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Re: OpenSourceSchools Journal Online
- To: "Nadav Har'El" <nyh(at-nospam)math.technion.ac.il>
- Subject: Re: OpenSourceSchools Journal Online
- From: Oleg Goldshmidt <ogoldshmidt(at-nospam)computer.org>
- Date: 08 Oct 2001 14:28:24 +0200
- Cc: Uri Bruck <bruck(at-nospam)actcom.net.il>, linux-il(at-nospam)linux.org.il
- Delivered-To: linux.org.il-linux-il@linux.org.il
- In-Reply-To: "Nadav Har'El"'s message of "Mon, 08 Oct 2001 09:59:09 +0200"
- Organization: Speaking for myself only.
- Original-Sender: ogoldshmidt@computer.org
- References: <20011004163625.A28237@leeor.math.technion.ac.il><Pine.LNX.3.95.1011008015829.32401E-100000@inews.actcom.co.il><20011008095909.A22801@leeor.math.technion.ac.il>
- Reply-To: linux-il(at-nospam)linux.org.il
- Sender: oleg(at-nospam)data-zoo.com
- Sender: linux-il-bounce(at-nospam)cs.huji.ac.il
- User-Agent: Gnus/5.0807 (Gnus v5.8.7) XEmacs/21.1 (Cuyahoga Valley)
"Nadav Har'El" <nyh@math.technion.ac.il> writes:
> IANAL, but I think that legally, when you buy some software (e.g.,
> Microsoft Bob) you buy the privilige of installing it on one
> computer. As long as that computer is still running the software
> somewhere - regardless if it was given away, stolen, or whatever -
> you cannot legally install the software again on another computer.
IANAL either, but AFAIK it is even weirder than that, in the sense
that you cannot transfer the software to a different computer event if
you can guarantee that the original one won't be running it. If you
upgrade a computer (and reformat or even scrap the old one), you have
to buy a new license. I don't know what happens if the hard disk goes
bust.
The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk) had a story a while ago
about M$ plans for XP. It looked like "3 strikes and you are out":
the system kept info on something like 10 h/w components, and swapping
3 of them mandates a new license. I don't remember the details (the
account was quite detailed), because I am not interested.
> This is why they have the following deal (scam?) with computer
> sellers: they give the sellers MS-Windows for half (or whatever)
> price, if they sign a contract that more than 95% of the new
> computers they sell will have MS-Windows pre-installed on
> them. These sellers will then flat-out refuse any buyer's request to
> buy a computer without Windows on it, so if you buy a new computer
> from them you're stuck with having to buy Windows again.
If I am not mistaken, another methods that M$ use is refusing to allow
a seller to install Windows if the seller also sells other OSes
preinstalled, and refusing to allow preconfigured dual-boot systems
(Windows and other). I am not sure they still do that, but they
certainly used to.
Continuing the license thread [somewhat off-topic here of course].
Can anyone explain to me the following license trick: if you buy a
shrink-wrapped piece of software (I had this experience with M$
Encarta that I bought for my nephew a few years ago), all that is
written on the box is that if you don't agree to the license terms you
can get a refund provided that the product is returned to the store
in the original package unopened. But the license, if there is any, is
either printed inside the package or is on the CD inside, so there is
no way to know what the terms are unless you open the package, and you
forfeit the refund if you do it. I asked at the store (BugStore), and
they said they didn't have a copy of the license anywhere, and
confirmed that opening the box would invalidate the refund clause.
They knew no way out of this situation.
--
Oleg Goldshmidt | ogoldshmidt@NOSPAM.computer.org
"If it ain't broken, it has not got enough features yet."
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