UCITA Hits A Few Speedbumps 101
mmt writes: "The Los Angeles Times has an interesting article on the past, present and future of the UCITA." Slashdot has covered the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act before. It's interesting to see that some of the brighter purchasing agents have already encountered and rejected attempts to use UCITA in out-of-state contracts. Have you or your company run into a situation where a software company wanted you to buy software under UCITA's rules?
Time to talk to your legislators. (Score:2)
It seems the push to pass UCITA is failing, that is just one battle, perhapse now we should be pushing anti-UCITA legislation like Iowa [slashdot.org]. Let's not sit around enjoying the victory.
Re:Corporate management (Score:2)
I don't see what's so funny about this post; it's actually quite informative, and I think that it makes a good point. If somebody in your organization insists on paying somebody for free software, you might as well take advantage of it to funnel the money to a deserving group like FSF.
Re:Corporate management (Score:1)
Re:Actually, Virginia HASN'T passed UCITA. . . (Score:2)
It takes effect July 1, 2001.
The law delayed implementation to allow concerns to be expressed.
A study on the impact of the law is due Dec. 1.
Re:BeOS R5 license (Score:2)
Re:Obligatory Slashdot poll - Who is stupidest? (Score:1)
This is great news! (Score:1)
If the media would give any attention to this issue at all, it could only help to further the spread of GPL'ed [gnu.org] software.
GREAT WEBSITE>>>> www.thelinuxpimp.com [thelinuxpimp.com]
Re:Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:1)
That's my point nimrod.
I'm not confused at all, I'm merely commenting on what you have said and telling you that you are stupid in your reasoning. It takes me five minutes to do so, and I get entertainment out of it.
Two people caring about each other is a form of recriprocating payment, I dont expect you to understand that. Each individual in the couple pays with emotions, time, and affection - they get something in return.
Unfortunately your thought process is noting that payment means something totally different than what it is. Payment is just something to get something. You love your wife, she loves you - that is a circular payment. You are too simple to think outside the box.
I do like one thing though - you failed to comment on me telling you you were stupid, good for you, there may be hope for you yet.
The world is a shithole because you make it that way, until you pull your head out of your ass it will consistently be in shit - that's how it works. Also, most of my comments are generalized and not specific for you, but for everyone who thinks about them. Unfortunately you have never completed the part of mental maturing where you think of things outside of yourself. If my philosphy on life is so fucked up, then why I am the one that loves life and you, the one who understands things, hates it?
Re:Corporate management (Score:1)
Re:Corporate management (Score:2)
If RedHat is able to make money selling, for $1K what I'm selling for $1.50 then all the more power to them. My guess is that they'd also have to provide scads of support, or something, to be able to hold amarket share under those conditions.
`ø,,ø`ø,,ø!
Re:Unfortunately... (Score:1)
Re:Corporate management (Score:1)
Re:Amazing (Score:4)
It's not as though consumer lititgation is exactly destroying their profits, either. Microsoft is one of the most profitable companies in the country, so the current level of consumer litigation is hardly driving them into bankruptcy. I hadn't thought of it in exactly these terms, either, but what does it say about a company when they argue that they can't be honest with their customers because it would cause too many lawsuits? Is there any worse indictment of the industry as it now exists than their own admission that being honest with their customers would result in increased litigation and decreased customer choice?
WTF? (Score:1)
How on God's green earth is this a troll? It makes a legitimate point about the PHB-like idiocy that exists in some companies. It's on-topic and doesn't have any of the "bait" that usually marks a troll. (Yes, I know that posts can be modded up and down to arrive at scores such as "4, Offtopic" or "0, Insightful," but it seems somebody doesn't have a bleeding clue what "troll" means.)
Overall, the quality of moderation and metamoderation on /. has been on a downward spiral lately. I used to be willing to moderate, but a few morons who like to abuse metamoderation put an end to that. I doubt that I'm the only one, which would lead to the quality of moderation slipping as well as the inDUHviduals who mod good posts down aren't going to attack each other in metamoderation.
