[Info-vax] FTDI driver for windows

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 6/18/2019 12:39 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
> On 6/18/19 10:51 AM, Dave Froble wrote:
>> On 6/18/2019 9:36 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
>>> John E. Malmberg <wb8tyw at qsl.net_work> wrote:
>>>> On 6/18/2019 7:57 AM, VAXman- at SendSpamHere.ORG wrote:
>>>> <snip>
>>>>> The problem is in WEENDOZE.  The USB is an FTDI chip.  When I plug 
>>>>> in the
>>>>> altimeter, WEENDOZE proclaims a new device.  Then, WEENDOZE claims 
>>>>> that
>>>>> it's gone.  Then, it proclaims a new device.  Lather, rinse, 
>>>>> repeat.  All
>>>>> of this is before ever launching the software to download any data.
>>>
>>> This is the standard behaviour of a counterfeit FTDI device.  The 
>>> windows
>>> driver is written by FTDI and will deliberately shut down counterfeits.
>>>
>>> You may blame Windows for this, but it's doing exactly what it was 
>>> designed
>>> to do.
>>
>> This reminds me of the Intel compilers that would check the CPU, and 
>> slow down when running on AMD CPUs.
>>
>> The end user won't know what components are used, and is an innocent 
>> victim of such practices.  Personally, while I might understand, I 
>> feel that it's a rather poor practice.  Vendors like that are to be 
>> avoided.
> 
> Chinese "vendors" who steal intellectual property and then use it
> to manufacture cheap knockoffs are to be avoided.

The key question here should be: is it legal for another manufacturer
to produce a FTDI chip or not?

No => software rejecting it seems fair

Yes => software rejecting it seems problematic

Arne