.::Notice About Flashes and Rom's::.

[myellowd]

Bootscreen is what Helmi_C and the other Apache Kitchen Devs used over at PPCG in the latest WM6 release. But its still easily replaced by a new bootsplash unless that's not you care about. I was under the impression you wanted something a little more permanent which is why I never mentioned that option.

[( :]

yeah i've been biting my tongue on this... but here's my take:
1) it sucks that someone else is taking credit for/selling something you worked on without your permission
2) if you weren't doing it for a profit you just have to shrug it off. you cannot let things like this control your life. there's always going to be *******s (like me lol) out there and you just gotta deal with it.
3) your motivation for releasing it (for free) in the first place was to help out other people. this is truely noble. so what if some ****** pulls some stunt like this. that does not hinder your primary motivation. put a bootscreen on it that clearly states where you can get it for free. it still won't stop people from selling it, but it will probably put a stop to their repeat business and get us some additional members interested in flashed pda's

in the end it's your decision whether or not you want to release a custom rom publicly. but you're naive if you think somewhere someone is not going to try to make a buck off it.

edit:
i am a dealer that does 'flash' phones for customers. out of all the hundreds i've done, i've never had one person ask me how to do it. they just don't care enough and would rather pay someone to learn how to and do all the work than to learn and do it themselves. so you've got to take that into consideration. or something.

[Lasantha]

I like this thread; it's full of great ideas. So, instead of just tagging your ROM with your name, also mention where it can be obtained for free.

I like this serial idea a lot, I really do, but in all honesty, I've hit a pretty hard roadblock. I'm going to get with a few other people that I've discussed this plan with and see if they can think of any workarounds, but if there aren't any, I'll be putting a custom splash on my new ROMs from here on out.

[villagirly]

oops. i meant to quote vetvito's post.. if that makes a difference to anyone

[masonn(:]

well i just got a quick question, how would one go about learning how to make custom roms, i have access to almost all phones on the market and some that are not out yet, i was wanting to learn and contribute to the rom process, so i guess i need to know where to start and what i need to look for :buddies:

[KailaW]

xda-developers.com
ppcgeeks.com
and GOOGLE.COM

[andi.]

What was that last site again?

:hehehe:

[bar_enosh]

I tend to agree with those who have said to just take it as a source of pride that others are using your roms.. although I do like Mooingrhino's serial idea (except that it's a royal PITA to manage to be online at the same time as you to get one)...

I think when it comes right down to it, ALL of us are using someone else's work to build our own, to some extent.. Additionally, there WILL be kitchens released for the 6800.. In fact, DCD already has released one, and the knowledge of how to build your own rom becomes "worthless" at that point.

I totally understand the concern of folks like amoamare that by releasing your roms, you're ultimately just creating competition for yourself, but that's the nature of free enterprise, and trying to keep your stuff secret is counterproductive, because if nobody shares their ideas, this site eventually dies, and we all ultimately fall behind the manufacturers security teams. By creating a united front, we have the strength to stay ahead of the curve, but when people start getting selfish, we all lose.

For what it's worth, I'm stating this as someone who doesn't know how to build roms, and who has sold flashed phones in the past (I don't anymore. The headaches aren't worth the profits)... I've never used anyone's roms for anything besides my own personal benefit, however... All the phones I've sold were either using a stock rom, or a kitchen rom.

Ultimately, I think MooingRhino's solution is the best, if he can figure out how to implement it without having to wait to catch him online. The fees he charges for extra roms are totally reasonable (in fact, if I were using his rom for clients, I'd gladly pay 3 times as much), and it's fair that he profit from his work. If he can figure out distribution, he's got a winner.. (and should sell his serial system to anyone else who wants to use it at a profit, in addition to selling his roms)... However, if you're going to profit from selling roms, you need to remember to kick some of that up the ladder. If you're selling roms for a profit and don't continue to take care of Helmi, colonel, etc, you're no different from the ebay scum. (not accusing anyone of anything)

[Rachel.]

Well stated. I agree with much of the post. to0 and I agreed to share/distribute each other's serials as well as any Paypal payments we had received for serials. (ie. today I sent him the balance I had received from those asking for his serial). Randomwit and Berry have both been gracious enough to kick a few bucks my way via Paypal whenever they flash for a customer.

With fewer people in the loop sharing serials obviously it is a little more secure. However, I must say, it is getting a little burdensome even in my shoes trying to make sure one of the two of us is around. I can't speak for to0 but maybe a few others that we can verify and trust can be let in on this process and our keygen system so that others may benefit from the work and we can lighten our load. I for one don't do this full time by any means although it does take up a good chunk of some evenings. I have a wife and two boys 2 and 1 y/o that I'd enjoy spending time with. to0 or anyone else who'd like to comment constructively--I would love to hear your input.

[proracer]

A good solution would be to give someone my phone number before they flash. Exchanging codes for serials over the phone would work perfectly, but I'm hesitant to pass my phone number around.

Another solution I have is a code (not serial) generator: I'll have a program that people can run before they flash that'll give them their code. They send the code to me and I give them the corresponding serial before they flash. This way, people wouldn't have to make sure that one of us was on before they flashed. I'll play around with this idea.