Hell, it seems that more than a few people are more interested in attacking people's sigs than engaging in rational dialogue. Maybe it's no wonder that moderation/metamoderation are also slipping.
Re:just for fun (Score:1)
You think your big time?
Should be UnInformed (Score:1)
Re:Corporate management (Score:1)
In the best of all worlds each distribution would have an 'authors list' that lists the names and email addresses of all the people who ever wrote anything that ended up in the distribution, then you could give that list to your boss and say "These are the people that wrote this software. Send them each a donation if you choose." Only then may your boss understand.
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
Yeah, it's a troll posted by an AC, but I'm gonna respond anyway since I'm tired of hearing that stuff.
Gimme a break. Dubya supports hand recounts in Texas. They've helped some republicans out in the past. He just doesn't support them if there is a chance he might lose. Hand recounts are perfectly fair. In Texas, Bush even signed legislation that gives preference to hand counts over machine counts. Machine counts have a slight margin of error (anything from .01 to .1 depending on the manufacturer), which in this race is more than enough to decide the election. The only fair way to do it is by a hand count.
There are reps from both parties watching each team of counters. Both parties have to agree on the ballots that are in dispute. If a dimple counts for Gore, then a dimple counts for Dubya. As long as the standard is enforced equally, there is no problem. I wish Bush would shuttup and let the counts finish. Just another reason he's a hypocrite.
Re:Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:1)
You think your big time?
Re:Obligatory Slashdot poll - Who is stupidest? (Score:2)
UCITA reminds me of MS Office Subcription Edition (Score:4)
Re:RMS is going to be really pissed off ... (Score:1)
I'm starting to wonder if the media aren't quite as dumb as we make out, and they do this on purpose to see who can get the biggest rise out of RMS. But then I remember that guy's sig about never blaming on malice when stupidity will do (or whatever)...
Re:Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:1)
The part of suggesting you get help is so you stop wasting bandwidth on slashdot. In fact, so you stop wasting oxygen and life for people who actually appreciate the things that are good.
Post as angrily as you want, you are wrong and above everything stupid. The thing I dont understand about you (and your stereotypical type, oh boo hoo the world isn't fair so I hate everything.. yeah get a new bit, this was done out after vietnam) is you try to hard to get other people to give you attention and when you do you snap at them. So you avoid accountability for anything - they go on their way and you on yours. You may feel better, that's fine. But you are unfortunately so short-sided that you will never be able to understand the actual meaning of life.
And yeah, I do know the meaning of life. I know how to be happy. It's really pretty simple - but until you stop bitching about how hard it is when your father yells at your mother you are going to be just as clueless as ever and hateful. It's funny really, because I get a certain degree of entertainment out of you silly dumbass product of the baby-boomer generation - refer to The Eagle's "Get Over It" for more information on this.
You are pathetic, in the most primative sense because you can't even think of an original incentive as to why to feel miserable - you have to rip off other peoples excuses.
I gave you the suggestion for therapy because they do care, that is what they get paid to do - and yes, there are good therapists out there. I have never been to one, but those close to me have (and needed it).
If you think that you can truly vent and rant on slashdot, then it also mirrors life, don't shit in your home if you dont want to sit in it. I suppose that is probably over your head at this point.
Thank you for providing me with further proof that humanity is what makes life complex, and not life that makes humans complex.
Does your wife know about your diverse usage of the word fuck, as well as your angry tendancies. It may really be something you should look at - hence what happens when slashdot isn't around and she is the only one to snap at. Oh I know, I know. "I would never yell at her".. yet another canned response. You will, you are your father regardless of how you feel now. You have completed the cycle - thank you, come again.
Do the world a favor, and actually care about yourself instead of caring about people caring about you - and specifically do your wife and children (if you have them, if not children-to-be) the favor.
