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A Matter of Priorities
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Thu May 26, 2005 at 10:02:19 AM PDT
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It seems like a good time to pause briefly and access where we are with the GripeLog and where we want to go with it. With your help, I want to figure out what’s working, what’s not, what needs to be improved, and what no longer should be a priority.
(206 comments, 791 words in story) Full Story
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Selling Auction Takedown Services
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Thu May 19, 2005 at 08:56:50 AM PDT
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Can you be kept from selling a used book on eBay? Apparently so, if the copyright holder's "enforcer" decides it doesn't like the looks of your auction. And eBay doesn't seem to mind.
(28 comments, 931 words in story) Full Story
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Activation as a Business Decision
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Tue May 10, 2005 at 12:11:47 AM PDT
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If a software publisher finds that 30 percent of its customers are trying to make illegal copies, does that justify implementing copy protection? Adobe officials think so, and as a business decision, it sounds like it might be awfully hard to argue with them. Nonetheless, I think I will.
(203 comments, 901 words in story) Full Story
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Mandatory Arbitration Clauses
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Mon May 02, 2005 at 12:01:21 AM PDT
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What's the worst sneakwrap term of all? We've seen a lot of good candidates for that honor, but perhaps the most pernicious of them of all is also among the most ubiquitous: the mandatory arbitration clause.
(232 comments, 752 words in story) Full Story
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Crime and Punishment, and Copyright
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Mon Apr 25, 2005 at 01:46:09 AM PDT
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In medieval days, a peasant could be executed for stealing a crust of bread, while the lord of the manor could abuse every peasant in sight without fear of legal retribution. Does it strike you that we seem to be reverting more and more to a similar society, one in which the punishments no longer fit the crimes?
(31 comments, 795 words in story) Full Story
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Spyware and the Ghost of UCITA
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Fri Apr 15, 2005 at 12:45:04 AM PDT
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While we tend to think of UCITA as being dead outside of a few jurisdictions, its evil spirit is still very much with us. It's haunting us in the form of the spyware problem, as I think spyware researcher Ben Edelman's latest piece on spyware installation methods amply illustrates.
(47 comments, 774 words in story) Full Story
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Norton's Knockout Punch
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Fri Apr 08, 2005 at 01:32:47 AM PDT
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Although we know Symantec acquired the Norton brandname from Peter Norton, sometimes on the GripeLog you'd think it actually came from former heavyweight champ Ken Norton. That's if you're judging by the number of Symantec customers who feel like they've been on the receiving end of one big-time hammer blow after another.
(46 comments, 914 words in story) Full Story
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Copyright Decision Deals Blow to New Technology
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 12:18:28 AM PDT
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Oh, oh. While the Supreme Court's decision in the Grokster vs MGM case isn't expected for several months, I just stumbled onto something that looks like bad news for the peer-to-peer side. It would appear that the court in an earlier but somehow little noticed decision upheld arguments identical to those made by the music and movie industries in this case. I must admit it's an odd coincidence that the decision is exactly 100 years old today, which might lead some to question its authenticity. But, hey, you be the judge.
(115 comments, 571 words in story) Full Story
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Signing Up for the FEULA
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By Ed Foster, Section Columns
Posted on Fri Mar 25, 2005 at 08:07:00 AM PDT
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Rough though it still undoubtedly is, is the beta Fair EULA (FEULA) ready to be adopted by software publishers who wish to do so? That's a question I've been mulling over as I prepared the next release of the FEULA.
(24 comments, 766 words in story) Full Story
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