Monday, January 20, 2003

Court Rules Against Network Associates' Software Review Policy New York court has ruled that Network Associates, a maker of popular antivirus and computer security software, may not require people who buy the software to get permission from the company before publishing reviews of its products. The decision, which the company has vowed to appeal, could carry a penalty in the millions of dollars, according to Ken Dreifach, chief of the Internet bureau of the office of the New York State attorney general, Eliot Spitzer. Last spring, Mr. Spitzer sued Network Associates, which has its headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., asserting that the company's software included an unenforceable clause that effectively violated consumers' free speech. The clause, which appeared on software products and the company's Web site, read: (my emphasis) "The customer will not publish reviews of this product without prior consent from Network Associates Inc."...more [New York Times] (warning: requires sign-up to access) This is only one of the obscene ways that companies try to abuse software licenses. The fact that NA fails to understand how wrong they are, only goes to show just how clueless they truly are. My advice is DO NOT USE THEIR PRODUCTS -- boycott them. The idea that you can stifle 'free speech' is just one current of the attempts by companies to extend copyright laws. They use it to defend efforts to destroy basic constitutional rights. Next thing you know, they will include limitations on anything you say about them...mj 12:09:33 PM

Thoughts for the Day Just a few thoughts for you on a sleepy Monday. My son and I just got finished eating Cinnamon Bread French Toast. I'm on my second cup of Coffee, so I'm wide awake. I'm happy to see Tampa and Oakland in the Super Bowl - much better story line. I think the right will not understand the 'Peace' demonstrations around the world yesterday. Most are opposed to the war because we see it as too personal an issue for GW. It also lessens our (The USA's) image around the world. We will stand behind the soldiers, but we will not be blind to the problems with this administrations run to war. From a historical perspective, it's a classic example of how empires fall. Hubris is the lubricant of so many falls of the mighty. I suggest if you're a Mac user that you get out Safari and download SafarIcon. I have turned off the brushed metal and applied the ' Molokai theme'. I now simply love the look of the program. My complaints about Safari are few. It chokes on complex CSS, it needs Tabbed browsing, and it needs a different interface. Using the Brushed Metal interface is a mistake, that is easy to fix. One indication of just how amazing the Mac community is that within a day of it's release, people had already started to release freeware to change, tweak, and adjust the program. I went on MacUpDate (my choice since Version Tracker moved most of their functionality to subscribers only), and counted 23 scripts/apps for Safari released in less then two weeks of availability ...BRAVO! Three items for you have no connection to each other, except that I was thinking about them this morning...mj 11:48:04 AM

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