This feels illegal. Like it’s probably not, but it should be.
That’s the neat thing about being in the American oligarchs class. If it’s illegal just make it legal.
Nowadays you cant do anything with the software or hardware you put and have on your pc.
If nvidia is going to go on a power trip, then please make that nvidia drivers is only allowed to get installed by nvidia servicemen before that the servicemen teaches the user about their 30 thousand page eula what and what they can do with THEIR bought hardware.
I read the article, and a few points stuck out to me:
- This has been a restriction since 2021; now it’s documented in the files and not just the online EULA (ie consistent)
- This is a protection to disallow other companies like Intel and AMD from profiting off of Nvidia’s work
- Nothing is stopping anybody from porting the software to other hardware, eg
Recompiling existing CUDA programs remains perfectly legal. To simplify this, both AMD and Intel have tools to port CUDA programs to their ROCm (1) and OpenAPI platforms, respectively.
I’m all for piracy and personal freedoms, but it doesn’t seem to be what this is about. It’s about combating other companies profiting off Nvidia’s work. Companies should be able to fight back against other companies (or countries).
I mean it’s not like Nvidia is unreasonably suing open-source projects into oblivion or anything, or subpoenaing websites for user data; at least, not yet.
Their motive is likely more profit but the result is an unjust restriction on user software freedom. It doesn’t matter if they make less money, maximising profit is not why we grant them copyright. Nvidia is often unreasonable, fuck off Nvidia.
maximising profit is not why we grant them copyright
That’s the only reason copyright exists. Because society decided that if you’re the one to put work into developing something, you should be the one reaping the profits, at least for some time.
Society in general has not granted this, it was corrupt lawmakers. Notice the distinction of maximizing profits, no one says no profits should be had at all. But I’m pretty sure most of the people don’t want companies to literally hold back progress of a whole field, of humanity in general just so their profits can be maximized. It’s only the ones directly benefitting from this that would want this, or if you’re brainwashed by those parties, otherwise you’re just against your own best interests (and of the rest of humanity) which is irrational.
