[P1] OT: Software Licensing

[Ron Reames]

On Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at 08:37  PM, Jack Rodgers wrote:

> But why do we feel only this way about software? Why aren't we 
> expressing the same outrage about food, clothing, cars, etc.
> Try walking into MacDonalds and saying "I've spent hundreds of dollars 
> in here and now I want a free burger..."
>
> Odd that we might not think twice about spending tens of thousands of 
> dollars each for two or more cars because we can't duplicate them but 
> then get all bent out of shape because we can copy software so easily 
> but our license says we can only use one copy. Maybe we just don't 
> like the responsibility of being trusted.

Not the same.
If the analogy was the same it would be like buying a suit but the tag 
on it says you can  only wear the suit on Sundays and never at your 
place of work. That the suit does not actually belong to you because 
you are only leasing it.

The McDonld's analogy doesn't work either because no one is suggesting 
we get something free. Only that we should be able to use what we 
bought on our own computers.

Anything less is unethical on the part of the software publishers, not 
the consumer.

Ron