____/ Erik Jan on Tuesday 24 July 2007 15:17 : \____
> Roy Schestowitz had de volgende lumineuze gedachte op 24-07-07 14:31:
>> (never mind Microsoft's sloppiness),
>>
>
> Why does the world not mind Microsoft's sloppiness? Is the EULA
> juridically valid? What products (software excepted) can be delivered
> without any guarantee of quality? Could we not demand that an operating
> systems operates without corruption or degneration? After all it is sold
> to us as a computersystem that operates, works. But it does not without
> third party products that slow down the corruption or try to prevent
> assaults.
>
> Some years ago MS promised us that spam would by now be suppressed. It
> is not. MS promised us that Vista would be secure, the most secure
> system ever; it is not. Could we not claim damages?
>
> As soon as MS will have to pay for all the costs of spam, insecure OS,
> loss of time because of frequent reinstalls, it would have some stimulus
> to improve its products.
>
> Erik Jan
Erik,
More such calls are apparently being made by those who suffer. Here are some
articles that might be worth reading.
Do Microsoft's EULAs have any real legal basis?
,----[ Quote ]
| "Microsoft has no special exemption from the sale of goods act." Well,
| no, probably not - but it might still be selling you "services"
| instead of "goods". But the real point to remember is that it doesn't
| matter a jot what the "logical" position is, it is what the courts
| decide that matters.
|
| As far as I know, no one has tested Microsoft's EULAs in a UK court
| and, until someone does, Microsoft will just go on assuming that they
| work. And I don't fancy the risk of taking on Microsoft's expensive
| lawyers in court myself...
`----
http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2007/04/25/microsoft_eula/
This includes a mention of liability, if I recall correctly. Also see this one:
Experts are calling for product liability for software
,----[ Quote ]
| "Product liability does not apply to software," Gerald Spindler
| of the Faculty of Law of the University of Göttingen complained.
| "But what if a whole company comes to a standstill due to faulty
| software?" he mused.
`----
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/86932/from/rss09
This one has litigious backing. A discussion ensues.
,----[ Quote ]
| Ah, from the horse's mouth: Microsoft just might be held legally
| responsible for selling software that is insecure.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2006112223522439
Here's another examples of damages.
Microsoft confirms OneCare zaps Outlook, Outlook Express e-mail
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp. has acknowledged that a bug in its Windows Live
| OneCare security suite has been causing users' e-mail to vanish
| from Outlook and Outlook Express.
`----
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9012499
A few weeks ago, Symantec's negligence led to damage of millions of Windows XP
PCs in China. The customers got /compensated/ and Symantex called this
response a "success". Microsoft does not appear to be compensating customers
because of its EULA(s).
Recently, there was also a discussion about this in the UK. Let me see if I can
find it.
Oh, got it... took just 30 seconds...
Microsoft and open source experts to brief House of Lords
,----[ Quote ]
| During a briefing this week, Microsoft's representatives are expected
| to be asked about steps it has taken to improve online security as
| well as facing questions about Microsoft's co-operation with
| competitors. Following Microsoft's briefing, Laurie and Cox will
| give their views.
`----
http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=ED5D5CF0-471E-4468-9C8B-057D90A2C1A0
Hope this helps,
Roy
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | WARNING: /dev/null running out of space
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