____/ [H]omer on Saturday 01 September 2007 21:38 : \____
> Verily I say unto thee, that Roy Schestowitz spake thusly:
>
>> German and US researchers lay low, question just how far new law will go
>
> .----
> | The law doesn't actually distinguish between what the intended
> | purpose of a program is. It just says if you put a piece of code in
> | a disposition that is used to commit a crime, you're complicit in
> | that crime.
> |
> | [...]
> |
> | Moore notes that most Linux distros are now illegal in Germany as
> | well, because they include the open-source nmap security scanner tool
> | -- and some include Metasploit as well.
> `----
>
> So when are the German authorities going to arrest Ballmer & Co. for
> facilitating the creation and propagation of viruses and spam at the
> hands of Russian pharma gangsters?
>
> Is the German government so naive as to believe that the Windows OS, or
> any of the software therein, could not be used to commit crimes? Why is
> this judgement so heavily biased against Free Software?
Give it time. The Germany government has just been pWned by the Chinese.
Windows viruses on their PCs (zombie/hijack/botnet). Crucial data stolen. They
may wish to take action (against defective-by-design O/Ses, but it might
require time).
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
^^^^^^^^
,----[ 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
> Someone could buy a retail copy of Vista; in that nice, shiny, sturdy,
> plastic box; and in a fit of frustration in trying to figure out how the
> Hell to open it, smash it over someone's head and kill them.
>
> Would Microsoft be culpable?
>
> Shouldn't Windows therefore be declared "illegal" since someone could
> obviously misuse it to commit a crime?
>
> Germany is a Free Software stronghold, and Microsoft knows this.
> Wouldn't it be a typical strategy for Microsoft to employ proxies to
> sabotage it? I wonder how many Microsoft lobbyists it took to instil
> this degree of paranoia in the German government?
>
> Free Software users ... we're all dangerous Commie hacker terrorists ya
> know - no really, we are - honest.
>
> [slaps forehead]
Microsoft helps these stereotypes with comments like "communism"
and "unamerican". For that, Microsoft should be considered a felon that
embraces slander.
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Double your drive space - delete Windows"
http://Schestowitz.com | GNU/Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Mem: 515500k total, 386332k used, 129168k free, 2124k buffers
http://iuron.com - next generation of search paradigms
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