Where in the World is WMWifiRouter? (Updated)

1. Chainfire has done more for the community than most (and probably more than you), so don’t assume things about his intentions.
2. If he chooses to charge for his work, then who are you to question it? If everyone was to donate a little bit too him as he asked then I am sure he wouldn’t need to go commercial if those are indeed his intentions.
3. He clearly asked for no one to post copies of this because of pending legal issues. Take your copy down.

i have been using chains app since v.01 and after i saw how great the app was and how better its gotten, i have become a fan of the tool and his work. he has really opened up doors for a lot of users and i fully support him. you should respect the authors wishes and keep any copies down.
i have donated to his app and still test his program as we speak. its his app so he can do what he sees fit. Chain is still in touch with the community and is still developing the program so stay tuned and ye shall have it!

Chainfire has, and still does fully support the community. Websites like this that blatantly disregard a software developer’s wishes are what hurt the community. Not taking down the software when asked just discourages future software developers from posting their work in progress.

WMWifiRouter was developed by Chainfire and few other individuals, Not the community as a whole. He shared it with the community, who in turn gave him feedback. I have donated to Chainfire for creating such a great app. If he chooses to profit from all his hard work, he should.

This website should respect his wished to Remove this download and Not Hinder his work.

We are trying to gather a complete view of the situation. Bear in mind, we do not have the resources to browse every page on every community forum. If Chainfire is available, we’d be more than happy for him/her to get in touch with us, there’s a Contact Us form at the bottom of every page.

As to the rest, it’s idle speculation… which we don’t entertain. We don’t see any legal ramifications of posting old versions of software freely available to the public (software which did not bear any apparent license agreement), nor do we see how that hinders anyone’s work.

You do not need to browse every page on the forum. The first post in the wifirouter thread should be more than adequate where he clearly states not to post copies. It’s not up to your legal interpretation on whether you should disregard his instructions. The smart thing to do would be to take down your copy until you do your research. I can understand that you might have overlooked the first post in the main thread, but I find it hard to believe that you are still keeping a copy posted after you now know for a fact that he does not want it posted.

Furthermore, I know you have been contacted about this yet you still have a copy posted. If you truly want to help the community, why don’t you do like I and others have and donate some to Chainfire for his hard work?

Chainfire’s efforts are certainly welcomed and appreciated at PhoneNews.com, I want to make that very clear.

However, users are left out in the cold after donating money to a free software effort. That isn’t okay, and we still have not been presented with a legal argument for why the software should be removed.

Your assertion that it is not up to our legal interpretation is incorrect, Chainfire distributed software onto the internet freely, and users donated to his/her project. We’d be happy to remove it if there is a valid reason, but to say that we have no say in that is simply not the case… it’s free unlicensed software that was contributed to by the public… and therefore is public domain unless we have more compelling evidence.

You say that you do not have the resources to browse every page on every community forum? Chainfire asked everybody to not share the files repeatedly in the SAME topic on the SAME forum that you cite in your ‘article’. That’s just the kind of bad research we all expect from PhoneNews.

Furthermore, the original url now redirects to WMWifiRouter.com, so I think that’s a pretty good indication that the new site was indeed set up by Chainfire himself. You even combine your disbelief regarding Chainfire’s involvement with a statement that “urges” users NOT to check the original url, and instead encourage them to check here on your site for news about WMWiFiRouter - a cheap attempt at getting more visitors at the expense of Chainfire.

Also, you see no legal ramifications to posting old versions of software freely available? Aren’t free programs still bound by copyright restrictions, regardless of being freeware? I don’t think you ever got a license to redistribute. As I recall, the download page for v0.91 CLEARLY stated redistribution was explicitly forbidden!

As for Chainfire contacting you, I’m sure he doesn’t have the resources to browse every page on every 3rd rate news site!

In reply to your latest comment, donations are donations. Since when does donation to somebody give you any rights? You didn’t BUY anything, you donated. Apart from that, Chainfire has also stated donators would not be left ‘out in the cold’.

And how exactly was it contributed to by the public? Feedback? By that logic, all applications out there are public domain. Things don’t become public domain unless the author gives up his right, which he obviously didn’t, as the application clearly states it’s copyrighted.

Please remember when you posted the tutorial showing how to upgrade the Mogul/6800 to the new RevA/GPS rom. Here is the thread:

http://www.phonenews.com/how-to-add-gps-to-htc-mogul-xv6800-p4000-titan-2663/

You used the same excuse - “not being able to browse through every article on every forum” - to deny credit to the authors of the programs you redistributed on your site. Now, you do not mention Chainfire by name while discussing his program, AND you go against his wishes by reposting a copyrighted product without permission.

It doesn’t make any sense and just furthers the impression that this site is run by selfish amateurs. Please understand that you CANNOT and SHOULD NOT redistribute work that is not yours without permission and credit. It’s fraud.

We are not making any assertion that we played any part in WMWifiRouter’s credation.

