check this out:

http://www.xplivecd.com/

is it even legal to charge for a product like this?

I dont think so. I do believe it goes directly against microsofts redistribution policies.

They claim that the Cd will only boot on a computer that has a legal version of Windows installed...this is how they get aroud the redistribution policies.

But, I wouldn't trust or buy it; I hope no-one else does either.

I think an analogy may be in order...

Spyware/Adware programs claim that they aren't spyware/adware ... so never take their word for it.

I'm not a lawyer but in my opinion... Since they are distributing Microsoft files, even if they check for a legit copy, they must have Microsofts permission to do this... if there is no agreement with Microsoft then they are indeed violating the EULA

Even if what they say is true & the CD will not boot unless it finds windows installed on your hard drive,
they are still breaking the MS EULA & sooner or latter will get what they deserve.

I might also add....why "buy" something when you can get it for free!!!! I'll bet that that CD holds a close resemblence to this project!! Even if they use XPE, I'm sure they took most of our plugins, etc. It's a shame that people are charging $50 for basically a free project.

I'm sure you have noticed that there is no mention of pebuilder on the website.

Most people do not know what pebuilder is & have never heard of UBCD4WIN either.
The majority of people that would need a tool like this have just lost thier data & would gladdly pay
$50 for a chance to get it back.

It would almost be worth the cost to put a few e-bay adds for udcd4win with the >$7 price tag
& a link to the site for a free download just to stop these morons from making money off a free project.

Do you know how long finished auctions stay posted on e-bay?
If they stay for a while it might be worth doing & would increase the number of CD's you mail out.

To screw with them a little more, you could even use thier graphics so the two adds look almost identical
with the exeption that ubcd is FREE.

If only people would put a bit of effort into things. A bit of googling would save you a fortune.

Yeah I tried eBay once. In a one week period I setup about 10 auctions. Advertised it as free shipping and "buy now" at $6 for some of them. I tried several different things in the auctions to make sure they would be found by different types of searches. Links to the site and everything.

Well, a week later and $30 in fees.......no response to any of them!! I was pretty mad about it so I haven't posted an auction in eBay ever since.

After checking out the Website, I think UBCD4Win has much more to offer. Also, they don't mention anything about updating virus definitions or any other program that needs to be updated on a regular basis.

Knoppix Live CD is also a better option for recovery, and it's free. BTW, there is a new version out v. 4.0.2 you can get HERE

Knoppix discussion here

Just noticed that this is being ADVERTISED on THIS forum in the "ads by google" space. Can it be blocked?!?

I'm sure they can be blocked but I've never taken the time and effort to really mess with the ads much.

I do have a few thoughts or feelings about these:
Remember, ads cost money so clicking them adds to what they have to pay Google (I think).
Also, it may help users appreciate our work more? I'm sure their CD is very close to what this project offers but we are FREE!!
It could hurt us though, because a lot of people are lazy! They might think building the project is too much work and have "money to burn" so they just order it then?

This project was started way before any of these jerks decided to do what they are doing. I started it on the basis to help people and figured that if the project really helped them that they would give back to the project. Several products have come out in the mean time, probably inspired by this project or my idea.....but one underlying goal: greed! Another product that I won't name even went as far as to USE people to help build his product. The whole time many people helped by testing and giving him things......in the end they were all alienated because he started selling it!!

So I don't know if we should remove them. I have so many other things I'm working on for the project that I haven't found this small issue to climb very high on my priority list.

I was just thinking of the people who have tried building the project and failed (perhaps numerous times). They come to the forum for help, and see this link. What will they think?

"This is a great project and all, but i can't get it to work. $50 isn't that bad, and it would save me a lot of trouble...."

"I really need this TODAY. If I had the time I'd get this working, but I don't. $50 is a small price to pay"

Or the newbie: "Wow! I can get one already done for me? Great! Why didn't they tell me on the homepage?"

I wouldn't say the $50 will guarantee you a working copy, you only have to read around this forum to realise certain chipsets still pose a problem. You may get a working ISO, but unless you know what you are doing you won't be able to update the ISO with latest AV defs etc... More importantly you won't be able to add new programs and rebuild.

For $50 you are getting a very restrictive product which is only current for a short space of time.

I helped Steel block them from the ads now in the forums at least.