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A question to Slysoft team

This thread was a good read. I've had an arguement in private with a particular moderator who shall remain nameless. He kept saying how bad SlySoft was for stealing the work of the freeware community. This was only speculation of course, which, in the past he would close threads and warn users for 'speculation'.
 
This thread was a good read. I've had an arguement in private with a particular moderator who shall remain nameless. He kept saying how bad SlySoft was for stealing the work of the freeware community. This was only speculation of course, which, in the past he would close threads and warn users for 'speculation'.

That makes me feel blue.
 
This thread was a good read. I've had an arguement in private with a particular moderator who shall remain nameless. He kept saying how bad SlySoft was for stealing the work of the freeware community. This was only speculation of course, which, in the past he would close threads and warn users for 'speculation'.

Well, he's invited to discuss this with me and I'll be happy to give him all proof he wants to see, to convince him, that we cannot possibly have used any of the freeware community's findings. And he's free to give me all indications he thinks there are, that suggest, we did.

It's really sad, because as James said: the ones deeply involved in the work at doom9.org, who have been in the game from the very start, know that we went our own way. Some even tried to reverse AnyDVD to find out how it works.

The ones who keep claiming, that SlySoft "stole" the heroic work from the community - I sort of think, they don't really believe that themselves, they just want to discredit SlySoft because they don't like the fact, that we're making money with it.

Truth is: we'd probably be facing a hard time, if we were dependent on Doom9.org's results. We have a good reputation and would be putting that at risk, because I don't trust, that Doom9.org will keep up with the AACS cat and mouse game fast enough.
Their progress is very slow. That is not because they are stupid, but simply because their brightest guys are not working full-time on it (we do) and because they don't even have the appropriate hardware (we do).

Anyway - these postings have been deleted from AVForums, because "Discussion of DVD piracy tools is not allowed on the AVForums".
This is a legitimate reason - their rules actually state that.
 
Well, he's invited to discuss this with me and I'll be happy to give him all proof he wants to see, to convince him, that we cannot possibly have used any of the freeware community's findings. And he's free to give me all indications he thinks there are, that suggest, we did.
I'm not sure if that person would be up to the challenge. Leading him/her into the 'dragons lair' so to speak.

Some even tried to reverse AnyDVD to find out how it works.
Could I have a link to that thread? It reckon it would be an interesting read!

The ones who keep claiming, that SlySoft "stole" the heroic work from the community - I sort of think, they don't really believe that themselves, they just want to discredit SlySoft because they don't like the fact, that we're making money with it.
That's pretty much what he/she hated. They felt that it was a whole money making scheme. Although, they could not give me proof to back up their claims.
 
That's pretty much what he/she hated. They felt that it was a whole money making scheme. Although, they could not give me proof to back up their claims.

Well, I have to admit, that I'm on their side on this part...
I was really furious, when my car dealer revealed to me, that I'd actually have to pay for my car.
I mean - that thing is made of resources that come from our mother earth, which is supposed to belong to all of us. How can somebody have the nerve to make money with something, that belongs to all of us, I ask you?!?

Free cars for everyone! Free pens, free pants and while we're at it: where is my daily free meal, for heavens sake?!?!?

And why do I have to get up early every morning?
Where has all the love gone?
Which end of the banana should I bite into?
When.....
Oh, agony, the world is complicated and bad...
 
Like they say in Brooklyn

This talk about "stolen" code is pathetic. Really pathetic.
What Peer has done is equivalent to re-inventing smoke and mirrors all over again :bowdown: A true accomplishment.:clap:

To the one who "discovered" that SlySoft must have stolen something to get to where it is today I can only pass on some delineators from my homeland:

1. Put up or shut up!! Where's yours?

2. If the Doom guys were sitting on such a super tool, why have they kept it secret so long? And what do I think? They ain't got no nuthin (correct English of this east of Philly expression: "empty hands".

Stultorum plena sunt omnia (Lord Byron said that)

Ciao4now

expat83
 
Just to keep this from going in the wrong direction - it's not the "Doom guys" themselves who accused us of "stealing".
They do theirs and we do ours.
 
One thing I have to say that I do find humorous is that I haven't seen any mention of DVDFab having stolen anything. Maybe people have made comments but I haven't seen it anywhere. I mean DVDFab added the HD/BR support but only to the freeware version until it's more mature, I assume. But I haven't seen any criticism. Is it purely because at this point it's only in a freeware version? What happens when the authors consider it complete and add it into the Gold/Platinum versions? Will an outcry take place then? Was it the fact that Slysoft offered a solution so quickly that bothered people so much?