Thanks though, I was bored at work too.
Re:One potental roadblock for UCITA (Score:1)
A much better way of challenging certain aspects of UCITA shrink-wrap license enforcement is to look at how parts of UCITA might in effect become a sort of State copyright law, and thus would be in conflict with the Federal Copyright Act. That is, to the extent that provisions of UCITA would make enforceable certain license terms which would be contrary to various limitations of copyright (such as fair use, first sale, right to backup, etc) those provisions would be preempted by Federal copyright and would be unenforceable in the particular case.
There may be some productive avenues to research in Federal consumer protection law, and I believe the FTC is pushing that angle.
Ed
This gives us a good weapon against UCITA (Score:2)
"UCITA will cost you tax $$$ and hurt your high-tech economy"
than they would be to
"UCITA is unfair and screws the consumer"
Re:It was interesting to read that the ALI walked (Score:1)
Making law that doesnt stick (Score:4)
- How are they going to ban me of selling my copy of Age of Empires to my brother for $10?
- Word of mouth spreads quickly on the Internet, I can't wait to see how they are going to ban negative reviews
Laws have to be simple enough so people don't have to take their case to court everytime and pay a laywer some X amount of dollar by the hour. (But of course, laywers would love that) In fact, with more complex laws, the state is beginning to look like the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. (Clerks = Laywers, Cardinals = Senates, Big bad corporations = Big bad Feudal lords) There is simply no way that these laws can be upheld, and therefore they are waste of good trees...Just my 2c
Re:Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:1)
INCORRECT
The world simply is. That you choose to experience it as a shit hole is your business -- but don't be so quick to generalize
Maybe you're right. Maybe I am delusional, and you're just sooo smart to see through it all. But if (1) you are so brilliant and (2) working for your dad is such a big problam, why do you go to work? In an economy with 4% unemployment, you don't have to be Einstien to figure out other solutions.
Re:Amazing (Score:2)
I mean, there's just no arguing with that kind of logic. If you give consumers any rights, they're likely to want those rights enforced in a court. Any Correct Thinking legislature should see the obvious threat the Business Interests.
Re:BeOS R5 license (Score:1)
just for fun (Score:1)
Why, you might ask? Because I'm a tongue-in-cheek, obnixious kinda person, that's why. And, with what I've seen, I would think it'd be damn funny to see what others would write for their own, GPL'd GNUCITA...
(am I warped... it must be due to it being Monday and really FREAKIN' cold outside [yes - I'm a wuss])
I have a naive question. (Score:1)
Example: I start using linux and therefore, have this windows pack arround, no longer usefull. Can I just give it to someone without any second thoughts?
Did you know (Score:2)
Re:Obligatory Slashdot poll - Who is stupidest? (Score:1)
Re:bumps (Score:1)
Giving things away for free (Score:1)
Those foes say that if UCITA is modified to require warranties, there had better be an exception for open-source efforts, whose software developers earn no money.
Indeed! the alternative sounds rather like trying to ban the concept of giving things away for free.
JoshuaTerradot [terradot.org]
Re:Making law that doesnt stick (Score:1)
Re:Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:1)
Anyway, any time that someone involved in big business says, "I'm on your side." I suddenly feel like I should just spin in circles to be sure they aren't just trying to find a way to distract me from turing around. I don't know, but I have yet to find an instance where you can really trust a business in any situation.
You think your big time?
How can this be reasonable? (Score:5)
One question that I've always had about UCITA is how it can possibly be reasonable to manage software sales under any state law, much less try the nonsense approach that MS et. al. are trying under which the sale can be held to be under a state that has no apparent relevance to the sale. If I (a citizen and resident of California) buy software written by Microsoft (a Nevada corporation whose primary place of business is in Washington) through a local store, what in hell do the laws of Virginia or Maryland have to do with it? You could plausibly argue that the sale should be under California law, or less plausibly under Washington or Nevada law, but why should the laws of a state where none of the principles of the sale are involved have any relevance? If anything, this is the clearest possible case of interstate commerce and should be handled by a Federal, not a State law. Any plausible suggestions?