We are simply acting as a facilitator, similar to Softpedia and Download.com. Again, we welcme further information from Chainfire if there are legal concerns regarding the software.

I regret that some do not like this aspect of our consumer advocacy. However, we have no plans to change this practice.

The original site said it was never to be redistributed, a free download for personal use does not mean you can redistribute it. Especially on a website that includes ads meaning you are potentially profiting from redistributing his software without any permission. Incase you can’t read “every forum” here’s an excerpt from his thread:

The website and downloads are currently down, they will be back up hopefully soon. I have my reasons, sorry for the inconvenience. Please do NOT post other downloads to the software, I will have them taken down.

Very disappointing to see this disregard. I’d suggest you at least take it down until speaking with the author.

You all are cry babies Stop it with teh FLAME WAR I support what price did and i have been following since teh old days pf spritpcsinfo.com

Stop being fan boys…thanks Price for posting a link i’m DL’n RIGHT NOW!!!

There isn’t a flame war. Mr. Price is using a program that he had no hand in creating to further his own financial interests without as much as crediting the creator of said program. When downloading the latest version of WMWiFiRouter (v. 0.91 above), the terms of use clearly stated that redistribution was forbidden without permission. Mr. Price has the program, so clearly he either downloaded it legitimately and should know that redistribution is forbidden, or he received the program from someone else who was redistributing the program without consent.

The main issue as I see it is that Mr. Price has a documented history of behavior that is in his own self interests and does not take into account the communities surrounding these phones. He has, on more than one occasion, redistributed programs that he had no part in creating without crediting the authors (see my post above).

This pattern of behavior does nothing but anger the members of two of the largest PPC communities. Is this conducive to promoting his website? I don’t know. Perhaps he enjoys the attention his site receives as a result of the controversy. However, he certainly is not making any friends within the communities and in the future may regret his devil-may-care attitude regarding authorship.

By continuing to act contrary to the wishes of Chainfire, Mr. Price exposes himself as a charlatan who will do anything to further the interests of his website in the short term. I believe this website would benefit if Mr. Price decided not only to abide by the terms of use of the program above, but also be more receptive to the community and perform his due diligence by crediting authors of programs and roms that he posts. Instead, he has shown the community that he is not above simply copying and pasting programs and roms onto this website without credit. It is clear that Mr. Price would like to fancy himself as a journalist, but his actions show that he is without integrity.

“Stop being fan boys…”

Um, hey Pot, did you just call me black?

Last I checked, wouldn’t a fan boy be defined as someone having the name of another within their nickname. Especially in a defensive manor. Are you hiding under a sheet with mascara on crying to youtube as well?

Laughing uncontroably!!! You guys are TARDS!!!! Keep doin what your doin Price…

While he is dealing with his own legal dealings, hopefully when he is done he will then come after you. Its clear as day that you shouldnt have this link to his software up.

Its a great piece of work and your hurting developement of it by being ignorant.

Good job people, some much for reading this site ever again.

We have received an initial contact from someone claiming to be Chainfire. As soon as I hear back from him/her (to verify that it wasn’t someone attempting to masquerade as Chainfire), we’ll have an update to report back.

There have been some comments that have been abusive, and have been removed. Folks, please don’t feed the trolls.

We did not pirate software. If there was a disclaimer against redistribution, it wasn’t on the page we got the software from. We respect developers… and we balance that with our goal to empower consumers as much as possible.

If you truly respected developers then you would respect their wishes. Your definition of respect leaves a lot to be desired.

Your understanding of the situation leaves a lot to be desired. If we had been presented with an explicit notification when using WMWifiRouter (or from where we got WMWifiRouter, for that matter), we wouldn’t have offered it for download.

We do not however, respect ex post facto changes to a developer’s intentions… we don’t know if that has happened here, and we’re trying to find that out right now. In fairness to Chainfire, there may be valid legal reasons for it needing to be removed… we just haven’t heard any yet.

So you’re claiming ignorance as the reason you are not removing the download? You have been told there was a disclaimer placed on the the download site. So either 1. You got it from Chainfire’s download page that contained the disclaimer. or 2. You got this software from someone that was illegally distributing it. In this case you downloaded pirated software.

Either way, it means you are illegally distributing pirated software. Whether, the license to download and use it is free or not does not matter. You do not have the permission to distribute it. And the license for v0.91 clearly state’s “For personal (non-commercial) use only” This is a direct quote from the “About” section in the WMWifiRouter software.

This being a website containing advertisements and you getting paid for them make this a commercial site. So, by distributing this software and profiting from it clearly violates the licensing of this software.

So, now that you can nolonger claim ignorance, please remove the software from this site

Personal, non-commerical use does not prevent redistribution. I don’t know why you think the two are mutually exclusive. We are also not saying that free software means unlicensed software. However, in this case, the only license we’ve been presented with is to not use the software for commercial use. We do not believe we are in this case.