Sorry, not trying to turn this into a DVDFab thread or anything but it's something that has been nagging at me for awhile. I do consider this relevant to the discussion.
 
Was it the fact that Slysoft offered a solution so quickly that bothered people so much?

I find there is a lot of animosity directed towards Slysoft in general--especially from the former ripit4me and freeware community. I find the hatred is unfounded (whether it be out of jealousy because Slysoft was first to accomplish something or simply because Slysoft products are not free).

At least one moderator on the doom9 (and probably the Digital Digest forums . . . although I haven't bothered searching) made unkind remarks about how Slysoft operates in the past (seemed to imply a "license key fiasco" and wondered "how much [Slysoft] will take of the great work done [at Doom9], package it up with a foxy icon and sell it to people?").

When a moderator starts making those (not so subtle) remarks/questions on Doom9, then I really don't wonder why animosity towards Slysoft begins to spread.
 
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I find there is a lot of animosity directed towards Slysoft in general--especially from the former ripit4me and freeware community. I find the hatred, in general, is unfounded (whether it be out of jealousy or dislike simply because Slysoft products are not free).

Yeah, I've seen a lot of that in my readings pretty much everywhere. There's always a cluster of people who hate Slysoft.

Slysoft has some amazing programmers (James & peer) and they focus on getting the job done. And, in the end, they do. They have financial backing since they work for a software company to make their products which duh is good for everyone! Let people whine and complain. Let them cut off their nose to spite their face. But, I'd be willing to bet that some of those people who so vocally declare their hatred own Slysoft products but won't admit it.

At least one moderators on the doom9 (and probably the digital digest forums . . . although I haven't bothered searching) made unkind remarks about how Slysoft operates in the past:

<snip>

When a moderator starts making those kinds of remarks on Doom9, then I really don't wonder why animosity begins to spread.

Yeah, when linx05 made his comment about a mod I knew who it was immediately. I've seen enough postings to know. It's easy to ignore the people who just want to bash and speculate [and don't really know anything] but what irks me the most is the hypocrisy of someone who I consider quite knowledgeable not letting others speculate but then making unfounded accusations. And coming from a mod at doom9... well, that's a sad example of abuse of power, IMO.

Personally, I take the "Put up or shut up" stance. Until anyone can prove anything they make themselves look foolish by continuing to act so immature.
 
One thing I have to say that I do find humorous is that I haven't seen any mention of DVDFab having stolen anything. [...] Is it purely because at this point it's only in a freeware version?

That would be my guess.


What happens when the authors consider it complete and add it into the Gold/Platinum versions? Will an outcry take place then?

Maybe yes, maybe no. It is very likely, that DVDFab actually is using Doom9's output (I refuse to use the word 'stealing' here). I still don't think that this would deserve an "outcry" of any kind.

Was it the fact that Slysoft offered a solution so quickly that bothered people so much?

Ironic isn't it? :)

Now I think, there are several possible reasons for DVDFab releasing a freeware version, that may all apply (or none):

1. It's simply not mature enough to actually get paid for (because maybe it doesn't exceed the functionality of the freeware tools BackupBluray/HDDVD)
EDIT: please note, that I haven't bothered to take a close look at that product so far, so this is not to be misinterpreted as a "software review" of DVDFab.

2. They want to "flood" the market with their product by dumping it for free at first, then charge the userbase as soon as it's large enough.

3. They also might not be sure, whether the program will still work, after the upcoming revocations, because the source of their keys is Doom9.org (and who knows, if Doom9 will manage to come up with the new keys at all?).
We certainly wouldn't bet our customer's money on the ability of the Doom9 community to keep up with AACS... (I may be wrong, but It simply sounds too risky to me).

BTW: I don't see why this would be off-topic. The topic is "A question to SlySoft team" :)
 
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One thing I have to say that I do find humorous is that I haven't seen any mention of DVDFab having stolen anything. Maybe people have made comments but I haven't seen it anywhere. I mean DVDFab added the HD/BR support but only to the freeware version until it's more mature, I assume. But I haven't seen any criticism. Is it purely because at this point it's only in a freeware version? What happens when the authors consider it complete and add it into the Gold/Platinum versions? Will an outcry take place then? Was it the fact that Slysoft offered a solution so quickly that bothered people so much?

