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Roland
Advanced Member
Netherlands
9335 Posts |
 Posted - 06 October 2003 : 04:43:51
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As most of you probably know there have been law suits filed again Microsoft in order to force them (and other software companies) to create software with less bugs or be liable for damages caused by bugs in the software they sell. The Licence Agreement lines keeping them safe from liability because you agree that there might be (and in Microsoft's case always are) bugs in the software, would be useless then.
What's your take on this?
Is it wise to sue Microsoft for this, in other words, is there a chance that Microsoft will lose and software will have to be more secure in the future? Or will Microsoft win and by that make it even less important to release stable and secure software, and then patch the holes as others discover them? |
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RichardKinser
Snitz Forums Admin
USA
16655 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 05:26:02
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I think it's funny. The people filing these lawsuits should be fined for wasting the court's time. The lawyers who actually took these people's cases should be disbarred. It's disgusting what lazy people will do to try and get some free money. They obviously never even read the License Agreement that went along with the software. They have no one to blame but themselves.
The very thought that the way a developer codes programs should be regulated by laws is just asinine. No one forced these people to buy these products. They bought them with their own free will.
Are people going to start filing lawsuits against car manufacturers because their car was broken into, or stolen? Are people going to start filing lawsuits against home manufacturers (or more specifically lock manufacturers) because their home was broken into? It's just silly to even think about it. |
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Gremlin
General Help Moderator
New Zealand
7528 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 05:58:49
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| I'm with Richard 100%. |
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masterao
Senior Member
Sweden
1678 Posts |
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Shaggy
Support Moderator
Ireland
6780 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 08:29:59
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Yep, I'm also with Richard on this. These people aren't thinking this through very well, they're complaining about the bugs in Microsoft products, fine, but by suing they're just tying up time and money Microsoft could be dedicating to tracking and patching exisiting bugs.
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“I was having a mildly paranoid day, mostly due to the
fact that the mad priest lady from over the river had
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Mr Pink
Junior Member
United Kingdom
387 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 08:30:03
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I don't think that the consumer will win whichever way the judgement goes. If Microsoft lose this type of case, they will spend more and charge a lot more for their software. I think software is disgustingly (is that a word?)expensive already.
I think the criteria for software should be that it does exactly what it says on the tin. |
Martin
Leyland Forum Leyland Lancashire UK |
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sr_erick
Senior Member
USA
1318 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 10:52:28
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| Another thing that bothers me is the bug issue. People think Microsoft Products are FULL of bugs but look at the percentage of the people using the product and the size of the product as compared to other software on the market. If you actually think for a bit all the advantages and things that Microsoft software can do over the competition it is pretty big. When you add more things, you add more security risks. |
Erick
Snowmobile Fanatics
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20595 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 11:18:49
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what a completely daft idea.
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Roland
Advanced Member
Netherlands
9335 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 11:19:46
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quote:
Originally posted by RichardKinser
They obviously never even read the License Agreement that went along with the software.
Honestly though, 99% of people don't, it's just like manuals and privacy policies on websites. Don't read it until you have to.
quote:
Are people going to start filing lawsuits against car manufacturers because their car was broken into, or stolen? Are people going to start filing lawsuits against home manufacturers (or more specifically lock manufacturers) because their home was broken into? It's just silly to even think about it.
I hadn't thought of it like that, but of course you're absolutely right.
One of the things I read was that the woman who filed a law suit had the arguement that non-technical people, such as her, just can't keep up with the patches and bug fixes, while at the same time, the "techies" and people with bad intentions (let's call them hackers just to keep things simple) are the first to get the patches. Then the hackers reverse-engineer the patches and start hacking.
So in short she blames Microsoft not for having the bugs in Windows (and other software), she blames them for releasing patches that SHE can't keep up with and therefore doesn't install in time.
In a way it cracks me up, but I see this happening all the time. While it's easy to blame Microsoft, I think it's mainly the user's responsibility to keep their software up-to-date. Microsoft has done pretty much all they can to make it easy to get the latest patches right away. |
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Shaggy
Support Moderator
Ireland
6780 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 11:51:59
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quote:
Originally posted by FrutZle
...the woman who filed a law suit had the arguement that non-technical people, such as her, just can't keep up with the patches and bug fixes...
That's what Windows' Automatic Update is for, missus!
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Search is your friend
“I was having a mildly paranoid day, mostly due to the
fact that the mad priest lady from over the river had
taken to nailing weasels to my front door again.” |
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redbrad0
Advanced Member
USA
3725 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 12:17:37
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| Why don't you take it to the next level. I install a Snitz Forum and my server/site/code has a problem because I don't update the code and blah blah blah. So what is Snitz responsible for me not spending the time to upgrade? NO!!!!. When purchasing any software/code you have to know there is at least one bug in the code. As a developer we all know this and just have to try our best to keep it working. Should we quit developing just because we are afraid of getting sued? NO If developers have to worry about getting sued for bugs in there system then there would no longer be any developers. |
Brad
Oklahoma City Online Entertainment Guide
Oklahoma Event Tickets |
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Doug G
Support Moderator
USA
6493 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 20:27:28
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NO If developers have to worry about getting sued for bugs in there system then there would no longer be any developers.
And if developers don't have to worry about being sued you get crappy code.
I think it's just fine that MS or any other company that sells proprietary code gets sued if their code causes damage. Or should we just roll over and say "OK" to every Melissa, Nimda, Blaster, SQL Slammer that comes along?
And even scarier is the idea that a lawyer should be "disbarred" because they launch a lawsuit. In other words, every lawsuit that you don't agree with should cause the lawyer to be disbarred? That is not in keeping with the concept of our judicial system.
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Doug G
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Computer history and help at www.dougscode.com |
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RichardKinser
Snitz Forums Admin
USA
16655 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 20:50:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Doug G
quote:
NO If developers have to worry about getting sued for bugs in there system then there would no longer be any developers.
And if developers don't have to worry about being sued you get crappy code.
Then don't use it, simple as that.
quote:
Originally posted by Doug G
I think it's just fine that MS or any other company that sells proprietary code gets sued if their code causes damage. Or should we just roll over and say "OK" to every Melissa, Nimda, Blaster, SQL Slammer that comes along?
It's not Microsoft's code that is causing the damage, it's the viruses and worms, and the people who write them.
quote:
Originally posted by Doug G
And even scarier is the idea that a lawyer should be "disbarred" because they launch a lawsuit. In other words, every lawsuit that you don't agree with should cause the lawyer to be disbarred? That is not in keeping with the concept of our judicial system.
These "Lawyers" have perverted our judicial system. They no longer look at the merit of a case before taking it, they look at the potential profit that can come of it. These "Lawyers" should be held liable for wasting the court's time. |
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seahorse
Senior Member
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - 06 October 2003 : 22:19:01
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quote:
Originally posted by RichardKinser
quote:
Originally posted by Doug G
quote:
NO If developers have to worry about getting sued for bugs in there system then there would no longer be any developers.
And if developers don't have to worry about being sued you get crappy code.
Then don't use it, simple as that.
My boss said no when I suggested that we move the 2,500 people in the Japan subsidiary using Win2K over to Mac OS X. 
It looks like we're going to stay with the MS whack a mole patching game.
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Ken
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Worldwide Partner Group
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20595 Posts |
Posted - 07 October 2003 : 04:28:41
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I will strongly agree with Richard, it is the users responsibilty to ensure their software is up to date.
If you leave your front door open and someone walks in and steels your TV, who is responsible ?
If people start suing programmers/software companies, you may as well through your computer away now, because it won't be able to do anything. |
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