Cumulus Support

Hi,

I have been building and selling data loggers for Davis consoles for a while now.
See http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=25564.msg255201
I have recently been playing with a Raspberry Pi 2 and Cumulus MX, and love it.

What I wanted to do was put a package together with a Raspberry Pi 2 with Cumulus MX pre installed on the SD card, so it was kind of plug and play. Easy for those that don't have Linux experience and don't have the time to learn and want a plug and play solution.
Just plug in the logger, power and Ethernet and your off.

I couldn't find any software licensing information, and I didn't want up sent anyone.
I wouldn't be selling Cumulus, just the hardware and my time, I do this as more of a hobby.

Steve can you confirm that I wouldn't be in breach of any software licensing etc?

Regards.

Uksa007 wrote:I couldn't find any software licensing information, and I didn't want up sent anyone.

The included CumulusMX Licence.txt file says:

This is beta software. Use it at your own risk.

Copying and distribution of this software is forbidden, except where the individual licences
of the included components permit.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the software, nor attempt in any other manner to obtain the source code.

The included Highcharts are not licensed for commercial use.
See http://shop.highsoft.com/faq/non-commercial
They are supplied under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

So you are not allowed to do what you are proposing, sorry.

steve wrote:

Uksa007 wrote:I couldn't find any software licensing information, and I didn't want up sent anyone.

The included CumulusMX Licence.txt file says:

This is beta software. Use it at your own risk.

Copying and distribution of this software is forbidden, except where the individual licences
of the included components permit.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the software, nor attempt in any other manner to obtain the source code.

The included Highcharts are not licensed for commercial use.
See http://shop.highsoft.com/faq/non-commercial
They are supplied under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

So you are not allowed to do what you are proposing, sorry.

Far enough.

Are you in favour of the concept eg making it more accessible?

Would this be an option?

Assuming the people purchasing this are non comerical (would add disclaimer to ensure they are aware it's for non comerical use.)

How about a script that runs at boot up: eg installs Cumulus MX, adds it to cron etc.
That way I haven't distrubited anything, apart from a script I wrote?

Technically the end user installed it on boot up.

Downloading it could be a challenge given you have to login to the forum, but I'm sure we could come up with a solution, maybe I donate $1 or something for every unit sold, and you allow me to distribute it or download it from somewhere?

Thoughts?

It won't always be a link in the forum, at some point (when it is out of beta) it will be available with the other downloads without registering. I'm not really happy about auto-downloading and installing, but at a pinch I might allow it (in the future) as long as it is very clear where it is coming from and very clear that it is strictly for non-commercial use. I don't want to jeopardise the arrangement I have with Highcharts, and I don't want any confusion about who is providing the software, as has happened with Cumulus 1 in the past. Saying 'technically the end user installed it' is against the licence in spirit at least.

Please note that what you are proposing is something I am considering doing myself anyway at some point in the future (MX supplied preinstalled and configured with a Raspberry Pi) at which point I would buy a commercial licence for Highcharts and any of the other components I am using which require it.

steve wrote:It won't always be a link in the forum, at some point (when it is out of beta) it will be available with the other downloads without registering. I'm not really happy about auto-downloading and installing, but at a pinch I might allow it (in the future) as long as it is very clear where it is coming from and very clear that it is strictly for non-commercial use. I don't want to jeopardise the arrangement I have with Highcharts, and I don't want any confusion about who is providing the software, as has happened with Cumulus 1 in the past. Saying 'technically the end user installed it' is against the licence in spirit at least.

Please note that what you are proposing is something I am considering doing myself anyway at some point in the future (MX supplied preinstalled and configured with a Raspberry Pi) at which point I would buy a commercial licence for Highcharts and any of the other components I am using which require it.

Sounds like you are thinking commercial use or charging for MX?
Maybe this is something we can partner with in the future, so you wouldn't have to deal with logistics (stock, shipping etc)

At this point I'm just trying to make it easier for the hobbyist.
I too would like to avoid auto install scripts.
Are there licensing issues for non commercial use that would prevent preinstalling eg highcharts etc or is it just your licence?

If it's your licensing, is there any way I can convince you to allow me to preinstall?
Eg give you some control on how it is advertised, perhaps using an ad or sticky in this forum, donation for each unit sold to help with the costs of running the site etc.

Happy to work with you to come up with a solution you are comfortable with.

Uksa007 wrote:Sounds like you are thinking commercial use or charging for MX?

That was always my intention. At the moment I am reconsidering.

Are there licensing issues for non commercial use that would prevent preinstalling eg highcharts etc or is it just your licence?

The MX licence I quoted explains that the included Highcharts are not licensed for commercial use.

Thanks for the offer, but if I do make MX commercial, I'm happy to handle it all myself.

steve wrote:

Uksa007 wrote:Sounds like you are thinking commercial use or charging for MX?

That was always my intention. At the moment I am reconsidering.

The MX licence I quoted explains that the included Highcharts are not licensed for commercial use.

Thanks for the offer, but if I do make MX commercial, I'm happy to handle it all myself.

So the way I read this, there is no issue with Highsoft redistribution for non commercial users.
Remember I'm not charging for Cumulus just the hardware that has the software included for non commercial users at no cost.

NON-COMMERCIAL REDISTRIBUTION.
You are allowed to distribute a Highsoft software product with non-commercial packages given that you fulfill two conditions:

Emphasize to your users that a Highsoft software product is not free for commercial use. You can do this on your download page or when your users activate a Highsoft software product in your application.
Provide a link back to this web page in the same location.

So it looks like it's just your licensing.
What's the difference if you allowed me to preinstall it, or I write instructions on how to register and download it from the forum, and some scripting to install it? The end result is the same, the user is still using it, the latter just makes it harder for the user and harder for me supporting the user.

I'm not going to claim it's my software, I will make it clear it's your's, will do the same as Highsoft require, eg provide a link to your site etc, make sure it's emphasised thats it's for non commercial use only etc, + whatever you like.

The Cumulus MX licence is, I think, very clear:

"Copying and distribution of this software is forbidden"

steve wrote:The Cumulus MX licence is, I think, very clear:

"Copying and distribution of this software is forbidden"

Yea it is, thats why I'm here talking with you, I assume it's your licence and you have the ability to grant exceptions and exclusions.

What I was hoping for was that you would agree to an exception, where you would allow me to copy/distribute for the purposes of inclusion with hardware for non commercial users.

Can I ask why your not keen on this? It still leaves the door wide open for you to charge for the software and commercial use.

Could it be that after putting a year or so of his life into developing the software that Steve doesn't want someone to make money out of his work, plus the software is still in BETA which means all the support would fall back on Steve not you.

Why can't you take No for an answer and move on elsewhere.