Terms of Use: Difference between revisions
| (3 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
The STorM32 firmware is provided free of charge, but is not open source (i.e., it is free as in “free beer” but it is not freeware as in “freedom"). It consists of the binaries for the main controller board and the NT modules. | The STorM32 firmware is provided free of charge, but is not open source (i.e., it is free as in “free beer” but it is not freeware as in “freedom"). It consists of the binaries for the main controller board and the NT modules. | ||
In addition to unrestricted private use, you are also granted permission to use the firmware for commercial purposes, provided that: (1) you do not modify the firmware in any way (e.g., remove or alter copyright statements), (2) you provide it free of charge (e.g., do not impose any explicit or implicit fees on your customers), and (3) you clearly and correctly declare and acknowledge the use and origin of the firmware (e.g., in product documentation or descriptions, on your website, in interviews, and so on). | |||
{{COMMENT|Compliance with these terms of use is not merely a matter of netiquette, but a legal obligation, especially also point (3).}} | {{COMMENT|Compliance with these terms of use is not merely a matter of netiquette, but a legal obligation, especially also point (3).}} | ||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
== Terms of Use: Windows GUI == | == Terms of Use: Windows GUI == | ||
The Windows GUI (o323BGCTool) software is open source. In addition to unrestricted private use, you are also granted permission to use the software for commercial purposes, provided that: (1) you do not remove or change copyright statements, (2) you provide it free of charge (e.g., do not impose any explicit or implicit fees on your customers), and (3) you clearly and correctly acknowledge the use and origin of the | The Windows GUI (o323BGCTool) software is open source (see next paragraph). In addition to unrestricted private use, you are also granted permission to use the software for commercial purposes, provided that: (1) you do not remove or change copyright statements, (2) you provide it free of charge (e.g., do not impose any explicit or implicit fees on your customers), and (3) you clearly and correctly declare and acknowledge the use and origin of the firmware (e.g., in product documentation or descriptions, on your website, in interviews, and so on). | ||
The Windows GUI software is written in Perl and relies on several libraries, such as Win32::GUI, most of which are no longer actively maintained. Only the GUI’s source code is published; the libraries themselves are not included, meaning that a fully working distribution is not provided. | The Windows GUI software is written in Perl and relies on several libraries, such as Win32::GUI, most of which are no longer actively maintained. Only the GUI’s source code is published; the libraries themselves are not included, meaning that a fully working distribution is not provided. The published code however contains all the essential components needed to understand the software’s internal workings and details of the serial communication. | ||
Latest revision as of 03:45, 12 November 2025
The STorM32 project consists of three parts:
- STorM32 Firmware (o323BGC and NT module firmwares)
- STorM32 Hardware (controller board and NT modules as published in the STorM32 github repository [1])
- Windows GUI o323BGCTool
These three components are the intellectual property and copyright of the author, and each has its own terms of use.
Terms of Use: STorM32 Firmware
The STorM32 firmware is provided free of charge, but is not open source (i.e., it is free as in “free beer” but it is not freeware as in “freedom"). It consists of the binaries for the main controller board and the NT modules.
In addition to unrestricted private use, you are also granted permission to use the firmware for commercial purposes, provided that: (1) you do not modify the firmware in any way (e.g., remove or alter copyright statements), (2) you provide it free of charge (e.g., do not impose any explicit or implicit fees on your customers), and (3) you clearly and correctly declare and acknowledge the use and origin of the firmware (e.g., in product documentation or descriptions, on your website, in interviews, and so on).
Comment: Compliance with these terms of use is not merely a matter of netiquette, but a legal obligation, especially also point (3).
Terms of Use: STorM32 Hardware
All STorM32 hardware published in the STorM32 GitHub repository [2] is open-source hardware, released under the terms of the TAPR Open Hardware License (OHL) as published by the Free Hardware Foundation, see http://www.tapr.org/ohl.html.
The TAPR license explicitly permits commercial use, subject to a few straightforward conditions, e.g., that copyright notices and logos must not be removed.
Comment: Besides the "official" designs a good number of independent designs of STorM32 hardware exist; these are of course copyright of the respective author(s) and come with their own terms of use.
Terms of Use: Windows GUI
The Windows GUI (o323BGCTool) software is open source (see next paragraph). In addition to unrestricted private use, you are also granted permission to use the software for commercial purposes, provided that: (1) you do not remove or change copyright statements, (2) you provide it free of charge (e.g., do not impose any explicit or implicit fees on your customers), and (3) you clearly and correctly declare and acknowledge the use and origin of the firmware (e.g., in product documentation or descriptions, on your website, in interviews, and so on).
The Windows GUI software is written in Perl and relies on several libraries, such as Win32::GUI, most of which are no longer actively maintained. Only the GUI’s source code is published; the libraries themselves are not included, meaning that a fully working distribution is not provided. The published code however contains all the essential components needed to understand the software’s internal workings and details of the serial communication.