We are still waiting for confirmation from someone claiming to be Chainfire, we have never claimed ignorance, nor do we feel we are being ignorant in this situation.

>> We did not pirate software. If there was a disclaimer against redistribution, it wasn’t on the page we got the software from. We respect developers… and we balance that with our goal to empower consumers as much as possible. <<

I love your logic. You know, that warez site that was redistrubting the intellectual property of Microsoft didn’t have a disclaimer about it either. Guess I would be fully within my rights to download and utilize it then. I may even just redistrubte it too. After all, no disclaimer from where I took it from, therefore its not pirating.

What you’re failing to recognize is that it is *your* job as the individual who has chosen to redistribute someone else’s property to display due dillegence in verifying (from the developer, or a statement of the developer, such as the kind seen at the main point of release for this particular software) that your actions have not already been expressely forbidden. Your failure to do so can and will land you in litigation. I’d expect your host to be receiving a notification of infringement under the DMCA after the first request from the developer to remove the software. I say after the first request because I know the creator of this particular application is more lenient than I would be. Save yourself the trouble, and take it down of your own free will.

As for your desire to empower the consumers… that is only possible by respecting the wishes of the developers and actually taking the time to do things in a forthright and proper manner. Circumventing the people who contribute most to the community for your own personal gain will always be the most detrimental course of action for the consumer whom you claim to try to help. Your actions are the precise reason that great developers choose not to offer up their works to the public. Funny that the only reason I’ve even heard of this site is in-passing, regarding your blatant disregard for top volunteers to the community. Maybe you haven’t heard that offering topnotch material is the fastest way to develop a real, worthwhile reputation. You know, the old saying about catching more flies with honey than vinegar.

– One of the many who will provide negative word of mouth for a site displaying such inappopriate actions.

Christopher Price on February 17th, 2008, 9:17 pm
“Your understanding of the situation leaves a lot to be desired. If we had been presented with an explicit notification when using WMWifiRouter (or from where we got WMWifiRouter, for that matter), we wouldn’t have offered it for download.”

My understanding of the situation is not the issue as the facts are perfectly clear. Your inability to read the very first post of where the software came from is. That first post gave “explicit notification” not to post it elsewhere.

To quote Chainfire’s post “The website and downloads are currently down, they will be back up hopefully soon. I have my reasons, sorry for the inconvenience. Please do NOT post other downloads to the software, I will have them taken down.”

Thanks Christopher Price and you tards who are flaming… go ahead and delete your copies which I’m sure you are NOT

Thanks for providing a page with the information as to what is going on and what has happened with WMWifiRouter… I tried getting a d/l other places and succeeded.. but this page told me everything about the current version and also showed me how some of the well-respected members in the PPC world need to stop being so greedy. .everyone of them on here has this “pirated” copy on their computers at this moment I guarantee it.. so why can’t the rest of us?

To violate the DMCA (in the manner in which is described above), a product must have some form of EULA, either explicit or implicit. All WMWifiRouter says is that it is for personal, non-commercial use. Jonga.org has nothing on WMWifiRouter, though it has started to point to WMWifiRouter.com which does now point to legitimacy for that new site.

That said, we haven’t violated the DMCA. Clearly. In the Microsoft example, the product would have said in its EULA “redistribution of the product is prohibited”. This application does not say that… and we can’t validate some old website removed by the author says that either.

The DMCA is not a deathwish for everyone but developers. Developers have obligations under it as well, and for the reasons I outlined above, they aren’t being met even if that the developer’s intentions.

oh and btw, i’m definately a fan of http://www.phonenews.com now.. i love when people get involved with the community and know whats going on besides just being an outdated copy of other news sites.. thanks again.. now i go to bed … sharing my internet connection to my ipod touch.. peace!

>> That said, we haven’t violated the DMCA. <<

And I didn’t directly state you had. Thats not for me to decide. Unfortunately you have demonstrated an incomplete understanding of the affect of the DMCA with your statement, so I’ll clarify it for you here. (briefly I hope) My exact statement was I’d expect your host to be receiving a notification of infringement under the DMCA ….” Not you. The reason for directing it at your host is because if they want to be compliant with the “safe harbor” implementations of the DMCA, they *must* immediately block access to any and all material that is allegedly infringing on a copyright.

Your entire premise is that you have the right to redistribution because this was a “free software effort”. [Your exact words.] A free software license only exists in cases where the owner of the property has expressely issued that particular license. If they have not, as is the case with WMWifirouter, then the standard copyright rules apply. In this particular case it is treated like a literay work (International Copyright Law) and therefore redistribution of the property with the potential for a commercial or financial gain is forbidden. I’m not going to expound on how that directly affects you, but needless to say its an easy case to make win, and has been done before.

Oh, and lastly, the DMCA does not expressly require a EULA. It expands the ways in which a EULA can be delivered. In the Microsoft example you ran with, the company simply eased your due dillegence requirement, but they didn’t negate it. And the lack of a software delivered EULA doesn’t either.

e3chaos: Use is not in question. Downloading is not in question. Redistribution has been expressely forbidden by the developer. That is the only thing being adddressed here.

