Re:Show HN: Add license key verification to your apps
by sova on Tuesday April 28, 2020 @03:25PM
(#23010774)
One problem with this maxim is that all nefarious code would also be open-sourced. Would you really want every subversive tool also openly available? One could argue that the inner workings of a car engine or music box are "closed source," yet there is no imperative on releasing detailed schematics with every unit.
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Re:Show HN: Add license key verification to your apps
by JoshTriplett on Tuesday April 28, 2020 @03:39PM
(#23010932)
> One problem with this maxim is that all nefarious code would also be open-sourced. Would you really want every subversive tool also openly available?
Yes, of course. Every last one of them. That will make such tools more usable by people who actually need them, and more understandable by those defending against them.
> One could argue that the inner workings of a car engine or music box are "closed source," yet there is no imperative on releasing detailed schematics with every unit.
If everyone could carry around a machinists shop and universal manufacturing facility they way they can carry around a laptop, there'd be a lot more demand for such schematics. (And there is already such demand among groups of hobbyists and enthusiasts in those areas.)