Head Tracking with Cliffs of Dover

[Wolf_Rider]

Originally Posted by Stipe

You can't encrypt something that you don't have a patent for it. Or am I crazy? I really don't know, that's why I'm asking.

To be honest there is I feel some may have a confusion between copyright and patent and as mentioned earlier, they are two seperate entities.





*Edit

Originally Posted by vicinity

It is for the people who bought trackir 1 & 2 and who now forced to upgrade and buy a new version if they want to get headtracking in the new games with encryption.

Vicinity, AGP died out, gameport died out, floppy drives are close to extinction and so is the P2 connection for mice and keyboards... Microsoft don't offer programming support for their FFB joystick in the (at least) last two operating system releases. where is the out cry there?

[Stipe]

Fair point. So all headtracking solutions, not just freetrack used NP code? Did you see the list NP feels that they are stealing from them? Even the ones that were around before NP? So, did NP steal from someone else in the past?

[Wolf_Rider]

Originally Posted by Stipe

Fair point. So all headtracking solutions, not just freetrack used NP code? Did you see the list NP feels that they are stealing to them? Even the ones that were around before NP? So, did NP steal from someone else in the past?

could you present the list you're refering to, please Stipe?

[Stipe]

You are right. My bad. I wasn't aware while reading. GlovePIE, NewView, tir_attack, JTrackIR and ZoomTracker
Correction: "they are doing the same thing with no problems."
What ever that might mean. It's really hard to know what's true. Are they all using NP code or NP uses their code since some of the above are older than NP based on info from web?

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by Wolf_Rider

until it is looked at and the missing bits and inaccuracies are pointed out

As i said, the fact that one sees a naturalpoint value in the registry or a similarly named dll doesn't mean it's the actual naturalpoint software, it's how one makes their custom-coded dll work with older titles: just "tell" the PC that it's NP when it's really not, because NP is the only thing the game will recognize. This is not equal to using NP software by any means, it's actually more like using an emulation or virtual machine tool like DosBox to run my old games from within windows.
Hence i stand by my opinion that if anything is getting "hacked" when using alternative methods, that is my own PC first and foremost.

To know if FT or any other tracking software is actually using NP files, you'd have to open both in some programming environment and look at them side by side. In fact, when my trackIR died and i started experimenting with freetrack, i checked that registry value and the dll has a different name. Until someone provides me with enough information that it is in fact a renamed NP file, i can't pass judgment on whether FT uses NP software. Telling my PC that the dll is NP to make it work doesn't mean it is true, i'm just instructing my PC to work with an alternative instruction set.

Long story short, we'll have to ask a lawyer or a programmer if we need more details

[Novotny]

I just hope we're starting to get through to these chaps. I am totally for consumer rights, but they seem to have some really weird idea about what they're entitled to.

[Novotny]

Again, I don't know what NP do to protect their code, but it would not be worth their while to try and stop any code that did not infringe upon their copyright.

Let's be completely frank: this is about the cost of TrackIR. If it didn't cost as much as it did, you wouldn't be screaming about it. Coca-Cola protect their intellectual rights more vociferously than perhaps anyone on the planet, but you don't care about that because you can afford it.

Seriously, why don't you channel some of this energy into something worth fighting for?

[MadBlaster]

Originally Posted by Novotny

I just hope we're starting to get through to these chaps. I am totally for consumer rights, but they seem to have some really weird idea about what they're entitled to.

Novotny, NP has every right to encrypt their code. You don't understand the issue. This is about NP creating a barrier to a market via their NDA with 1C to maintain an artificial monopoly. Ten years ago, when they really were the only player, they had every right to make tons of money as a monoply. That was ten years ago! There are now many equivalent substitutes to TrackIR. This is the natural progression, economic theory. For example, everyone use to drive model A and model T Fords in the US and ford was a monoply. Now we all drive all kinds of cars. I direct you back to Blackdog's last post. He has a firm grasp on the issue imo and I believe he has good reputation on this board, whereas, mine may, admittedly, be questionable at this point.