Sbobet Disconnect - My Review of the Sbobet Disconnect
The Sbobet Disconnect isn't popular with many, but to the Linux community this is really no surprise. For many years Sbobet have been a closed source developer who decided to branch out of their current markets to other platform users.
Although they have done this for quite some time, it is surprising to see how little they can market their open source technology to others. Their new device, the Disconnect has been accused of the same behaviour by many. Is this the case or is Sbobet just being practical?
From what I can gather, Sbobet are not alone in being close to their operating system and proprietary software developers. There are a number of companies, both large and small, that actually have their Linux platforms packaged up with the products of other OS's. I cannot even begin to list all the various cases I have heard of that occurring.
To be fair to Sbobet they are also keen to say that the OS and SDK they are providing is an open source solution. They do offer a free license to all their Sbobet devices. Whilst they have not Login Sbobet as far as saying that the rest of their systems are free to use, this is somewhat unlikely. It would be fair to say that if you are purchasing their devices you are in fact paying to use the Sbobet IP.
Personally I have no problem with people using the Sbobet device as long as they have the free license to use the platform as they wish and do not attempt to run any proprietary software on the device. This is of course where most Linux users have a problem. The Linux source code that is provided with a Sbobet is nothing like as reliable as the free code available from the open source developer.
Another great problem with Sbobet is the fact that they still allow users to buy their devices directly from them. This means that you can have a nasty surprise if you buy a new model and the web page that sold you the device doesn't exist anymore. A new model that is advertised may not even be available from the Sbobet website. Again this could have a knock on effect, leaving you with nothing in your hands.
If you do want to purchase a Sbobet Linux device there are several options for you. You can either purchase the units directly from Sbobet or get them from someone else. There are a number of sellers online selling the Sbobet Disconnect who also sells Linux compatible devices.
There are plenty of other solutions for users wanting to use the Sbobet IP, but if you want to avoid any unpleasant surprises with your purchase then just make sure you get from a trusted source. If you are buying from a site that is not approved by Sbobet then do a little homework and check it out. It is much better to buy from a trusted site than from a grey market site.