Re: [PLUG] Interesting thread on SEUL-EDU mailing list...

[Fred K Ollinger <follinge@sas.upenn.edu>]

My question is what we are buying when we buy from MS.

1. sw? Probably not. We can't give it to someone else. If I buy a book
(also
copyright) I can give my book to a friend. But I can't give my original MS
cd to a friend. I think that something should be done to inform consumers
that they aren't 'buying' a pc. Remember that as MS has told us, windows
is part of pc 'experience'. But you don't buy windows so you don't buy pc.
Weird.

2. license to use sw? Probably not. If you lose cd and you format c: do
you get a copy sent to you from MS? I never heard of this happening, but
it _could_ be true.

Also, if you are getting a license then can't you install on another
machine? No, each machine is tied w/ a license. Can you give machine w/
original sw on machine? No, b/c you can't transfer liscense.

So what did you buy?

Can you format c: and send stuff back and get money back? No? Why not?

Also, MS doesn't deal w/ people, but oems. So if you pirate MS sw you
bought from oem, does oem come after you. Why does MS? They didn't sell
you anything. B/c of this, you can't make an agreement w/ them. So you
aren't bound by anything. Or are you.

If all the above assumptions are correct, then you get basically nothing
when you buy MS, but MS gets something (power over stuff that you think
you bought).

I suggest a class action lawsuit against MS to straighten out what is
actually going on.

It seems to me that MS wants to have things both ways, not to sell
anything, but to control that thing that they did not sell.

I'd like to see a resturant coming after me for sharing a dish I bought
from them, "but I didn't agree to let you give my food to anyone else." :)

Fred Ollinger (follinge@sas.upenn.edu)
CCN sysadmin



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