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Sharktank

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Itchigo:
I read the thread at vpf, and since I'm banned there I started one here. :Content:

Hauntfreak's claim that he knows someone who had a preloaded cab is about as credible as me saying that I know someone who got one from virtuapin that way. I'm not saying either is true or not true, but I was in chat when the person Rascal was talking about was asking for help with his virtuapin.

It's funny the timing though about the local piece Paul did because my gut feeling told me "he wanted to get there first". It was sad that the community wasn't mentioned though. Paul said that was cut out.

I've made a few tables in my time, :Green: and don't feel "taken advantage of" when I see my stuff in a cab. If I wanted to keep it to myself I wouldn't upload it. :Whistle: In fact I've shared my entire cab on this site, and don't charge anything for it. I don't ask for donations to access it, and I barely get enough donations to run the site off of them (good thing this place is cheap :Green:) Heck, most people don't even post anything here, and yet I give them access to my cab anyway.

Disclosure: I've been paid to make a table 1 time, by someone who wanted to make a presentation to a potential customer and wanted a table with the customer's name on it. I did not sell the table, I was paid for my time to make it.

Pintrepid:
More turbulence over there in Greedyland? ;)

dstott:
I watched the Shark Tank episode like everybody else.  I've made my way around the sites and read what everybody had to say.  I've decided to post here because this is the no stress, cooler heads site.  Plus, we were just chided for not posting enough.  Perhaps that is because this is a no stress, cooler heads site...
Paul and Brad both sell hardware dependent on software created by an unpaid, volunteer group driven by the love of pinball.  Quite frankly, I'm surprised that any Shark would buy into such a flimsy arrangement.  He certainly can't lock in his source.  Sure, Brad ships with Zen loaded, but nobody is shelling out 7K to play Zen.  Like all of us, they want to play the pinball tables they grew up with.
Paul and Brad both support the community.  VP Cabs doesn't directly host a community site, but their ads are on all the "other" sites, so there is financial support being provided to the community.  Paul is also a significant part provider to the cab building community.  I bought my plunger and PinDMD3 from him.  He treated me well on both occasions.  I waited far too long for my plunger kit and, without asking, compensated me with a gift certificate.
In all honesty, both companies are selling finished systems designed to do nothing but play the tables produced by the community.  This community produces these tables and distributes them in a manner requiring a steep learning curve.   There is an unspoken undercurrent that the learning curve is a rite of passage and that those unwilling to get their hands dirty are undeserving.
It isn't that the people who produce these beautiful tables don't want to share.  They just don't like the concept of folks buying everything, instead of putting in the time and effort required to make it all work.  If you get it that easily, the perception is that you won't appreciate the time and effort that went into building it.  It is a hobbyist driven community and one is supposed to participate in the hobby in order to reap the rewards.
Frankly, I don't see where these "complete" systems affect the community, at all.  With a couple of notable exceptions, people wanting to buy everything ready-built are only going to hang around the community long enough to get what they want and are not going to be active participants.  They won't be the next generation of table builders because they are just passing through.  They aren't like those of us crazy enough to hit every site, every day, so we don't miss something.
Sure they are going to have the tables on their machine, whether pre-loaded or installed later, but that machine is just going to sit in the corner of their basement.  They won't be looking any deeper than the front end.
In conclusion, I think this whole thing is a non-issue.  Anybody pre-lading ROMs is not violating this community, but the company who owns those copyrights.  It seems disingenuous to now act concerned over copyrights we've been playing loose and fast with for years.  The tables, backglasses, and art have been freely given.  Nobody is about to suddenly sell thousands of 7K machines, but the publicity my bring a few more genuine hobbyists to the community.  Also, the revenue of selling a few more machines should still trickle down to the community by financing the sites that actually make up the community.  If it keeps our favorite sites running, that is a good thing.

GSGregg:
I got a kick out of the interviewer, given the opportunity to try it out, trying to shove the thing across the floor just like in the 'old days'. I imagine that flat-screen TVs / monitors can be over-flexed with expensive consequences---now if someone will just form a hammer-fist and disintegrate a pane of tempered glass...

Damn! How'd THAT happen?  :Whiteflag:

-The artist formerly known as Leech #18335-

EDIT: I came across some reference to my 'leech number', and it ended with 6, not 5. So  I dug up the original thread, and it was actually 18836-----aren't you glad I finally caught this (six years late)?

Itchigo:
Sorry, I've been out of town all week on business. I started this because I got upset about what I read over there. While I'm sure I don't have all the facts, I don't think anyone else does either.... I know one thing. I know how much I trust Paul, and that gives me a window into what I perceive as his motives. I was in the mindset of "I don't care anymore, he's going to do whatever he wants." I'm trying to get back there, it's much less stressful. :Green: But like in the Godfather.... "I try to get out, but they pull me back in..."

The original accusation I heard was about VP Cabs having preloaded cabs with vp and tables on them. I'm sure Paul does the same, despite what he'll tell you. I was in chat a while ago when someone asked for help with their Virtuapin. If one side is guilty, then I'm sure both sides are. The main thing here is Brad doesn't have a forum for his minions to "parrot" whatever he says. He's an "absentee" in this.

VP is Open Source and Freeware, so why can't both sides include it? The tables are freely available, they were put up by the authors to be downloaded and played. Sites may charge for access to them, and that's a gray area, but they can't charge for the tables themselves, so why can't they be included? Paul has a license from Randy Davis for 100 units (supposedly was given to him), but it's Open Source. Why is it necessary at all? VPCabs didn't even show VP on Sharktank, Paul did.

You know, it only takes one idiot here to go to the wrong person to go off on a misguided mission and convince them that money is being lost, and that will screw it up for the rest of us permanently. I have all my stuff backed up, do you? :Whistle:

"Unfair advantage" = sour grapes to me.

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