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Software Transferability? (or the lack of it)
"I seem to recall hearing stories of courts overturning these schemes; does anybody have any specifics? Cases/judicial opinions, perhaps? I've checked FindLaw, Google, and others, but haven't found anything (haven't found anything upholding them, either...). Have these clauses ever even been to court, or do the companies just depend on FUD to bludgeon the end user into compliance? Anybody with experience, I'd love to hear it. Lawyers, your opinions? (Lawyers, would you be willing to fight one out in court, if given the chance?)"
As many of you may know, the concept of "owning" software is fallacy. You own nothing. What you do posess when you purchase your new piece of commercial software, is a corporate-skewed set of limited-use rights, which are getting more and more limited each day. For those interested, the latest print issue of Wired (October, 2001) has a big "article" on this (see p.170). It attempts to illustrate thru humorous example, what software has been seriously doing for decades.
No one would own (or lease) a car if the contract said, "You must not sell this car, in the event this car is no longer used, send it to the nearest junkyard.", so why is this true for software?
We shouldn't worry about that GPL 'virus'.
Je t'aime Stéphanie
Software is like prostitution. You got the product. You sell the product. You still got the product. The consumer doesn't get money back just because he's done with the product, it's a totally different concept than just buying tangible things.
spacefem.com
i recently transferred several copies on windows to my garbage...no problems, no visits from the police. it keeps the vagrants out of your trash too.
So that explains why I feel so dirty after buying software!
That's fine then, I can't sell the software, because I don't own it. No problem, I won't sell the software, but I'll sell my license to use the software. As an added bonus, I'll give you the disks with the software on it. What's wrong with that?
But what about the nice box (ahem) that software comes (ahem) in? What about the manuals, the CD, and all the other goodies you get in a box of software? Why do you get it in a store, see a price sticker on it, give a cashier money for it, and walk out with it?
MS wants software to be prostitution. They want you to pay each time you use it, and they want the US legal system to be their pimp.
Chances are, whether we like it or lot, they'll get to do that. If we're lucky, however, there will be some alternatives in the form of Free software.
The problem, as I see it, is that right now software is more like marriage. You find what you want, pay a big up-front cost -- the wedding -- and make a commitment for life. When new, improved versions become available you can go through a long, involved process to get them, but you can't recoup the original cost of the wedding. If someone wants your old version, you can't just give it to them, they have to pay for a wedding too.
My Cat open's my software
The following is not necessarily based on any people, places, events, companies, or laws, real or imagined, and any similarity is coincidental. So there.
Here's Microsoft's worst nightmare (assuming that Microsoft is a collective entity that can think and dream):
Person A has a copy of Windows but doesn't want it. Person A just wants to get rid of the piece of junk, so Person A's asking price for the software and license is very low.
Person B sees a good deal on Windows from Person A and takes advantage of it. Person B notices that there are more people like Person A, giving Person B an idea.
Person C is being audited by Microsoft and is knee-deep in bovine excrement. Once the manure truck accident scene is cleared, Person C continues on to work, trying to figure out how to deal with the Microsoft situation.
Person B saw Person C at the scene of the accident swearing about some "Microsoft bullsh1t." Noticing that the manure truck didn't have Microsoft painted on the side, Person B realizes that Person C is being audited by Microsoft. Person B decides that the time is right to act.
Person B visits Person C's workplace and proposes a solution to the Microsoft problem. After some negotiation, Person B sells the necessary number of Windows licenses to Person C's company, at a substantial profit.
Person A is happy to be rid of Windows, Person B made a nice profit, and Person C didn't have to pay Microsoft off. Microsoft loses "potential sales" and doesn't get to torture Person C's company anymore.
Then Microsoft wakes up screaming, but realizes it was all a dream, making note to take action to prevent this horrible thing from ever happening. After reading "The Little Monopoly that Could," Microsoft was once more asleep, content that nothing could harm it.
The End
Everything you can buy legally, you can
also sell legally
Including prescription drugs and controlled substances?
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips