Code Ownership, Best Buy Staff Top CE Pros’ Focus

So who does own the code?

You had a lot to say about Julie Jacobson's controversial article Who Owns the Code? CE Industry's Dirty Little Secret, which digs into one of question most customers aren't expecting: when the installer goes out of business, can the customer get access to their programming code?

Case in point, the article looks at what has happened with former clients of Baumeister Electronic Architects, which went out of business earlier this year.

As of this writing, there are more than 170 comments on the article -- so there's only room to highlight a few.

Ron Goldberg, chiming in first, says:

Programming is documentation that the customer should be entitled to. The customer has purchased this equipment, not licensed it. The fact that there was no backup and no contingency plan is shockingly unprofessional.

SecurityGuy:

Selling the code to a third party is an invasion of the homeowners privacy. Essentially, the code is the keys to the lifestyle not to mention the house. Since virtually every automation system includes security as a subsystem there are potential safety and security implications.

Dallas Dingle:

There is incentive for the original dealer to control the programming. Handing it over to a customer, allows for easy access for other dealers.

dj:

I'd like to say that I've taken over several Crestron jobs where the customer had the code, and never, not once was there anything useful in it, other than simple clerical information that could have been gleaned in other ways. I always had to completely re-write from scratch.

Read the full article for the great conversation.

Rounding out the top 3 stories, you enjoyed a look at Home Theater Features $70K Projector, 'Washing Machine-Sized' Speakers and there were a number of surprised readers of Best Buy Employee: 'High School Kids' Will Replace Skilled Magnolia Staff.

And now, on to the list ...

The Top 10 Articles for April 2009

1. Who Owns the Code? CE Industry's Dirty Little Secret

2. Home Theater Features $70K Projector, 'Washing Machine-Sized' Speakers

3. Best Buy Employee: 'High School Kids' Will Replace Skilled Magnolia Staff

4. 5 Cheap Products to Make Your Installs Easier

5. 5 Electronics Retailers That Came Back From the Dead

6. 22 Popular Desktop Audio Products

7. DisplayPort vs. HDMI: Similarities and Differences

8. When Custom Brands are Sold Through Amazon.com … Legitimately

9. RealDVD Goes to Court Over DVD Ripping Software

10. Is Circuit City Making a Comeback Online?