*Update* Takka’s gpSP removed from QJ

UPDATE: In this space, there used to be an article about gpSP v0.8 kai 2.9… Jex H. wrote an article about Takka‘s gpSP, but she didn’t know that it used code from Exophase‘s gpSP without Exophase’s permission. So we decided to take her article down, but first we wanted to put forth some points (if you disagree, please don’t flame Jex, flame me instead – Max F.).

Remember that there are two sides to everything, so you are free to go start a thread somewhere to hash these out:

• Freeware? Are homebrew programs “freeware”? If you believe they are, then you might think that parts of the software (or all of it) “are somebody’s property” in either of two ways:
• The strict legal sense: you think the person will win in court because the developer really has law-protected rights to his code.
• The general sense: you think a developer has the right to say, “I don’t own this code, I don’t have permission from any company, and I don’t pay royalties for use of the technology this code is related to. But come on, this code is my hard work and passion, so I have a kind of ‘right’ or ‘primacy’ with this code.”
• How far is redistribution? If the software is “free” or “available without charge” for redistribution (i.e., letting your neighbor have a copy), how far can redistribution go? Can it be tweaked? Can it be bundled with other software? Can features be added to it?
• What is official? It’d be interesting to talk to a Sony lawyer about what they think about applications for the PSP that don’t have a license from Sony. We don’t know what they’d say, and we don’t know how we’d react.
• Is it conditional? As far as we know, many homebrew developers have made CONDITIONS about the redistribution of their hard work: “you are free to redistribute this AS LONG AS CREDIT GOES WHERE IT IS DUE.”

By the way, there is an ideology that’s still alive and kicking. It’s called the free software movement. Free software is truly free. This means the maker doesn’t really care if you sell it, alter it, or make money out of it. The maker is just throwing the code out there and hoping that other people will benefit. I mention this because I think that’s where our confusion comes from: we get confused between free software and freeware.

With all that said, we now move on to the fact that we took down the article on Takka’s gpSP v0.8 kai 2.9. It took a while to decide because we were in a tough spot. If we left the article up, then some people might accuse us of not respecting Exophase’s defense of the code he has worked long and hard over. If we took it down, then people who rely on Takka’s versions will get angry because we are denying them access to what they want: perfectly free homebrew with the features they want to try.

In the end, we can’t please everybody, and sometimes, we just have to act. Apologies to all parties involved.

For the gpSP users, for Exophase, and for Takka, I hope that this whole matter can be resolved in an honorable manner so that the community can move forward towards better and better GBA emulation.

UPDATE: In this space, there used to be an article about gpSP v0.8 kai 2.9… Jex H. wrote an article about Takka‘s gpSP, but she didn’t know that it used code from Exophase‘s gpSP without Exophase’s permission. So we decided to take her article down, but first we wanted to put forth some points (if you disagree, please don’t flame Jex, flame me instead – Max F.).

Remember that there are two sides to everything, so you are free to go start a thread somewhere to hash these out:

• Freeware? Are homebrew programs “freeware”? If you believe they are, then you might think that parts of the software (or all of it) “are somebody’s property” in either of two ways:
• The strict legal sense: you think the person will win in court because the developer really has law-protected rights to his code.
• The general sense: you think a developer has the right to say, “I don’t own this code, I don’t have permission from any company, and I don’t pay royalties for use of the technology this code is related to. But come on, this code is my hard work and passion, so I have a kind of ‘right’ or ‘primacy’ with this code.”
• How far is redistribution? If the software is “free” or “available without charge” for redistribution (i.e., letting your neighbor have a copy), how far can redistribution go? Can it be tweaked? Can it be bundled with other software? Can features be added to it?
• What is official? It’d be interesting to talk to a Sony lawyer about what they think about applications for the PSP that don’t have a license from Sony. We don’t know what they’d say, and we don’t know how we’d react.
• Is it conditional? As far as we know, many homebrew developers have made CONDITIONS about the redistribution of their hard work: “you are free to redistribute this AS LONG AS CREDIT GOES WHERE IT IS DUE.”

By the way, there is an ideology that’s still alive and kicking. It’s called the free software movement. Free software is truly free. This means the maker doesn’t really care if you sell it, alter it, or make money out of it. The maker is just throwing the code out there and hoping that other people will benefit. I mention this because I think that’s where our confusion comes from: we get confused between free software and freeware.

With all that said, we now move on to the fact that we took down the article on Takka’s gpSP v0.8 kai 2.9. It took a while to decide because we were in a tough spot. If we left the article up, then some people might accuse us of not respecting Exophase’s defense of the code he has worked long and hard over. If we took it down, then people who rely on Takka’s versions will get angry because we are denying them access to what they want: perfectly free homebrew with the features they want to try.

In the end, we can’t please everybody, and sometimes, we just have to act. Apologies to all parties involved.

For the gpSP users, for Exophase, and for Takka, I hope that this whole matter can be resolved in an honorable manner so that the community can move forward towards better and better GBA emulation.