Re:UCITA reminds me of MS Office Subcription Editi (Score:1)
Re:Amazing (Score:3)
It's getting to the point where these megacorps are acting as if they're entitled to this kind of obscene profit, claiming legal protection for every cent they make. What ever happened to competition? What ever happened to earning your profits?
AOL and Microsoft are in businesses where the incremental cost of their products are practically nil compared to the cost of the first item. I know I don't have to tell you how obscene the pricing structures are for MS products. THAT should be the subject of uniform legislation...
In FY2000, MS Office accounted for $7 billion [ecommercetimes.com] in sales for MSFT, just under a third of their total revenue, and the new release (Office 2000) was on the market only a fraction of the year. That's immense! And don't try to convince me it cost anywhere near $7 billion to write MS Office 2000. (And if it really, truly did, then Bill is hiring the wrong programmers.) For chrissake, if you're selling $23 billion worth of goods and services and making $2.2 billion in profit per quarter, you don't need a law to make it any easier to turn a profit. Hell, a lot of people are claiming that the rest of us need laws to protect us from you. But then, we don't have hundreds of millions of dollars to influence legislators with.
Go away, Bill, Steve, and Andrew. Go spend your money on some island nation somewhere where you can make your own laws. Leave ours alone.
Re:UCITA reminds me of MS Office Subcription Editi (Score:1)
In April of this year, I was told for the first time ever that if I wanted to rent, I had to renew my account. I had held an account here for 7 years and had never been told I needed to renew my membership. I complained, but the clerk was just a register jockey and had no authority to override anything. So I paid the $3 fee and filled out a new contract... and before I signed it, I read the small print. Guess what the first item was?
"By signing this agreement, I enter into a lifetime contract with..." [emphasis added].
I hit the roof... but what am I going to do? Take them to court over a $3 service charge? But at least I have a theoretical avenue of recourse. If UCITA passes, MSFT will behave the same way, but you won't even have the option of taking them to court.
Re:How can this be reasonable? (Score:1)
Re:How can this be reasonable? (Score:5)
It is a clear case of interstate commerce that should be regulated by Federal law, in the case where the purchasing occurs accross state borders. If you buy it in a store in California, you should be bound by California laws regarding trade, but the vendor who sold it to you would be bound by Federal law (which doesn't yet exist here) unless the software manufacturer was also in California. Applying the laws of a state in which none of the transaction participants resides is ridiculous, and likely unconstitutional.
But let's look at some of the other stupidity involved...
Reveal contract terms AFTER the sale? That certainly sounds like at least failure to disclose terms, if not bait-and-switch (if partial disclosure is used to misleading ends). It violates various consumer protection laws.
Forbid publication of critical reviews? This sounds like it violates more laws than I could possibly personally know, not to mention at least one constitutional amendment... Forget combatting this through "viral reviews" on the internet, folks, this is a basic civil liberty under attack for the purposes of market manipulation and trade collusion. This kind of supression of freedom of speech, of the press, of public figures (and products) to be freely criticized and lampooned is the most foul of affronts against the the Bill of Rights...
Avoid fixing software bugs? This sounds like it would violate various consumer protection laws, and probably lead to the passage of "lemon laws" for sofware...
Forbid resale of used software? Under "license to use" terms this could be done, but it is questionable and certainly runs counter to the current custom of transferrable licenses. It also can be gotten around if licenses can be transferred by free if you give away the license and charge a service fee (something I learned from tech companies themselves...
How to combat this?
