNsT -
@Floob we could name them although it might give them promotion - we wouldn't link of course so they wouldn't get any benefit from search engine ranking. I'm in two minds about it - but it's not a bad idea.
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This a$$hat is giving us Aussies a bad name. I've reported him through Facebook, I suggest we all do the same.
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I have mixed feelings about this also, on the other hand, how difficult would it be for the retropie project to offer pre-installed SD cards? like the RasPi foundation do with the NOOBS image, better yet, Is retropie in the noobs image as an install option? could be a way to fight back. (just a thought)
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@ronlaws86 maintaining software is hard enough, I dont know if we are really in a place where we'd want to maintain hardware too. Reaching out to the Raspbian Foundation to include RetroPie in the NOOBS image is something we have discussed, but really the sd image we provide couldnt be any simpler.
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@herb_fargus Of course, flashing the image is a straight forward process with tonnes of guides on how to do it, getting it included in the NOOBS image however would add an extra step of accessibility to people who are still unconfident about flashing SD card images, Noobs at least provides a simple "Drag n' drop" solution that most everyone would find a breeze. (assuming they don't order the noobs image with the pi which is sold everywhere these days)
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Despite us not having the manpower, we are not able to provide pre-installed sdcards unless we gave them away for free (which we can't afford to do), as the licences of many of the emulators have non commercial clauses (including giving the software away for free with a commercial product). Those emulators could technically be excluded, and installed by the user later, but then you have a manual process again.
I don't think there is anything to fix here though - the process is easy enough.
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@BuZz I was thinking along the lines of selling the cards to cover that part of the cost but I digress.
It's a shame not much more can be done, for the ease of access I was referring to the ultra easy/lazy side of the scale for those who really struggle with most computing tasks, or just can't be bothered.Distros like mint offer the restricted packages as an opt-in downloadable during install process (e.g. the codecs) so that it isn't bundled with the image.
getting retropie included in noobs can't be that much of an issue surely? the net install version downloads the os images from the internet, nothing is actually bundled with it, it just provides an interface to get you started. Legally this is the same as doing it the current way, it's just a different way of doing it. I know of at least one person who is somewhat tech savvy but really has an irrational phobia of command lines and finds flashing image a huge drag, he finds noobs appealing because it's a simple case of dragging a few files to the SD card, sticking it in the pi and using the mouse to install whatever he wants.
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If whoever manages noobs wants to include it as a downloadable option they can. We already provide Berryboot images (and retropie is installable over net via berryboot but not sure which version).
I am happy with the ease of installation for RetroPie as it is currently.
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Retroarch has had this problem from the beginning. Not much you can do about it other than to publicise how dodgy they are.
An issue that is of concern is people coming here asking for support for an unofficial distribution (with potential changes we don't know about). This should be dealt with by telling them that a) we don't support ripoff distributions and to go back to their supplier for support for the thing they've bought and b) that if they want support from us they have to use an official distribution - with a link to the appropriate download and installation instructions.
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It is a real shame. If I was to make a pre-packaged product based around retropie like this, any markup I charged would be forwarded in donations to support the project, and i'd at least include credit and links to those who put in the hard work making it possible so people became aware of where their product originated from, instead of taking all the credit. :(
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@davej said in Is this a violation of license?:
Retroarch has had this problem from the beginning. Not much you can do about it other than to publicise how dodgy they are.
It's tough to combat and you need numbers working together to "police" and "report".
Good post on the Libretro forums...
"...I would recommend to users that they DO NOT use this 'Retro Rearmed' knockoff and for one plain reason - I can't guarantee your privacy when you use this, and I can't guarantee that it doesn't do other unsavoury things..."
"...we still believe that the killer combo of 'no ads' and it being 'free' is a hard winning combination to beat..."
@herb_fargus said in Is this a violation of license?:
why you'd spend twice as much...
How much is twice as much as free?! :)
It's a drag when you get a cease and desist letter about the Australian branch and you have no idea what they are talking about.
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Another that might be worth checking into:
It looks like a modified version of the RetroPie software available for download to work with a commercial product.
hxxp://www.retrobuiltgames.com/porta-pi-arcade-help/porta-pi-software-os-download/
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@Riverstorm That one is at least linking back to retropie forums, even if it is an old link.
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@ronlaws86 said in Is this a violation of license?:
@Riverstorm That one is at least linking back to retropie forums, even if it is an old link.
Yeah I saw that. I was just referring to it as a whole. It's basically combining Adafruits retrogame.c file for GPIO inputs with RetroPie and creating a new distribution package. I do agree though it's not like he's claiming to be an official RetroPie distribution partner or something weird. :)
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Actually, they even encourage donating to RetroPie. Hardly the most egregious example of a terms violation...
Though they do sell SD cards with Retropie image on it, as opposed to just the download section: hxxp://www.retrobuiltgames.com/diy-kits-shop/raspberry-pi-computer/
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@Concat said in Is this a violation of license?:
Actually, they even encourage donating to RetroPie. Hardly the most egregious example of a terms violation...
Though they do sell SD cards with Retropie image on it, as opposed to just the download section: http://www.retrobuiltgames.com/diy-kits-shop/raspberry-pi-computer/
I completely agree it's no where near as egregious as the Australian example but it is a bit dodgy and violates "Legal & Contact" clearly stated in the legalese of the RetroPie "Licenses" section. They are giving away and linking their "homebrew" image to mega.nz that works with their product.
"...this includes “giving away” a pre-installed RetroPie with your commercial product."
"If you are selling hardware that supports RetroPie you should provide a link to our site for your customers rather than including a RetroPie image with your product."
Anyway I was just pointing it out, no harm, no foul... ;)
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This rip off merchant makes me mad. There is a closed group on Facebook for RetroPie and every now and then I see people recommending they buy from this drop kick and other eBay hacks.
The good thing about the FB group, it doesn't matter how many times you say "read the wiki" they completely ignore it and pollute Facebook with their (often) down right basic questions. Less to worry about wasting time here I guess.
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It's silly to buy something that is available for free. All you need is a raspberry pi and a Micro SD card. There are Facebook groups dedicated to RetroPie that have complete images with media etc, so why on earth would you pay for it unless you cannot flash a Micro SD card.
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