- DogGuy

DogGuy, again, if Jonga.org had an EULA online to evaluate, this would have been a non-issue. Redistribution cannot be banned ex post facto after distribution has been taken place (since there’s no EULA to look at, referencing the program’s initial release).

You do however, bring up an important DMCA argument, one that is not settled law. Can a developer after-the-fact re-define the terms of an implicit EULA, with an expressed one? In general, our opinion (looking out for the consumer) is that the answer is no, because that would permit the developer to engage in anti-competitive business practices, unilaterally delivering terms of use via fiat after the transaction has taken place.

If you re-read my previous post, I never said DMCA required an expressed EULA, I simply pointed to this particular situation as having been crystal clear had the developer maintained an EULA online. There isn’t one online, and I’ve yet to hear back from the developer… so the idle bickering continues.

LOL thanks for the early morning laugh…******** TARDS… I bet none of you have girlfriends.. Stroths I thought you were cool but I see your just a TOOL like the rest of them…

Keep up the good work Price!!!

Thanks Chris for all your hard work and insight. You guys are the best at what you do. Sometimes you have to take fire from people who don’t get it and have nothing better to do. People will keep coming to the site because of the quality of the reporting.

j.

I see that Chris is appealing to the lowest common denominator. That is obvious by posts like LeavePriceAlone who shows her own limited intellect. In all fairness, LeavePriceAlone is probably still in middle school based on her writing style, humorous use of low-level insults and how she won’t even use her real username. I feel sorry for her boyfriend.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA my writing style….I’m not here to write a novel in the comments of a BLOG… This is some what entertaining…and as for my user name I have none as i have been a wactcher of you all and have no interest on commennting on here, XDA or PPCGeeks…

And you get the the SEX wrong…LOL how did u fig I was a chick…LOL

This is really entertaining…

And to you all why would you “HATE” on price for trying to create another outlet for enthusiasts to come to..I mean we can’t all crawl to the same 3 to 4 sites all the time…

Again I say Price continue doing your thing and i will continue to follow you

I think what side of this debate your on depends on if you have this running on your PPC. While I have tried repeatedly to get my version working on my XV6800, I haven’t been able to.. maybe I am not capable, but I still haven’t. So therefore, my desire to get this working puts me in the position of wanting any new version thats floating out there to see if its the holy grail that will allow me to get it working. If on the other hand, like almost every single one of the posters here, I had a copy installed and working I might think differently. I realize that this argument has little to do with the status of the app in your world, and more about the desires of a developer that is obviously having a hard time with legalities (or he could be perfecting the reason why you should spend 39.99 on the newly packaged app, which I gladly would if it worked), I just thought I would point out this problem. I agree on the one hand that we should respect the desires of the developer to not redistrubute the software, but on the other hand, he only asked this of people after the issue (whatever it may be) became real. The legalities of it say that can’t be… you release software with no rules around it, its forever under that lack of rules… ask me how I know.

I did forget to mention that I do feel for Chainfire.. whatever this issue is, I am sure its a stressful one, legal or not. Its an amazing piece of software and it absolutely should be productized and sold, my guess is that it would be among the top sellers of WM software available today. So, I have not downloaded the one listed here.. but its tempting. I don’t even remember which version I actually have anymore, but its not working anyway. Good luck chainfire, and in the name of all thats holy, please make the next version work for me so I can stop ignoring my family while trying to get it to work.

@luvmyumpc:

Start>Settings>Connections>Wi-FI>Menu>Add New

Network name: make it anything you want, this is what the network will be called when you connect to it with laptop/etc.

Connects to: The Internet (although some people who had problems changed this to “Work” and got it to work)

Make sure you select to “This is a device-to-device (ad-hoc) connection”

Click Next

Data encryption: Disabled if you don’t want it password protected, or type a network key into the space provided if you want to keep undesirables off of your network.

Click Next

Click Finish

Now, run WMWiFiRouter, and it should use this newly created wifi connection to distribute your data connection.

Also: I don’t know what version you have, but some did not come with Internet Sharing (ICS) included. Make sure you have ICS on your device.

Hope this helps!

i’m posting this on every torrent site i know of and uploading it to rapidshare, etc.
i don’t care who made it, its a sick program and if people need it, they need it.
if someone releases work as freeware to the public domain thats exactly what it is. you can’t copyright something after you release it and then tell peopel to stop using it. sorry. thanks for uploading this, i’m about to go into a bunch of forums and post my rapidshare links etc.

btw this is working 100% on my htc touch cruise / wm6

@Christopher Price

You stated the following:

“Note: PhoneNews.com cannot verify that [WMWifiRouter.com] was established by WMWifiRouter’s author.”

A simple WhoIs of both WMWifiRouter.com would have revealed that the Registrant information for that domain name is the very same as that for Jongma.org, the site where WMWifiRouter was originally distributed by Chainfire. Try doing a bit more research next time.