1) Write your state legislatures and tell them "no way this will happen here"
2) Form a class action lawsuit among all the powerful interests opposed to the legislation and take Maryland and any companies tryint to hide behind their laws to the supreme court on constitutional grounds regarding their attempts to usurp interstate commerce and supress the freedom of the press
3) Reject all sales based on application of UCITA, particularly in states you do not reside in
4) Join ongoing efforts against it (see below)
5) Write software makers threatening to stop buying their software if they do not withdraw their support for this
6) Stop buying their software, anyway, and use more free software...
To find out more about this odious sack of legislative feces, check out:
http://www.cpsr.org/program/UCITA/ucita-fact.ht
http://www.ieeeusa.org/grassroots/ucita/
http://www.cptech.org/ecom/ucita/
http://www.consumerlaw.org/ucita/
http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/ulc/ulc_frame.htm
stall & open source (Score:2)
From the article:
More recently, the plan has been attacked by Richard Stallman, a pioneer in the "open-source" movement to develop free software in collaboration...
Someone just hit a bees' nest with a stick...
UCITA... Stupidity (Score:4)
The article is very interesting but I don't see many speed bumps ahead other than a million court disputes over which version of UCITA is right. Either way its bad of OSS simply because in on these battles it will be the Open-Source side that gets slapped with the gag-orders and injunctions that keep us from doing business.
Stand up for your rights, fight UCITA when it comes to your state.
Never knock on Death's door:
Amazing (Score:5)
It's absolutely amazing the nonsense that comes out of these people. A particularly revealing quote from the article:
IOW they claim that it's too expensive to require them to give consumers honest information about their products. At the same time, they want to be able to put terms into their licenses that would make it impossible for third parties to review their products honestly. So much for being able to make informed purchasing decisions, which any economist will tell you is essential for an effective marketplace. At the same time, they want the right to refuse refunds to consumers who do buy the software and then find out how useless it is.
An attorney's solution (Score:5)
I am an attorney, and I do a lot of negotiation over software licenses. I used to always insert a clause that says:
The Parties hereby agree that this Agreement shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods.
Now, that clause says:
The Parties hereby agree that this Agreement shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods nor the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act or any implementation thereof.
I have yet to hear any objection to this language during negotiations. I am hoping this practice of negating UCITA becomes as common as negating the UN convention (i.e. very common).
-Steve
Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:2)
In this case, a bad law (UCITA) is meeting resistance because other big bad comapnaies (eg. Boeing, General Motors) don't want to be on the short end of the stick.
Only Marland and Virginia have passed UCITA so far -- so keep fighting, UCITA is far from being the law of the land, and we have allies on this one
Corporate management (Score:5)
My company recently enacted a "code of conduct", under which "software piracy" is not allowed. My section manager requested me to "buy a licence" for a Linux server I had installed. No matter how I tried to explain the GPL to him, he wouldn't budge, so I had to order a Linux distro. I hope he's satisfied now.
Re:After-sale agreement disclosures... (Score:1)
uniform? (Score:1)
as always, the lawyers win
Amorphis
hmm (Score:2)
Glad I live in Iowa (Score:1)
BTW: That site wins the record for the most real estate taken up by the sidebar. Less than 50% of the screen contained actual content.
Re:(Not so) Amazing (Score:1)
Go New Jersey!!!! (Score:1)
It's nice to know that we have intelligent companies located in Newark, NJ.
Don't mess with the Bricks!
Obligatory Slashdot poll - Who is stupidest? (Score:5)
Re:Obligatory Slashdot poll - Who is stupidest? (Score:2)
Re:Corporate management (Score:2)
There's a difference between 'don't have to pay' and 'can't pay' for Open Source software.
I think that Penguin, for example, includes a Red Hat box with each machine that they ship. They don't have to, but they want to. (In practice, I've also found that it's a good way to get distros into peoples' friends' homes.).
`ø,,ø`ø,,ø!
Huh? (Score:1)
What are you referring to?
Hoping the existing laws in Iowa aren't struck down?
