product liability (was 'we should all be uncomfortable with t he extent to which luck..')

Wed Jul 25 10:13:34 UTC 2001

At 03:05 AM 7/25/01, Roeland Meyer wrote:

> > From: William Allen Simpson [mailto:wsimpson at greendragon.com]
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2001 11:43 PM
>
> > Perhaps a different approach is in order -- product liability.
>
> > Network operators have been injured by the distribution of
> > buggy software from M$.  We need to be compensated for our
> > time and expenses.
> >
> > End users need to be compensated for their costs to upgrade.
> >
> > A check in the mail would be a better incentive to
> > administrators than "automatic" updates.
>
>Now *there's* a thought. However, all software companies carry product
>liability insurance. It's sometimes called a shrink-wrap license. You might
>actually try reading it the next time you purchase and install software.

It does seem odd as a consumer that my car didn't come with a shrink-wrap 
license. I can imagine what it'd say if Microsoft owned Volvo: "We make no 
guarantees that this car is suitable for driving on highways, dirt roads, 
or anything in between. Customer assumes all responsibility for the 
suitability of this product to any use."

And add to that: "Check our website every so often to see if we've found 
any design flaws in your car. If we find any, we'll make fixes available to 
you eventually, but you have to pay for and supply your own trained 
mechanic to install the fixes."

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Senie                                        dts at senie.com
Amaranth Networks Inc.                    http://www.amaranth.com