[PD] PD "Projector", Executables or similar

[Marc Lavallée]

On Fri, Jan 02, 2004 at 08:07:19PM +0100, derek holzer wrote:

> The only reason Max/MSP allows executables to be compiled is to allow 
> people to run patches on multiple machines, thus getting around some of 
> the trickiness of their licensing agreement. 

I remember a couple of years ago I was able to "decompile" Max
executables. It was on MacOS8. The actual patches where embedded in the
"resource fork" of the executable, and it was trivial to transfert the
data to a Max file.

> Nor would I like to see this mentality carried over into PD.

It's very difficult to change the mainstream artistic mentality, and the
public accept to be treated like bad children, or even worst, like
pirates.

> As others have already noted, it is quite simple to make a "live CD" of 
> PD with the patches you would like users to run. And in this case, you 
> not only give somebody one patch, but access to a whole new tool. I 
> guess they used to call that "added value" ;-)

But I don't think artists will embrace the live cd technology unless its
content can be protected. Although I think content should be open, it is
the responsability of the artists to decide if they should protect part
of their works, using publicly available technology. It would be possible
to create an encrypted live cd, and it could potentially help artists
embrace free technology. The problem we're facing now with DRM and
anti-copy technologies is that they are designed by big companies for
their own profit. There's nothing wrong with anti-copy technology if we
all have access to the technology and decide what we can do with it.

--
Marc