garvacious

Has anyone figured out a way to disable the LabVIEW splash screen that pops up upon launching an .exe file? The idea is to create an app where it is invisible to the user what language was used to write it, i.e. for all they know it could be VB or C++. So it would be helpful not to have the run time engine force a splash screen to appear every time it is launched. Any suggestions, anyone?

In reply to djadjok's message above- Actually, Mathworks is still selling Simulink and actively promoting it- Mathworks came to the facility where I work and did a sales presentation on it. I thought that NI had successfully sued to prevent them from selling Simulink. Perhaps there is something I don't know here.

Hello again all, I'd like to add to my earlier message (a few posts ago) in which I claimed that "software is not where the big profits are" for NI and MCC. Since I made this comment I've recieved a few messages asking how I could make such a silly claim. Perhaps I misspoke- I'm sure NI makes lots of money on LabVIEW. My point was that selling hardware (i.e. DAQ boards) is a better way for NI to grow their business than selling software (when was the last time you saw a revolutionary new software product from NI?) Thus they would probably want to protect this part of their business as much as possible from a reverse engineering effort. I apologize for any misunderstanding there.

I'd just like to express my opinion on the lawsuit issue thus far. I have witnessed NI's strong-arm tactics in the past re: LabVIEW patents and have not always been happy about them. However, I don't believe this battle is really about Softwire or LabVIEW at all. Clearly, Softwire is not really a danger to NI. However, MCC's hardware products are. The first time I received one of MCC's advertisements comparing NI's DAQ hardware to their own my initial reaction was "I wonder when the lawsuit is coming". Not only did MCC copy most of NI's PCI boards exactly, they went so far as to give them similar model #'s, then brag about how it was the same hardware, just a few hundred dollars cheaper. While this may ultimately benefit us customers by bringing down the price of DAQ boards, it was, I believe, a low blow on MCC's part, and something NI would be sure to want to challenge in court. I am not a patent lawyer and thus have no legal expertise to base the following statement on, but I'll make it anyway. I think NI's goal here is more about punishing MCC than eliminating Softwire. It is probably easier for NI to win in court with the LabVIEW patent (given lots of precedent due to NI's previous LabVIEW wins) than with their hardware patents. If you read Pete Zogas' (NI VP) statement earlier in this thread you will notice that he alludes to MCC copying NI's hardware. This is the real basis for this legal battle. After all, software is not where the big profits are for either company. :beer: