On Wednesday 07 November 2001 17:39, Jon Biddell wrote:
Well, I'll make a bet that Gate's need to churn the Windows user base for more income to keep his kingdom afloat by constant upgrades that cost more and require more powerful hardware, combined with he paranoia about 'pirates' and his tendency to ignore basic freedoms, like speech and association, will eventually drive you back to Linux.
It's interesting how many "bugfixes" Microsoft have released over the years for their products (in all categories).
Bill even remarked, to a German journalist who was interviewing him and asked about "all the bugs in Windows", that there were NO bugs in Windows software. I keep that reminder of his total lack of credulity on my office wall.
remember when Gates compared the Software industry to the Automotive industry, and said that if the laffer progressed at the same rate as the former, we'd all br driving cars that got 1000 miler per gallon, cost $10 and didn't need maintenance - you'd just throw it away and buy a new one.
I was musing over this and I thought; I winder who would but a car from GM / Chrysler / <dbrand-of-choice> if you knew that, like (for example, Windows XP);
a. It might not work. b. If it DID work, it *could* be unreliable, crash frequently, and have to be fixed by frequent recalls and "patches"
No-one would buy it - at least not without suing the arse off the manufacturer for producting a product "not of merchantable quality", or one that was "unfit for the purpose for which it was intended" - both these reasons are sufficient, under Australian comsumer laws at least, for legal action to be taken against the PRODUCER (not the vendor of the software, but the MANUFACTURER) to either refund the purchase price OR fix the problem - and this at the discretion of the PURCHASER.
Have a look, if you are bored or having a crap, at the Microsoft EULA - I haven't yet, but I just bet there is a disclaimer in there to the effect that "Microsoft provides this software with no warranties, implied or specific, as to merchantability or fitness-for-use", or words to that effect.
The license on FrontPage is even worse. It denies you any rights to use the software on sites that Microsoft won't approve of. So are the parts of the EULA that says you cannot tell other people about your experiences with Microsoft software without asking Gates for permission. Did you see Ralph Nada's summary of the attrocious holes in the MS-DOJ agreement. One I wasn't aware of was the MS gets to choose one of the three watchdog committee members, and that one has a voice in choosing the other third. ALso, the committee will be housed in the Microsoft office, paid by microsoft and will be gagged. No reports to the public about how well or not MS is following the agreement. This reduces the agreement to a license for MS to steal. JLK
I wonder what would happen if, for example, I purchased XP and installed it on the minimum spec machine (as on the box), and it didn't run ? I could have a ball suing Microsoft for making false and misleading statements...:-)
Food for thought, no ?