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OptoutPrescreen Revisited
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Tue Oct 25, 2005 at 01:22:31 AM PDT
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OK, I think I can now safely report that OptoutPrescreen.com is not a phishing scam. In fact, it probably is the best way for you to opt out from receiving preapproved or prescreened credit offers in the mail. But I still firmly believe that, in this era of rampant identity theft, it is an absolute disgrace that we have to opt out from having the credit bureaus so readily share our personal information in the first place.
(49 comments, 1129 words in story) Full Story
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The Warden Sees All
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Tue Oct 18, 2005 at 12:15:56 AM PDT
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It's not really that big a surprise to discover that game publisher Blizzard can be added to the list of companies that distribute EULA-sanctioned spyware. The real question is whether Blizzard will permit anyone to keep an eye on what the "Warden" software in its World of Warcraft is actually doing besides keeping an eye on the product's users.
(27 comments, 1053 words in story) Full Story
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Getting Run Around the HP Way
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 12:02:13 AM PDT
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There's an interesting pattern I've noticed in the gripes I've received about HP the last few months. It may not be much fun trying to get service and support from HP, but readers sure get to know a lot of different departments of the company while doing so, albeit sometimes only by the muzak they're treated to while waiting on hold.
(53 comments, 1283 words in story) Full Story
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The FEULA Discussion, Part II
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Mon Sep 26, 2005 at 07:35:17 AM PDT
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I've just posted the next version of the FEULA, our model Fair End User License Agreement. But this time we're going to do things a little differently. Since the Gripe Wiki gives us a much better collaboration tool than the GripeLog, that's where we should argue out the fine points of how to make a license agreement that's fair to both sides.
(16 comments, 617 words in story) Full Story
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Value From Microsoft Licensing Remains a Distant Vista
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Thu Sep 15, 2005 at 09:18:04 AM PDT
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Microsoft's Software Assurance licensing program has always stood out among software maintenance plans for the unique value proposition it offers customers. You pay nearly twice as much as other vendors charge for half of what other vendors give you, and that's if you're lucky. And, in spite of the grab bag of additional Software Assurance benefits Microsoft announced today, that's still pretty much the take-it-or-leave-it-deal Redmond is offering its corporate customers.
(26 comments, 902 words in story) Full Story
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Lexmark Wins the Right to Sue Its Customers
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Thu Sep 08, 2005 at 08:46:38 AM PDT
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If your business is considering a laser printer purchase anytime soon, I'd like to make sure you're aware of one fact. After a protracted legal struggle, Lexmark has succeeded in getting federal district court sanction to sue its customers if they violate the company's "boxwrap" license agreement. And, while Lexmark has at least hinted that suing customers is not its intention, you might not want to take the chance.
(99 comments, 687 words in story) Full Story
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Dell Won't Recall Defective Motherboards
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Tue Aug 30, 2005 at 12:14:01 AM PDT
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In most businesses, when a product is discovered to have a defect that's likely to cause it to fail, the manufacturer issues a recall for the affected units. Is there any reason that shouldn't be true in the computer industry as well? That's what many IT mangers with large installations of Dell Optiplex GX270 systems have to be wondering right now.
(154 comments, 1132 words in story) Full Story
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Last Stand for First Sale
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Mon Aug 22, 2005 at 05:49:28 PM PDT
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How much power can a few words in a EULA give a software publisher to deny us our rights? If it's as much as a company called Livingsoft assumed in its recent treatment of a reader, a right we've had for more than a hundred years is about to disappear.
(140 comments, 1281 words in story) Full Story
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Many Manay Sneakwrap Tricks
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Tue Aug 16, 2005 at 12:51:09 AM PDT
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Just how low can software publishers go in hiding the true nature of what they're selling deep in the fine print of their sneakwrap terms? An outfit called Manay Software is testing those limits of those murky depths with what appears to be a EULA-sanctified bait and switch scheme.
(58 comments, 1084 words in story) Full Story
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