Crash, WHOIS information can be falsified. Easily. If I wanted to, I could have the WHOIS information for PhoneNews.com reflect that it is administrated by Rush Limbaugh, and that it is part of the EIB network.

Oh come on do you honestly think Chainfire would falsify his domain name registration information?

No, but some spammer/phisher looking to collect a log of thousands of email addresses (and eventually, credit card numbers) would.

Chainfire links to that page from his OP over on XDA, if it was a site that a spammer put up, why would he link to it?

can you all SHUTUP already HAHAHAHAHA

I’m going to go home from work and use it RIGHT NOW!!!!!

It sucks that Chris is using this mans work just to get hits on his website. Such as it is.

I say let’s just remove the download link especially since it was told to not distribute it in the first post located here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=357152. Sign up at his site to receive the updates, and let the good times roll! Cuz I can vouch for this man, he’s got some good stuff coming to everybody! And I know that for a fact….

Pdx77, you are correct, the redirect from jonga.org to wmwifirouter.com is recent, I don’t know if it was put in right before or right after this article was finished… but we are going to include that in our update, which should be up shortly.

It is obvious that you have no intention whatsoever to take down the link. I hope if and when Chainfire has the legal means, he will make you regret your self-serving actions.

But in the meantime, how about you edit you article and list the software developer by name and give credit where credit is due. And how about you either remove or ask permission to use the most certainly copyrighted logo for WMWifiRouter you have posted.

We have posted an update to the article which should clarify some matters. While I certainly don’t expect everyone to be happy with our decision, we believe we are within both legal and ethical grounds to continue offering the update after speaking with Mr. Jongma.

If Mr. Jongma is wiling to work with us further, we are certainly open to re-visiting this in the future. We have tried our best to reach an amicable resolution for the developer and consumers, and we’re confident in our decision.

“”Note: PhoneNews.com cannot verify that this site was established by WMWifiRouter’s author. We urge you to not sign up on said email list as we cannot verify its authenticity. Instead, stay tuned to PhoneNews.com for future updates.”"

This is yet another example of your self-serving horse@@@@. Now YOU MOST CERTAINLY ARE hindering Chainfire’s work by encouraging people not to sign up with him for updates.

Who wants to bet that is mofo HAS himself signed up to the update list and intends to post the information he receives word for word on this site? Then he will send out a bulletin “Come to my site for the latest breaking news on WMWifiRouter”

OrangeGator, please read the update as I noted in my last comment. We have since been able to verify WMWifiRouter.com… I’m surprised you didn’t read the update in the article.

Of course we will follow-up on news updates to WMWifiRouter… you’d probably attack us for not doing so, ensuring that we’re darned if we do, and darned if we don’t. Thanks.

Yeah, I saw that you said you had been contacted by Chainfire. However, as of my last post, you still had that section up telling people not to register there for updates. Only After I pointed it out did you finally cross it out.

Generally, we do not edit articles after they have been posted. Following the article, if circumstances warrant, we issue an update… which did nullify that part of our article.

However, since then, we did add a strike-through formatting to the exception, and a second notation that the article has been updated. While we don’t believe the article required these changes (since people were initially instructed to read the article’s update), we did make those secondary changes to help those who haven’t yet read the article.

Christopher,

From your replies it is obvious you have ’some’ education, which begs the question, why are you acting like a spoiled teenager. Chainfire has never relenquished the distribution rights to WMWiFiRouter. It has always been offered through a post at xda-devs and his own domains where it was under his complete control.

Consumers have never been asked to refrain from using the software. The developer explicitly stated his intention, through actions and words, to remain the sole distributor of his work. You have effectively kidnapped his work and this behavior is not becoming of any respectable individual with a website.

Does this mean we should refrain from downloading the torrent of the .93 beta version?

I see this download is also being sold from within Craigslist as a download via a PayPal payment. Better to have it here for free I guess.

i just also thought i’d post that your device itself cannot use the data connection while this program is running (that’s kind of crappy if you ask me)

hehe, forgot this, also WPA with tkip and aes does not work for me, the only “security” option is WEP, which is more of an option to be insecure.

Surge, you should be able to use data on the device while tethering with WMWifiRouter. I haven’t had that problem on any of the devices that I’ve tried it on.

[...] WMWifiRouter incident (and I call it that loosely), is really much ado about nothing. The vast majority of negative [...]

on my htc touch cruise none of the programs on the device can access the data connection while the wmwifirouter is running (htc weather, pocket ie, opera, im+, [insert program that uses internet here])
every single one gives me a cannot connect error

In reference to “Not the First Time…”

You sound as if you’re on a crusade against Abobe or some other giant corporation. The fact is, Chainfire is an independent developer and way too polite to “butt heads” with you. The backlash you’re experiencing is from ordinary people who simply cannot understand how you could prey on someone who poured his guts into a software he graciously offered for free. Chainfire simply wishes for it to remain his to distribute, you’ve already admitted his asking you to remove the download to his copyrighted work. To this day he has yet to “get angry” or so much as post publicly on the subject, which says a lot in itself.

