Edit: I’ve changed the title of the thread to more accurately reflect what it is I was looking for. And to provide a link to the Idea’s and feature’s request I made requesting that there be a way to remove the popup the appears every time you launch a perspective client using maker’s edition.
Original:
One of the things I’m working on is using Maker’s Edition on a Raspberry pi as a display. It’s working well so far, I have chromium auto launch when the user logs in in kiosk mode, but each time it splashes up a “personal use only” message.
I’d like to not have to hook up a touch screen or plug in a mouse each time I boot, is there any way to get it to auto agree after the first log in?
Also is there any way to make a license more permanent? I plan on using it while being in remote places (on bike rides), and can’t guarantee I’ll always have a signal for internet access.
I'm sure there is a way, but you are unlikely to find an answer on this forum, as something like this could be easily exploited to get around the terms/license agreements etc.
I agree that ideally there should be an option to not require user input to get around the popup. My preferred solution would be to provide a banner (similar to the trial licence one) that is permanently displayed.
Ideally the banner/popup would be an option accessible via the session props, so that it can be selected on a per session basis. This would be good for seesions that do have user input so that the popup can still be dismissed.
I'm not sure what the method is for making feature requests for Maker edition (whether we can use the feedback page, or whether it's all done through here?). I may create a separate post for this...
make a license more permanent? I plan on using it while being in remote places (on bike rides), and can’t guarantee I’ll always have a signal for internet access.
I assume you're taking the pi out with a small LCD display? I thought the license polled periodically so didn't require a permanent Internet connection (not sure how long this is)? My internet's gone down for a couple of hours before and I haven't had any license warnings but I have a server-client setup. I guess when you switch the pi on it does a license check on gateway startup?
I’m sure there is a way, but you are unlikely to find an answer on this forum, as something like this could be easily exploited to get around the terms/license agreements etc
Well, yes, but I was rather hoping for an official way to go about it. Like a setting where after the first time a specific client and application was launched it wouldn't pop up every single time you launched it, that seems a bit excessive to something that I agreed to at several points along the way of using maker's edition.
I thought the license polled periodically so didn’t require a permanent Internet connection (not sure how long this is)?
I don't have my pi powered up right now or I'd check to get a definitive answer, but I get the feeling it was polling once every hour to update the license when I looked a couple days ago. Seeing as how I already had the license verified when I installed it, it again seems excessive. It also makes it impossible to use for the project that isn't going to have internet access, which is disappointing because while limited maker's edition is ripe full of feature that makes it a natural team up for arduinos or Raspberry Pis. I could easily justify paying $20 bucks a license to have an hmi for so many of my hobby projects.
Unfortunately, no official way as far as I'm aware. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you of anything I agree with your view point, but I also see it from IA's point of view as well. Do you think the suggestion I mentioned previously would be a fair compromise? If so I can get a feature request made and we can try to get some backing for it.
Good to know (I must've over-estimated how long my internet went down, it felt like an eternity )
I understand why this would be frustrating for your use case. Unfortunately, in this case, Maker probably isn't the right tool for the job. In it's current state it is more aimed at home automation & as learning tool (IMO). In my experience IA will listen, so keep poking
Do you think the suggestion I mentioned previously would be a fair compromise?
Personally, I would rather not have a banner plastered to the top of every project I make. That's something I would expect if I was operating under a trial license, but once the product is correctly licensed it makes no sense to have a banner.
And again, for the power set it gives I would very much be willing to pay for each license to be able to have more than 3 maker projects. This is a natural fit for the Raspberry pi and Arduino, both of which can be configured for mobus communication to control their physical IO, but there are some limiting factors that keep it from being truly usable in a large way. (Such as the need to agree to the license every time you launch an app and the internet connection requirement).
However, the feature request idea is a good one, I'll go ahead and make 3 request (ability to purchase additional licenses, ability to remove popip, and ability to make license permanent instead of leased) and create a new thread(s) to discuss those feature requests and provide a link to the ignition features and ideas page.
Also I was mistaken, the license has to renew every 4 hours, but each hour it tries to renew it it in advance so that if you loose internet connection at the 4th hour you hopefully have already successfully renewed it an hour ago so it’s not a mad rush to get internet back up
Maker is still in its infancy, so I’m guessing there is plenty of scope to change the direction of how it’s used.
I’ll happily support anything that makes projects more accessible and easier for us. But in this case, I think there will be some compromise. Maker is a free resource in the end and could easily be exploited to use commercially. I agree the banner doesn’t really stop exploitation (it’s just an annoyance), but the license model I can kind of understand with the way Ignition is ‘traditionally’ used.
I still largely agree with you though, so I’ve casted my votes
Yes, the ability to exploit it commercially is a concern, I just don’t want a solution that punishes people who are just following the rule while being a minor inconvenience to anyone breaking the rules. A long time ago I asked for something like the Maker’s Edition to be made, so I’m very happy to see it taking shape.
I think the ability to purchase a cheap license (and maybe even one that comes with less modules to make it less appetizing to those who would abuse the system) would be a good compromise and get lots of the maker community purchasing lots of cheap licenses.
I would also prefer a small static bar at the top as it is on server with trail instead of clicking. Or in Maker Edition the administrator hast to do something special.
Range of functions in Maker is perfect and I wouldn’t make less modules.
I would prefer there be no forced popup OR banner that appears. as far as I am concerned, I agreed to it being for non commercial use when the maker edition key was generated.
I was hoping to replace my Home Assistant with something more industrial. but unfortunately this is a deal breaker for me.
After using Ignition commercially for nearly a decade, I dipped my toes into the maker space for a project that I was really excited about. It's just some lightweight HMI stuff, a couple display-only terminals.
I have to say, I was kind of surprised by the popup, and am even more surprised by the negative feedback in your threads. I largely agree with you, that if it's going to be a maker / community style licensing agreement, they should embrace that and find ways to enforce licensing compliance in a manner that doesn't punish the UX.
I can see the licensing arguments in your other thread, and I acknowledge that there will always be bad actors out there, but for a product that offers industrial SCADA licensing at very low $20k (or even lower), I just don't see much incentive for commercial abuse of the maker license.
Re: any maker licensing costs. I've worked with the product. I know I can easily get hundreds of dollars worth of enjoyment out of tinkering with it on my days off. If they want payment for a maker edition or for additional licenses, I think thats an easy conversation to have. I don't expect IA to give it away, and I can't begrudge them wanting to protect their product. I was just a little surprised that the minds behind the maker edition saw it as a great enough risk that they opted to handicap it.
If $20k is the barrier to entry for an industrial operation and they've committed to abusing a makers license, I imagine a popup / internet connection aren't going to slow them down.
I have to believe there are more effective means to protect the maker's model.
To be clear, the popup isn't supposed to come up every time. We're not trying to make it annoying to use Maker. We're treating that as a bug. It's just that, as you might imagine, a relatively low impact bug in the explicitly unsupported variant of the product that by definition doesn't make any money isn't the highest priority item - so it's never risen to the top of the pile of things to fix.
but I have a server-client setup. I guess when you switch the pi on it does a license check on gateway startup?
I agree with your view point, but I also see it from IA's point of view as well. Do you think the suggestion I mentioned previously would be a fair compromise? If so I can get a feature request made and we can try to get some backing for it.
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