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The Pure Software Act of 2006

Posted by michael on from the ideas-whose-time-have-come dept.

lurker412 writes "The MIT Technology Review features a proposal by Simson Garfinkel to provide honest labels on software in the same way that the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 forced manufacturers of foods and drugs to divulge the contents of their products. The proposal targets adware, spyware and other unsavory practices. It suggests that by requiring software manufacturers to include clear icons for each nasty behavior--rather than hide the disclosures in seldom read or understood click-through SLAs--end users will be better protected. Garfinkel specifically lists eight types of sneaky behavior, but the list is not meant to be exhaustive."

5 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. Never work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll
    requiring software manufacturers to include clear icons for each nasty behavior

    How do you fit all those icons onto MS packaging?

  2. Question for Mr Garfinkle: by Neil+Blender · · Score: 0, Troll

    Did your ivory tower come equiped with an ivory backscratcher? And if so, where can I buy one?

  3. Windows XP affected? by Stack_13 · · Score: 0, Troll
    Just for the kicks, let's see how the Pure Software Act would apply to Windows XP (although many of the listed program behaviors would be true for any other modern operating).

    1. Hook: Runs at Boot
    Check

    2. Dial: Places a Phone Call
    Activation procedure, Messenger, etc.

    3. Modify: Alters Your Computer's Operating System
    Duh. It *is* the OS.

    4. Monitor: Keeps Track of What You're Doing
    Windows Media player / IE's index.dat come to mind.

    5. Displays Pop-Ups
    At least before XP SP2 comes out.

    6. Remote Control: Lets Other Programs Take Over Your Computer
    Just how many exploits *are* there at the moment?

    7. Self-Updates: This Program May Change Its Behavior
    Windows Update, anybody?

    8. Stuck: Cannot be Uninstalled
    Unless you count formatting the hard drive as such.

  4. Re:The 'Evil' Bit by Rick+and+Roll · · Score: 1, Troll
    You speak as if Apple are saints. Quicktime is actually one of my favorite examples of malware. In the version I used, that is still installed on many school computers, it associates its ActiveX control and plug-in with .png's. Then you have a terribly scaled bitmap, that you can't get back to its normal size, without having the problem that you can't scroll to the areas that do not fit in the screen. It makes browsing some sites in their intended form impossible.

    Plus Apple participates in the bad software patent practices that discourage freedom and innovation. And they claimed to support fair use, but turned their back on it with ITMS. They are not a nice company.

  5. speaking of clickwrap EULA's... by Barbarian · · Score: 0, Troll

    How about make it mandatory that the box with the text be resizable, and require a reasonable font size. Anyone seen a program (or a web page offering a service) that uses 8 point font for it's license agreement? Small fonts are entirely unnecessary when real paper is not being used.