Your article is nothing but self-righteous fodder, a true testament to the kind of person you are.

So is there anyway of finding out what phones are compatible.I have sprint moto Q

My understanding is that for some odd reason or another the legal issues involve an investigation by the FCC as well as an unnamed corporate entity. Not sure how this relates to this program but it appears that this investigation has put a halt for now to this program.

Wondering???: The application is compatible with any device running Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU3 or later. The Q should be update-able to AKU3 via Motorola Software Update, if your device does not have it already. You can verify AKU3 status in Start > Settings > System > About. The last three digits of the build number (for example, 19500.3.2.0 means the device is running AKU 3.2).

Bob: I don’t think that’s correct. The developer is outside of the United States (apparently, in the Neterlands). The FCC has no control over this program. Further, I don’t see any FCC regulation that would permit prohibiting WMWifiRouter.

It is possible that a European carrier (or Microsoft itself) could sue to stonewall the application’s development. However, if that’s the case, I don’t see why the developer is objecting to our hosting the files in the United States.

from a logical standpoint i don’t see how this could have anything to do with outside entitys (microsoft, etc) threatening legal action. what law are we breaking by running this program?
there are a multitude of hardware devices that will turn a cellular data connection into a hotspot that are sold by wireless providers. WMWifirouter eliminates the need for purchasing one of those and accomplishes the task via software.
why is everyone complicating this? why are people attacking the author of this article and the website?
i don’t see why all these people are *so* upset..if the guy wants to comercialize the application, fine, do it. continue the development, and build future releases, and charge for them. but the whole point of why this site is hosting the current release is that there simply is no EULA! just because the author NOW says to take it down is completely irrelivant. if he didn’t want people distributing it or using it he should released it under some kind of license. “free for personal (non-commercial) use only” is what the author stated via the “About” screen within the program. plain and simple. it’s not complicated. if you would see it from that perspective maybe you all wouldn’t be so upset. bottom line is it’s his fault for not thinking things through before he released the software as “free” for personal use. so i’m going to use it for free, because that’s what the screen says. doesn’t say anything about distribution, etc. so, make sure none of you use it at your company, mmk? :p

You all should try it!

Hmmmm. Didn’t LennySh post a second comment saying he thought the new trial version for WMWifiRouter v0.95 is better than any of the previous versions? He downloaded from the new official WMWifiRouter.com website that is now up and running.

It looks like ChristopherPrice is editing the comments now to suit his own purposes. Didn’t you say your website if for reporting news and is for the benefit of the readers? Removing any mention of the new OFFICIAL WMWifiRouter.com site only benefits yourself. Keep up the sleeze, ummm reporting.

Things (that are not flames) are being edited. For no other reason than to serve Mr. Price’s own purpose.

One poster’s comments were removed because they inserted foul language into the URL. The user was banned for attempting to subvert our language filter.

PhoneNews.com is open to all audiences of all ages, and we will remove any obscene content… even if it is in a (fake) URL.

The WMWIFIROUTER is for sale now, as in it cost money, check the website.

“”The WMWIFIROUTER is for sale now, as in it cost money, check the website.”"

Incorrect. The new website has the new FREE Trial version v0.95. You don’t have to pay money, nor can you even buy it yet. Once the final version is released, then you will be able to purchase it. You can even get a 5euro discount to buy the final version if you fill out the feedback form after trying the trial version.

The new trial program is free until April 1st, 2008. I would urge everyone to download it and then give Chainfire feedback on how to make the program better.

I also urge everyone who uses this product on a daily basis (like I do - I use this program several hours a day, every day) to download the trial version 0.95 and then PURCHASE the program when the option becomes available to do so. This is truly a program that has changed the way I use my PDA. This program is essentially the equivalent of spending $180 on the recently-released cradlepoint personal hotspot seen here:

http://www.cradlepoint.com/phs300/phs300.php

Instead of shelling out for that, all of us with a wifi-enabled windows mobile phone can enjoy the same privelages during a free trial and then for a reasonable price.

Totaltrash: isn’t it interesting how Christopher Price has not addressed your remarks directly? You make a very good point that Mr. Price is essentially undermining independent developers from creating great products like WMWiFiRouter. There needs to be an incentive to continue to innovate, and if WMWiFiRouter is financially successful, better versions and more programs could be the end result. However, Mr. Price is short-sighted in his view that offering the free program is “empowering” smartphone users: all he is doing is contributing to what amounts to piracy.

If there isn’t a financial incentive to innovate, innovation will not happen. Thanks for helping to subvert innovation, Mr. Price. You are doing a good job.

PhilR, users now can now make the choice that they should have been able to keep: Either to use the free version, which is older and may have more bugs. Or, download the new trial version and eventually buy the new product.