If there's no federal law forcing UCITA (and there isn't), then interstate commerce doesn't come into play. (Well, there is the whole states-shall-respect-each-others'-laws thing, but that doesn't apply here -- UCITA should only take effect if it's law in the purchasing party's state. I think. Though IANAL, I spend several hours a week listening to one yammer -- and that's not counting when I watch Law & Order).
Btw, if the sidebar is that big, your resolution is too low.
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
I'm not saying people don't make mistakes. I'm saying that Governor Dubya himself personally signed a Texas law that gives preference to hand counts over machine counts. I'm saying that he's a hypocrite for supporting hand counts when it's beneficial (i.e. gets a republican elected) and trying to stop them when it may not be beneficial. I'm also saying that given that the ballots are being judged equally by bi-partisan counters and observers, it's just as fair as a machine count, except that people can deal with ballots that a machine will simply reject. Since Dubya supports this thinking with his support of hand counts in Texas, I don't see why he's complaining. Oh yeah.. it's cause he might lose.
Re:Corporate management (Score:2)
Re:Corporate management (Score:2)
BeOS R5 license (Score:1)
Re:Obligatory Slashdot poll - Who is stupidest? (Score:2)
It was interesting to read that the ALI walked out (Score:1)
Winning strategy (Score:2)
It is nice to see that the good guys are prevailing. But it is a measure of the good guys' lack of forsight/resources that this battle is fought in our territory. Had the UCITA been proposed by a liberty minded organization, we'd still have the same fight but AOWintel would be on the defensive. Now that would be sweet, wouldn't it?
There should be a credible organization that provides model law from a perspective informed by freedom and consumer protection.
Re:I have a naive question. (Score:1)
Not unless you have Windows full on CD (meaning the boxed version and not a version that comes with computers). You see MS now requires that Windows that ships with PC's must ship with "anti-piracy" measures. Translation: It won't boot or install on any other computer other than the one it came with.
Re:RMS is going to be really pissed off ... (Score:2)
He put a lot of thought and work into the Gnu licenses that are pretty much at the heart of both movements and he produced or midwived the early software that made those licenses so well known and respected. Although I think that it's accurate to name him as a pioneer for the Open Source movement, I think that it was improper to not identify him as a spokesperson for the Free Software movement.
`ø,,ø`ø,,ø!
Exactly the opposite (Score:2)
BTW, the license still sucks. I argued against signing it at all, but was overruled by higher ups.
Re:Making law that doesnt stick (Score:2)
How about this on a review page : Because of the fact that by the UCITA law we are forbidden to publish bad reviews, we will not review Microsoft Office 10. Draw your own conclusions.
The original review might have said something like : It's not the best thing in the world , but now it sounds like IT'S CRAP !!!!
Does anyone else have some creative uses for UCITA?
root cause (Score:2)
No. The way things are set up, any admision of fault will ruin you. This is not just a problem for software companies, it's a problem for hospitals, construction firms and, well, everyone. There is a reason all software comes with a boilerplate, "this is not fit for any particular purpose" clause.
The problem is that the law allows for anyone to sue anyone else for unlimited damages. How can you blame people for covering their asses?
Bust Microsoft for trust violations and predatory behavior, but don't try to sue them because their crappy work did not solve all your problems like they prommised. Responsibility begins with you. Microsoft ends when people quit using thier junk.
United Nations Convention? (Score:1)
___
One potental roadblock for UCITA (Score:3)
All we need is for a similar challenge to UCITA in Virgina or other states to prove that it challenges federal interstate commerce -- the way I've heard the proponents of UCITA talking was to get it passed by a majority of states prior for such a suit to take hold as to show that a majority of the states want that, as opposed to a single state passing the law. If it can be defeated in a court of law now, while only a couple states have passed it, then the only chance for it to become law is via federal law, and the FTC would be watching the passing of that very very carefully, since they are already critical of the software industry.
