product liability (was 'we should all be uncomfortable with the extent to which luck..')

Wed Jul 25 21:48:47 UTC 2001

Since software, in theory, can't cause physical danger, I suspect
the shrink wrap license makes Microsoft immune to any liability.

If they advertise false claims then they could punishable under some
states consumer protection laws. Look for the disclaimers.

Now if you claim that you are forced to agree to the shrink wrap
licence because of they are a monopoly and you are forced to use
the product ... an iffy argument ... then you may have a something.

BTW - It looks like Windows 2000 is subject to the BSD telnetd
exploit.

At 14:05 -0700 25-07-2001, Adam McKenna wrote:
>On Wed, Jul 25, 2001 at 01:59:38PM -0700, Dan Hollis wrote:
>>  So what point *does* microsoft become negligently liable? Never?
>>
>>  Ask your attorney friend if he can think of *ANY* situation where m$ could
>>  be found negligent.
>>
>>  Microsoft is giving a *great* sales pitch about reliability, stability,
>>  security, etc. but simply not delivering what they are advertising. This
>>  game of deceit is costing consumers billions.
>
>M$'s click/shrinkwrap licenses, as far as I can remember, discliam liability
>for any and all security problems.  (And a lot of other stuff too.)
>
>--Adam
>
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