Re: DirectX 9 SDK, Microsoft have got balls....

From: Blue Boar (BlueBoar@thievco.com)
Date: 05/28/02 

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 12:10:27 -0700
From: Blue Boar <BlueBoar@thievco.com>
To: vuln-dev@securityfocus.com

Peter Thoenen wrote:
> No..it would be a virus if it didn't warn you and you didn't intentially
> install it. If you don't like what they are doing, don't install it,
> Bill doesnt' have a gun to your head. Nobody is forcing you and I bet
> you (IANAL) that it is perfectly legal. This is much the same way the
> FrontpageXP warns you that by installing it, you give m$ permission to
> unistall ANY software on your box they wish. Needless to say, I don't
> agree, so I didn't install it. Nothing illegal about it though, its a
> TOS agreement.

And I think this thread boils down to what can one get away with by telling
the victim what you will do to them in the EULA. We're not likely to
settle any moral or legal questions on that subject here (unless someone
would like to write an essay on the laws of software, ala Asimov's laws of
robotics.) Right now (at least in the US), the assumption is that if it's
not otherwise illegal, you can require it in a EULA. So, my license
probably couldn't require you to perform sexual acts, because that would be
prostitution. I could require that you come clean my house in a french
maid outfit, though. (I won't be having any such clauses in my EULAs, I've
seen what some of you people look like.)

This will never be settled until there have been some court cases that
define what is permissible. If you really want to accelerate the process,
write a popular piece of software which license requires that the user
remove all Microsoft software from their system, and never use it again.
Enforce it programatically. Make a Windows version.

                                                        BB

Relevant Pages

  • Re: installing WinXP
    ... I dug out the EULA from my wife's HP laptop and here are quotes from the pertinent parts. ... The software license is permanently assigned to the device with which you acquired the software. ... Can I install this legitimately on another machine as a clean install? ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup)
  • Re: OEM versus Upgrade
    ... Once an OEM copy ... >> always install it for 30 days and then move it to another PC. ... > of even what the non-US courts validated legality of the EULA means. ... "The license rights granted under this EULA ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Thundercleets Myth - Microsoft limits the # of times you can transfer a retail Vista license
    ... There is no 2 install limit. ... Under current terms you can transfer your license from Mac to Mac as ... I cited the actual current Windows Vista EULA. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: Licensing questions
    ... From the Windows XP EULA: ... Please read your End-User License Agreement by going ... You can install a legal copy of Windows 2000 in a Virtual ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Shrink Wrap my EULA ?
    ... >> You may refuse to accept it and the install will be cancelled. ... >>> You have the right to refuse the EULA. ... >>> permits you as a party to the contract to refuse the terms of such. ... >>> you wanted an OEM version that included all the license documentation, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)