We are simply ensuring that the free software that was made under the efforts and donations of hard-working individuals, up to the point the decision was made to go commercial… is maintained.

Oh please, stop with the selfless act. No one is buying it. The only reason you have this up is so people will come to your site and make you $$$$ from ads.

Donations are just that. You don’t expect anything in return. Plus, the people who donated are the ones who already downloaded the software from Chainfire’s original site. We donated because we liked the app so much and appreciated the work. Also, Chainfire explicitly says on the XDA thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=357152
That the donators and the beta testing team will be “taken care of”.
So at least be man enough to admit your reason

Again, we make no money from offering the download. It uses more bandwidth than the ads cost per page… so please, stop making baseless allegations that are completely false.

@ Christopher Price: “It uses more bandwidth than the ads cost per page…”

Since the download link in your article points to rapidshare.com, I assume you mean it uses more of RapidShare’s bandwidth, and not your own.

the new “trial” version has nothing different, it’s a ploy by the developer.
still extremely buggy (for me), in short if you’re unsure stick with the old one

my device: HTC Touch Cruise (Polaris), WM6, AT&T HSPDA

1.) software running on the mobile device itself cannot access data connection while WMwifirouter is running and “connected” (pocket ie, htc weather, any program that uses data cannot connect)
2.) WPA does not work at all, with TKIP or AES - the only “security” option is WEP, which can be cracked in under 60 seconds.
3.) Cannot change the network name
4.) If activesync is running and you are synced to a computer, or even if bluetooth is turned on, this program freezes my entire device! (why would i pay to have my device locked up? lol)
5.) This version uses 10% more RAM than the old one.

this program is a great idea, but the move to commercial status was a bit pre-emptive. as far as i’m concerned this software is months away from being up to par with the comercial software available for mobile devices today.

1. Yes you can use data with WMWifiRouter active. On you device go to WLAN settings in the comm manager. Then menu -> network cards. Change “my device connects to” from “internet” to “work”. This works and was suggested by Chainfire over in the XDA thread.

2. While WPA may be harder to crack, WEP is sufficient to protect people from connecting to your network. Someone has to have all the necessary the software and hardware running to crack wep and target you. If you are that paranoid, then you shouldn’t use wifi at all. All public wifi hotspots at Starbucks etc use no encryption whatsoever.

3. You can easily create your own Ad-hoc network on your device with whatever custom name you want and use it.

4. This either is due to software you have installed on you device, or a minor compatibility issue with that device. This is why it is still a Free Trial asking for feedback so these issues can be fixed before the final release. I don’t have these issues with my sprint mogul.

5. Don’t know where you pulled that number from. You can’t measure how much memory is being used by an individual program. Plus, windows mobile has a memory leakage anyway which causes the free ram to go down the longer its on. Or are you talking about the install size? If so, the program uses so little space that it could be 10x bigger and still be an average size program.

I can confirm the Bluetooth issues with version 0.95. With my device (HTC Titan), the unit drops the Bluetooth connection with a headset when WMWifiRouter is active. This is not typical behavior and wasn’t occurring with version 0.91.

Crash, we are no longer hosting the file locally as the author filed a DMCA complaint against us. We were hosting the file locally, and my discussion about the cost of hosting was in regards to when we were hosting it locally. We are pointing to third-party providers and other sources still hosting WMWifiRouter, which we are still permitted to do.

While we normally would formally dispute the DMCA complaint, in this case we feel using third-party sources was the most efficient resolution to the matter.

I had a similar run-in with a shady and arrogant character like Price who hijacked my domain. He shifted the domain’s ownership several times before I could get the law to catch up to him.

Memo to WMFiFiRouter developer: Price is a US citizen with a US hosted site and he is still unlawfully linking to an unauthorized distribution of your software. I suggest you send another cheap-to-file and effective DMCA take down notice with his hosting provider.

You’re not fooling anyone Price. You didn’t contest the DMCA take down because you were WRONG to distribute his copyrighted work without expressed permission.

eating crow is a fool…LOL

Sorry, guys, Price is right. The software was distributed with no EULA and the only apparent restriction being that it was free for non commercial use. Chainfire cannot go back now and try to retract previous versions just because he is going to try to go commercial with it. A DMCA take down will not even work here since chainfire cannot show that there is a EULA or copyright begin violated (since he distributed the software himself and encouraged distribution, he cannot try to stop it now).

I have done a lot of open source and free software development and a lot of commercial development. I have had a few projects that I did as freebies that have turned out to be popular. Believe me, I wish I could put the jeanie back in the bottle on a few of them. That is just not the way the world works. Back in the real world, anything he has released as a freebie can be distributed. He can certainly try to make enough improvements to future, closed, releases to make it worth peoples dollars and cents to buy the new release. Usually it does not work out that way, especially since there is more than enough info floating around at XDA to replicate the program, but I certainly wish him all the luck in the world in trying.

Trying to bottle up previous releases, though, will just end up bankrupting the guy with attorneys fees when frankly he has no case at all (trust me, I have fought that battle before).

