Alessio Sangalli wrote:
> Nicolas Alvarez wrote:
> 
>> Any and all *betas* will keep having the time-bomb. (and that's not under
>> discussion)
> 
> I do not want to hurt anybody's feelings - please anyway, consider a
> more extended period of time for the bomb, so that people will always
> be able to try out a beta version before it is expires and no new
> version is available for download. I realize this question and the
> licensing issues are a very hot topic, I do not want to discuss or
> express disagreement - I would only like to be able to test new POV-ray
> versions, that's it.

It can already be extended (see J.Hunt's reply).

What I meant with "that's not under discussion" is that people have been
saying "take the expiration away!" for YEARS. The question keeps coming up
and the developers keep giving the reasons why they won't remove the
expiration. It's not going to be removed. Anyone who is *really* annoyed by
the expiration can wait for the final release.

> By the way: in legal terms, is it allowed/tolerated to patch the code
> (it seems very easy) to disable the bomb?

The *source code* for the betas is available (that's new for 3.7; in the
past, like for 3.1 or 3.5, the source code wasn't released until it was out
of beta). You're allowed to recompile it with the "time bomb" removed, but
only for personal use; you can't redistribute that binary.

Post a reply to this message