Re:Corporate management (Score:2)
Stuart.
Re:stall & open source (Score:1)
Digital Wokan
I wanted to spend 8 years defending the US constitution.
After-sale agreement disclosures... (Score:2)
I recently bought a new video card that came packaged with a driver/apps CD-ROM in a sealed envelope. The seal said something to the effect of: "By breaking this seal you agree to the licensing statement enclosed." The licensing statement itself was printed on a piece of paper inside the sealed envelope! (Luckily I don't live in Maryland so the license isn't legally binding.)
Although, I suppose that's not much different than those install-time EULAs where everyone just clicks the "Agree" button without reading.
-
Re:Corporate management (Score:5)
Re:Obligatory Slashdot poll - Who is stupidest? (Score:1)
Re:Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:2)
UCITA... Astonishingly bad lawmaking (Score:1)
So, somebody outside of a few editors at InfoWorld and the Slashdot community has finally figured out what an astonishingly bad piece of legislation UCITA is.
It's about freaking time.
So? This is same as common law and UCC (Score:2)
Nonsense (Score:2)
Traditionally, virtually all contract law has been governed by state law.
Applying the laws of a state in which none of the transaction participants resides is ridiculous, and likely unconstitutional.
Actually this is routine, has been done for years, and it has been well-settled that there are no commerce law impediments. You may contract for anything you want. Although less common, it is permissible to use INCOTERMS, or the laws of foreign nations if you are so inclined. (Native state law may govern certain implied terms, such as implied covenant of good faith and rules against unconsionability, under Choice of law rules, however).
Reveal contract terms AFTER the sale?
Same as common law and UCC. See Pro-CD v. Zeidenberg
Forbid publication of critical reviews?
Avoid fixing software bugs?
Forbid resale of used software?
Please cite the provisions of the UCC which you believe make this possible, or why you think it was impossible to impose such terms under UCITA. The same impositions (Preemption clause of the copyright Act and perhaps unconsionability provisions) exist under the status quo as per UCITA.
Re:Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:1)
That is all you do - whether it be money or another form, it's all payment. You pay your wife to care about you. Yes, it's true. I dont expect you to understand it, you are by far to simple and immature - but you will grow.
Psychology doesn't dictate anything, much less a persons life - an individual dictates their life. Another point you missed, doesn't surprise me.
The points I can relatively accurately assess from you I have because you've more or less said them in black and white.
You are mad at your father.
You are mad that he left your mother.
You think slashdot is a good place to get your pent up anger out.
Fine - everything else I've said is a conjecture of those three points. Go back and look - I did not make any false presumptions. You are a whiny snively brat, except you just picked slashdot to whine to - you're the bully except this is an intellectual crowd where the bully gets slapped. You are just too stupid to realize something different is out there, that's the truth. You are just too stupid - more proof: If your father was such an asshole, why did you work for him?
Because you are stupid.
Why do you think no one in this world is trust worthy?
Because you are stupid.
Why do you think Slashdot is a fun place to rant?
Because you are stupid.
That's the bottom line, you wont accept it - there are two types of people, those who know they're stupid and those who refuse to know. Take care, and really - let your wife read this stuff, I'm sure she'd get a huge kick out of it.
Re:Corporate management (Score:1)
What you seem to be missing here is the fact that GNU software is licensed under GNU licenses. It would be illegal for a vendor to change those license terms. What I'm sure you meant to say is that you don't see anything wrong with 'paying' for the distribution in your direction of GNU software.
Thank you for taking the time to let me clarify this important matter.
Re:Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:3)
Two points:
Big Bad Business is NOT saying "I am on your side." Rather, in pursuing their own selfish interest, they happen to marching the same way. No need to trust them. Use them.
Given your user name, I wonder if your inability to trust applies to more than just economic organizations.