All this is soon going to be a moot point in any event. MS is going to be coming out with an update to allow ICS over wifi by july, and theirs will work, be bug free, and be free of cost, from day one, which will pretty much kill chainfires potential business anyway.

[...] it already then let me know how it goes. If Tilt not show Internet Sharing or hide it then go to Where in the World is WMWifiRouter? (Updated) | PhoneNews.com and download ICS Installer (CAB) - For Windows Mobile devices that have Internet Sharing disabled [...]

Intellectual property shmintellectual property. The guy who cobbled the code has all the rights, those who test an alpha or beta software and make it worth anything get no rights or acknowledgment. The number of human hours that go into testing far exceed the same put into cobbling the code. One could look upon freely offered software as a way to sucker people into providing free QA. Sure you can have your free software back, just as you give me my QA effort back.

I just like how everyone thinks they’re a lawyer…. I get a kick out of it.
Personally, I don’t understand why the author of this site bothers him/herself to respond to any of these posts….

you cant take away what you give for free at first.

[...] it already then let me know how it goes. If Tilt not show Internet Sharing or hide it then go to Where in the World is WMWifiRouter? (Updated) | PhoneNews.com and download ICS Installer (CAB) - For Windows Mobile devices that have Internet Sharing disabled. [...]

Chris-

Once again, you cross the line a Journalist should not cross. Regardless of any excuse you want to offer in your defense. A journalist is supposed to report the news and to try and prevent their actions from effecting the news they are reporting on. Time and again you allow your personal opinion to leak in to your stories and this makes you like Fox News where every article or story needs to be examined for your hidden personal agenda.

–Steve

[...] WMWifiRouter Website Where in the World is WMWifiRouter? (Updated) Initial Coverage: WMWifiRouter Gives 3G to iPhone, iPod, And Anything Else Trackback | Permalink [...]

lol chris what a self contradicting person you are. on apr 1st you blast ringerpost.com for hosting copyrighted content. now your so earnestly trying to defend people that are blasting you for hosting copyrighted content. just like the guy said in the preforementioned posts. your doing this for the ad revenue and you know it. it wouldnt hurt you one bit to take the guys software down after he sent you a direct request to do so. but you saw opporunity in it. when people search for wmwifirouter on google, surely enough your website comes up along with the rss blogs off other websites pointing to your site. just like when ringerpost came back. ringerpost has a large following. when people typed in ringerpost in their browser right before the domain name fully propagated, it didnt resolve and it instead presented a web search of the term and guess who was among the first websites to pop up? you guessed it, phone news! your method of reporting are immoral and you know this. no wonder you have your contact info blocked by a domain privacy registration service. other sites that report mobile news have no problem listing their contact info. what does a mobile reporting website such as phonenews.com really have to hide?

RoguePlayer, there is a difference between copyrighted, but free for personal use (as is WMWifiRouter), and copyrighted, for commercial sale.

We have not distributed any version of WMWifiRouter that has been licensed for commercial sale.

You’re comparing a situation where we reported a piracy web site, to a situation where we’re hosting free software… totally unrelated, and clearly unrelated.

[...] has been raised to a new level! Not only are we connected via cell phone, but Tim found a way to turn his phone into a wireless router. If you’ve got a PocketPC, you should definitely try [...]

Once it’s out there, it’s out like splashed water.
Get over it.

The developer will smile in the end when a platform upgrade breaks the free version, which is only a matter of time. DVD encryption was broken, but here comes blu-ray. He’d be thankful that the free version will have got quite a few hooked.

Their is no Undoing this version. You cant undo what has been built and is freely on the internet. Furthermore, he should have made his beta software a timelimted trial. But even if he did its only a matter of time before us hackers decode and encode. Remember, there is nothing that can be done that can be undone in the software world and electronics world. YOU BUILD IT, WE TAKE IT APART LMAO. What’s really sad is that he takes a peace of software and distributes it as free then suddenly he wants to make it commercial because of all the hype its getting. Hell he has really created nothing but a cute little interface with a “timer” that checks the state of INTSHRUI.exe. SO periodically it just virtually pushes the connect button in Internet Sharing. Oh and he creates the Necessary registry changes or HACKS the registry to force the wifi driver to be the local interface. This is nothing more than a hack. Damn people you act like he is a GOD of software development. If anyone deserves the credit its microsoft for creating Internet Sharing so people like ChainFire could hack it LOL. Now he along with every one elses wants to whine because this site has his last free version posted. Nothing illegal about this being posted on here just like nothing wrong with CHAINFIRE REVERSE ENGINEERING microsofts work. SUCK IT UP PEOPLE. ITS CALLED LIFE. The only reason he wanted all versions taken down was because he was going commercial. The legal thing was just a ploy to have the free versions removed LMAO. SUCK IT UP AGAIN PEOPLE AND GET A FREAKIN LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way you can find in thepiratebay.org the app…