What do you think about Abandonware?

[Linuxgamer94]

Ok first rember that you can not post any links to sites that contain Abandonware. Ok and you many not tell how to crack it or where to get the patches. This is just on the moral side to it, not the legal side. Ok moral side, not the legal side. If you don't know what Abandonware is let me give you a example. EX: Windows ME, 98/95, OS/2....
OK, so who wants to go first.

[davetv]

Those examples aren't "abandonware". The codebase/s is still proprietary and current products derive their code from it.

Abandonware is when the owner gives up their rights or freely licences the codebase because the owner is abandoning it.

[Linuxgamer94]

Those examples aren't "abandonware". The codebase/s is still proprietary and current products derive their code from it.

Abandonware is when the owner gives up their rights or freely licences the codebase because the owner is abandoning it.

Definitions of "abandoned" vary, but in general it is like any item that is abandoned - it is ignored by the owner, and as such product support and possibly copyright enforcement are also "abandoned". It can refer to a product that is no longer available for legal purchase, over the age where the product creator feels an obligation to continue to support it, or where operating systems (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_systems) or hardware (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_hardware) platforms have evolved to such a degree that the creator feels continued support cannot be financially justified. In such cases, copyright and support issues are ignored. Software might also be considered abandoned when it can be used only with obsolete technologies, such as pre-Macintosh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II_series) Apple computers. A difference between Abandonware and a discontinued product is that the manufacturer has not issued an official notice of discontinuance, instead, the manufacturer is simply ignoring the product.
Abandonware may be computer software (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_software) or physical devices which are usually computerised in some fashion, such as personal computer games (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer_games), productivity applications (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_suite), utility software (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_software), or mobile phones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones).
You just got Wikipidad. See for example Windows Longhorn builds are abandonware.

[Toz]

Closed for staff review.

[Toz]

I'm no legal expert, but according to wikipedia: "Abandonware is a product, typically a software, ignored by its owner and manufacturer, and for which no product support is available. Although such software is usually still under copyright, the owner may not be tracking or enforcing copyright violations."

I'm going to re-open this thread but be careful. From the Code of Conduct (http://ubuntuforums.org/misc.php?do=showrules):

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[Linuxratty]

Unless I'm directly affected, I really don't even notice as so much just comes and goes.

[HalfNote5]

It REALLY depends on the software and the programmer/company and in exactly what way it was abandoned. If the company that created it disavows any continuing relationship with the product, won't support it, and doesn't want ANYTHING to do with it anymore, it's a bit different than someone that says "Well, we don't sell it anymore, but we're kinda playing with its codebase" or, "Well, we don't sell version 2.5, but we've just released version 14.7"

As a programmer, when I abandon software, I usually release it into the wild for free, but the proprietary coding I'd rather people not pull apart and use. I just disable the registration key bit and let 'em have at it. Now, as a programmer I'd never abandon a program people were DEPENDING on for business or productivity without releasing a key for it, and I feel programmers who do this are negligent, and self centered. BUT! At the end of the day it's their hard work, and it's their right to abandon it, and say HOW it is, and should be/stay abandoned.

[HalfNote5]

NOTE: When I say I pull off registration codes, I mean I do it for software that I, PERSONALLY have created and am releasing into the wild. I would NEVER do this to someone else's product.

[mastablasta]

there are plenty of old Dos games and programmes that were abandoned by their owners. the most common abandonware happens when company is the owner and it then goes bust. no one buys the license, so the software is in a limbo. no one owns it but due to it's propriatery nature it is also not open to be modified.

wheather it is moral that someone then redistributes it for free? i think it is. i mean they are not doing any damage to anyone. software was abandoned. no one cares what happens with it.

i've also seen some abandoned software picked up and then released with support as freeware. which in my opinion is an even better option.

some abandonware sites are quite good as they do background check on software first to make sure no one has a claim to it. however there are many that simply offer pirated material.

and finnally i still do not understand why some people have win 3.11 or DOS software locked down and won't release it freeware (it's a good advertising) despite having a much newer, better more advanced version of their software available. this is especially strange in case of old games. but then again it's the copyright holders decision.

[HalfNote5]

True. We had a bartending program that was selling a copy or two per year after smartphones came out and free apps were abundant. (Being on the programming project, I'll tell you; typing in 1500 drinks recipes is TEDIOUS.)

Since nobody wants it on CD-rom anymore, we have it now as a free website. On said website, we're advertizing our other, more profitable products. = )

[forrestcupp]

I don't have a problem morally with abandonware, as long as it is really abandonware. But the OP has demonstrated that people call things abandonware, when it isn't really. It has become such a subjective term, that you can't really look at it objectively. In a lot of cases, users who want to download software justify what they are doing by calling it abandonware, when the copyright owner may not feel the same way. Just because a copyright owner isn't making their software available right at this moment doesn't mean they never will. One great example is with Mattel and Intellivision games. They weren't on the market for years and people wanted to call them abandonware, but they were still under copyright. Then much later on, Mattel came out with a commercial emulator to play the games, and it was back on the market.

Another great example is in the OP. Microsoft still holds the copyright to every version of Windows, and every single version of Windows is available legally for people who pay for MSDN subscriptions. None of them, including MS-DOS, are abandonware. The only thing that was questionable is the code for Longhorn, but that was eventually shut down by MS.

In my opinion, the only software that can truly be considered abandonware are the ones from companies who don't exist anymore, and the copyrights didn't transfer over to anyone. The only other possibility, in my opinion, is when the copyright owner publicly decides to give up his rights and release the software to the public. But there is too much waving the abandonware wand around to just accept that everything called abandonware is really morally ok to download.