Sorry, not trying to turn this into a DVDFab thread or anything but it's something that has been nagging at me for awhile. I do consider this relevant to the discussion.
I believe DVDFab uses open source code originally licensed under the GPL anyway without mentioning it or offering the DVDFab sources, so I don't think Fengtao cares much about open source or what people say. Maybe customers don't care if stolen code is used, as long as it works.

Just searching the strings in avcodec.dll shipping with DVDFabPlatinum 3.1.0.8

"This software is derived from the GNU GPL XviD codec (1.1.0).
Your software distributor has to give access to its source code"

Ah, interesting. Where is the link to the source? Where is the copy of the GPL license?

From the readme.txt:

DVDFab Platinum 3.1.0.8
Copyright (C) 2001-2007 Fengtao Software Inc.

No mention of GPL code in readme.txt or license.txt

As long as the authors of the code used without license are not complaining... maybe he has a private agreement with them (but I doubt this, as this would certainly be mentioned in the license.txt). Funny license by the way, a chinese software with a license "governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina". But fortunately that's not my business.
 
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Maybe yes, maybe no. It is very likely, that DVDFab actually is using Doom9's output (I refuse to use the word 'stealing' here).

I agree completely. And I wouldn't consider it stealing since the discussions and everything are completely in the open.

Ironic isn't it? :)

Abso-freakin-lutely!

Now I think, there are several possible reasons for DVDFab releasing a freeware version, that may all apply (or none):

1. It's simply not mature enough to actually get paid for (because maybe it doesn't exceed the functionality of the freeware tools BackupBluray/HDDVD)

I agree. They still haven't gotten to region coding on BR and I honestly have seen little to no discussion about how well it works on the DVDFab forums in terms of handling HD/BR ripping.

2. They want to "flood" the market with their product by dumping it for free at first, then charge the userbase as soon as it's large enough.

A completely sound and wise financial decision. Also it allows them to cut in run in the event they find continuing the work on BR/HD to not be feasible.

3. They also might not be sure, whether the program will still work, after the upcoming revocations, because the source of their keys is Doom9.org (and who knows, if Doom9 will manage to come up with the new keys at all?).
We certainly wouldn't bet our customer's money on the ability of the Doom9 community to keep up with AACS... (I may be wrong, but It simply sounds too risky to me).

I completely agree and this allows them a way out w/o their paying customers crying foul. It also might placate the doom9 people because it's free.

Another thing to note is that you can actually install DVDFab HD Decrypter and DVDFab Platinum on the same system at the same time. So... they let their paying customers have access to the HD/BR content, too. It's somewhat the best of both worlds and since DVDFab is taking no money for it... it goes back to (1) really great PR, (2) not upsetting the doom9 crowd, (3) covering their butt in the event they wish to not continue supporting HD/BR copying.

BTW: I don't see why this would be off-topic. The topic is "A question to SlySoft team" :)

Heh. I did consider it relevant but ya never know. :D
 
I believe DVDFab uses open source code originally licensed under the GPL anyway without mentioning it or offering the DVDFab sources, so I don't think Fengtao cares much about open source or what people say. Maybe customers don't care if stolen code is used, as long as it works.

Right, the only time people care is when they are trying to get other people not to use a software program like... I don't know... AnyDVD. The right person makes an accusation and voila suddenly it must be true! *sigh* Idiocy run rampant.

Just searching the strings in avcodec.dll shipping with DVDFabPlatinum 3.1.0.8

"This software is derived from the GNU GPL XviD codec (1.1.0).
Your software distributor has to give access to its source code"

Ah, interesting. Where is the link to the source? Where is the copy of the GPL license?

That is so pathetically sad.

As long as the authors of the code used without license are not complaining... maybe he has a private agreement with them (but I doubt this, as this would certainly be mentioned in the license.txt). Funny license by the way, a chinese software with a license "governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina". But fortunately that's not my business.

True. Without a complaint what's going to happen. Would it even be worth going after him? Not really. And, yes, that's a pretty odd license. I never took the time to actually read it. You learn something new every day.
 
Yeah, when linx05 made his comment about a mod I knew who it was immediately.

Boy, maybe it's time to start an open discussion with those folks.
It's ridiculous, since they really don't seem to know much about us, and I feel they have this picture of greedy, slimy little SlySoft monsters housing in caves and ignoring moral of any sort.
I really don't see the problem, as we are no danger to them - and I don't think they cost us too many customers; it's just two different kind of people, their and our users. Their users think it's cool to get it for free, even if every single rip is real hard work :)
So I don't really see a reason for this animosity.
 
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