Situation re: unsupported software

[tomos]

Greetings,
I'm wondering what the situation is when a piece of software is no longer sold or supported.

Can that software then be freely copied (or might that even vary from country to country?)

One example would be Windows98,
but I'm actually asking cause of Freehand (Macromedia) which has been taken over by Adobe.
I'm using version 9 & was considering upgrading this summer\autumn\year..
macromedia.com is now redirected to adobe & when you click on the buy link for Freehand MX you just get a blank screen.

now this may just be temporary, but i suspect its the end for Freehand which is a shame cause I'll need twice as much time to do the same amount of work on Illustrator & probably a computer thats twice as powerful as i have now ..
(I did try out ZaraXtreme {& Inkscape} but while the difference isnt that great in terms of quality, if you're working with it all day the little things can make a huge difference in terms of time, etc.)

Anyways FH is still on sale on Ebay & not particularly cheap either (except for one so cheap I presume its a copy or whatever they do)
So I'm wondering if I "aquired" a copy or update will I be BREAKING THE LAW - these days all my software is legal & I'd like to keep it that way, cause even though I'm not very successful & working from home, I am registered as a business & as such presume I could be checked out at any stage. (Also its feels good )

From a gut point of view I couldnt care less about Adobe here cause its the one area I've always felt they've been going down the wrong road (with illustrator I mean) and now the b#$*§ds are burying my beloved freehand ...                                                                                                     

[JavaJones]

My understanding is that, unless the copyright is expired (which is unlikely with software - I think copyright terms are long enough to be outside the timeframe of mainstream software development thus far), then it would still be illegal to copy, distribute, or otherwise acquire a version not officially licensed by the publisher. This is true even if said publisher goes out of business or is bought out. This is pretty unfortunate, I agree, but companies do have a right to control their products, even if that company is now owned by another (the parent company then has that right). So it sucks, but it makes a bit of sense. I just wish if companies weren't planning to actually replace the app in question they'd sell it or open source it.

- Oshyan

[tomos]

This is pretty unfortunate, I agree, but companies do have a right to control their products, even if that company is now owned by another (the parent company then has that right). So it sucks, but it makes a bit of sense. I just wish if companies weren't planning to actually replace the app in question they'd sell it or open source it.

- Oshyan

-JavaJones (August 01, 2006, 09:15 PM)

Yeah, thats true, [companies do have a right to control their products] & they've paid for the right.

& re:
[I just wish if companies weren't planning to actually replace the app in question they'd sell it or open source it.]   well, they want me to buy illustrator      ... I could check if they're offering an upgrade from Freehand to illustrator - but think I'll check out the other competition at some stage instead (Corel, cant think of anyone else at the moment)

[app103]

There have even been cases of companies buying other software projects just to kill them.

AOL bought the rights to the DeadAIM plugin, just to kill it and guarantee there will be no future versions of it. It was a business deal that just made sense to them. They have that right...they own it now. (unfortunate for the people that already paid for DeadAIM)

Abandonware is not public domain...the original license agreement is still in effect.

At any point in time the company that holds the copyright can choose to release a new version. You never know. All you can do is hope they do...or cry if they don't.

Some of my favorite software is abandonware. For example...Claris Easy Business Cards. It was such a good product that I wish I could tell people to try it...but you can't get it any more. Apple decided not to continue development on it. I consider my copy to be priceless. I do not look forward to the day that there is a version of Windows that it will not work with or the day I can no longer buy blank sheets compatible with it. That will be a day I will cry. 

[JavaJones]

I'm sure there are projects out there that focus on reviving/recoding abandonware, but I don't have any links to such sites (I don't recall having come across any). Does anyone know of any such projects or communities? AbandonWareCoder.com?

- Oshyan