Reader Comments on Aardvark Daily 8 October 2002
Note: the comments below are the unabridged
submissions of readers and do
not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher.
From: David Mohring For : The Editor (for publication) Subj: "Money for Nothing" but a toll gate on content Microsoft and the recording industry are slealthfully pushing Media Player 9 on the market, by requiring it to view increasingly ever more "exclusive" content... See 'Free' Costello CD seeds DRM, MS Media Player 9 www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/27232.html And Peter Gabriel album preview deployed in MS audio push www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/27272.html In the words of contemporary 80s artist of both Costello and Gabriel, Dire Straits Mark Knofler - this is Money for Nothing... [ With deepest apologies to Mark Knofler and Dire Straits ] "Money for Microsoft" by Dire Warnings Sung by Steve Ballmer, backing by Bill Gates You must buy ... You must buy Win-XP You must buy ... You must buy Win-XP You must buy ... You must buy Win-XP You must buy ... You must buy Win-XP Now look at them bozo's that's the way you do it You lock them always on the Win-XP That ain't workin' thats the way we do it Money for Microsoft from Dot Net usage fees Now that ain't workin' thats the way we do it Lemme tell ya them guys are dumb Maybe get a licence on your little desktop Maybe get a licence on everyone They gotta install Media Player Passport Dot-Net deliveries They gotta take these applications They gotta take these subscription fees Look at that, look at that See the little Win-Troll spreading spin we makeup Yeah buddy thats our own fear That little Win-Troll got them always complain' That little Win-Troll makes us billionares They gotta install Media Player Passport Dot-Net deliveries They gotta take these applications They gotta take these subscription fees They shoulda learned to use the Linux They shoulda learned to use them Macs Look at that user, we got it stickin' to the customer Man we could have some fun And their down there, whats that? Protesting noises? Plannin' on me dancing like a chimpanzee That ain't workin' thats the way we do it Get the money for Microsoft get our usage fee They gotta install Media Player Passport Dot-Net deliveries They gotta take these applications They gotta take these subscription fees That ain't workin' thats the way we do it You lock them always on the Win-XP That ain't workin' thats the way we do it Money for Microsoft from the license fee Money for Microsoft from subscription fees David Mohring - Original author Note: dancing like a chimpanzee - see www.google.com/search?q=ballmer+monkeyboy+mpeg As for Dot-NET subscriptions, the rot is starting ... Microsoft details web services prices www.it-director.com/article.php?id=3215 It needs a 3D animated flash video parodying the original Dire Straits Music Video. As I said yesterday, if you have not already listened to, or read Lessig's speech on free culture. I urge you to do so ASAP. The flash presentation brings home just how much we, as a society in general, have to lose. www.eff.org/IP/freeculture/ YOU CAN FIGHT FOR YOUR FAIR USE RIGHTS - Use completely open, patent-free, professional audio encoding technology. www.vorbis.com/ From: Mike For : The Editor (for publication) Subj: EULA Agree with your comments! The (mainly US) software companies write for US law, although some have had to be modified as they break or severely bend consumer rights and Fair Use laws in the US of A. What I'd like to know is how may of our own laws, like Consumer Guarantees Act and others, which cannot be "contacted out", are making these agreement void in New Zealand. From: Graham T For : The Editor (for publication) Subj: Microsoft soon to be unenforceable EULA Hopefully software will shortly be covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act, when the Consumer Protection (Definitions of Goods and Services) Bill is enacted. Imagine if Microsoft had to pay attention to the requirements that their software will: -Be of acceptable quality -Be fit for their particular purpose -Match the description given in advertisements or sales brochures -Be a reasonable price, if no price or pricing formula has been previously agreed. -Spare parts and repair facilities will be available for a reasonable time. -Goods are of acceptable quality. -Perform with reasonable care and skill. Moreover, continuing as they do now after enactment of the bill would mean that they are probably in breech of the Fair Trading Act with its rather severe penalties. Here's hoping the M$ lobby aimed at stopping the bill is unsucessful... From: Edwin Hermann For : The Editor (for publication) Subj: "you authorise us to randomly charge your credit card..." In your column today you put forward a hypothetical situation where the fine print reads something like: "In accepting this license, you authorise the vendor to make random or regular billings against your credit card as they see fit, without notice and without further approval by you" and you imply that they'd have every right to do so if you agreed to the fine print. Well, something worth bearing in mind is that there are some laws in New Zealand which cannot be contracted out of. For example, you can't sell someone a prodcut with "you will not be given a refund for this product, even if the product is faulty" in the fine print. The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 is one example of an Act which you cannot contract out of, and refunds for faulty products - as per the example above - comes under the Consumer Guarantees Act. So the vendor of a piece of software (or any other product or service) cannot just write everything and anything in the fine print. Perhaps inserting a clause about randomly billing your credit card varying amounts from time to time is something which goes against an Act which cannot be contracted out of.... From: Andrew Gardner For : The Editor (for publication) Subj: Larry Ellison "But cheap telecoms costs and the availability of good real estate were factors that would encourage him to set up shop in New Zealand. " Cheap telecoms costs??? When did this happen? Was I asleep? From: Peter For : The Editor (for publication) Subj: Nigerian Scam Yes, the Nigerian scam emails are still about. I tried a couple of times to hook a game of mugu baiting, and have now succeeded in getting one going. In their second email, they warned me that some interlopers in Nigeria are frauds, and only pretend to have money to get out. (Of course, their offer to me is genuine.) So I'll see how far we can get with the game.Hit Reload For Latest Comments
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