Re:Actually, Virginia HASN'T passed UCITA. . . (Score:1)
Re:We are doomed (Score:1)
As foolish as this may sound, I've proposed many networks and server configurations this way. Propose to them absolutely overkill, with the thought that they won't accept it. We 'Bargain' down to a reasonable configuration (the one I had in mind all along). It's amazing how PHB's snap up an idea when they think it's theirs.
We are doomed (Score:1)
Re:That is a good question. (Score:2)
What's with the moderators? Are they all members of the KKK, or merely Nazis? Bah, their clear anti-Semitic bias sickens me. Better smarten up before the samurai calls down the Moussad on your ass.
Re:Making law that doesnt stick (Score:1)
2. Word of mouth spreads quickly on the Internet, I can't wait to see how they are going to ban negative reviews
1. If they have their way, every install will require registration. Installs will be allowed on ONE machine only. Your brother would have paid $10 for a coaster. Remember, the scary part of this legislation is that software companies, in addition to the government, can work enforcement.
2. Lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuits. A review on PC Gamer or c|net carries a lot more weight than one disgruntled gamer in Idaho (or wherever). They'll selectively sue, like they do already.
Enforcement is difficult but remember, they still own the software, not you.
Re:just for fun (Score:1)
Re:Huh? (Score:1)
If it interferes with interstate commerce, it can be overturned by a federal court.
My resolution is 2560x1024, I can't get too much higher.
Unfortunately... (Score:2)
Our ideals seem foreign to them just as theirs do to us. However much we need these laws, we must realized they will stand up for all mindsets, just not the "better" one.
----
Re:root cause (Score:2)
Bust Microsoft for trust violations and predatory behavior, but don't try to sue them because their crappy work did not solve all your problems like they prommised.
How about having responsibility start with a little truth in advertising. As it stands, corporations make all sorts of claims about their software and how it will solve all your problems. Maybe they should tone down their marketing rhetoric to the point that it's actually *gasp* honest. Then people couldn't claim that it doesn't do all the things that they promised it would.
Actually, Virginia HASN'T passed UCITA. . . (Score:2)
Mind you, it is likely to pass implementation of UCITA next year, but it's not law in Virginia, yet. . .
Re:United Nations Convention? (Score:4)
It is a set of contract provisions that in some cases would be read into international agreements. When it was developed, no one knew how they would be applied, and no one wanted to be the "test case" for these new provisions. So, attorneys, being the risk-averse set we are, started putting language in agreements that explicitly disclaims application of the UN Convention.
As long as the UN Convention is not typically used, attorneys will shy away from having it apply to their agreements, and they will avoid it in their agreements. My hope is that UCITA suffers a similar fate: obsolescence through non-use.
-Steve
P.S. I do want to point out that my knowledge of the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods is skimpy at best. There may be a lot of valuable case law out there interpreting it -- but lacking that knowledge, I avoid it.
Re:Keep fighting - Captialism can be your friend (Score:1)
I mean, dude..open your eyes - you have some problems. Your bio explains a lot?? It explains you are some pissant little kid who cares about their slashdot account and can't handle when mommy and daddy get a divorce? Well, ya know what? That's life - shit happens and you deal with it and be done with it. No one on slashdot cares what a pinprick your dad is. A therapist will, and help you learn how to deal with your obviously deep problems.
As for your wife, I hope you treat her better than the average person you seem so quick to label as pathetic, you're even more fucking pathetic than I am!.
Wrong, get help and maybe you'll see a different world.
off topic: Richard Stallman, a pioneer in the "ope (Score:3)
From the article:
"
More recently, the plan has been attacked by Richard Stallman, a pioneer in the "open-source" movement to develop free software in collaboration, and by Red Hat and other companies that sell or support Linux, a computer operating system that is available at no charge on the Internet.
"
Kind of illustrates why Stallman is so picky about distinction between 'open-source' and 'free software'.
Free software > Open Source. Free software != Open source.
-Laxitive
Re: (Score:2)