I recently wrote about a proposed "Bill of Rights" for computer users that has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. Since that idea was a little vague, one reader took it upon himself to remedy that shortcoming. Jack Naylor, President of Naylor Engineering, P.C., offers these very specific "Ten Commandments" he (and I) would like to see adopted by developers of software products.
"1. Thou shalt install no other stuff without telling me and giving me the option of saying no. Guerrilla installs of Internet Explorer, add ons, demos, etc. shall result in the programmer being visited by a plague of little crawly things."
"2. Thou shalt include a complete uninstall program which removes all files and registry entries w/o leaving little registration files behind. In addition, an "uninstall.txt" file shall be provided detailing all files (a) installed in the program directory, (b) installed in so called "common" directories, (c) installed in the root directory, Windows directory or other C drive directories, as well as all registry entries in case they need to be manually deleted."
"3. Thou shalt create a backup subdirectory inside the program directory called "backup". The subdirectory shall include all old files replaced as a result of the install as well as a text file listing where they were originally located."
"4. Thou shalt provide documentation in all advertising, including packaging, listing the required hard drive space on drive C as well as the total hard drive space. Topo USA Ver. 4 for example installs 70 MB in its home directory and then 300 more MB on C."
"5. Thou shalt provide the user the option of storing all data files and backup files at a location of THEIR choosing. E-mail programs shall allow inbox, outbox and trash files to be stored on Data drives rather than on C drives. User shall decide if he wants backups of old drivers and duplicate dll's on his C drive or another drive."
"6. Thou shalt do nothing which comprises the integrity of my computer by making all defaults the MOST secure of the available options."
"7. Thou shalt provide no "back doors", automatic update features, etc. which can not be wholly and completely disabled by the user with full documentation being provided therefore and features left in the disabled position by default."
"8. Thou shalt provide live tech support for at least 90 days after the first phone call."
"9. There shall be no limitation upon making a backup copy or transfer of ownership."
"10. Users shall be permitted to install one copy on their office machine and another on their home machine or laptop."
12:09:13 PM 
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