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From: che@ptsfb.UUCP (Mitch Che)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Your (preferred) software rights...
Message-ID: <296@ptsfb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Jan-86 00:25:48 EST
Article-I.D.: ptsfb.296
Posted: Wed Jan 15 00:25:48 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jan-86 06:00:59 EST
References: <1220@brl-tgr.ARPA> <473@looking.UUCP> <681@ttrdc.UUCP> <484@looking.UUCP>
Reply-To: che@ptsfb.UUCP (Mitch Che)
Organization: Pacific Bell, San Francisco
Lines: 37

In article <484@looking.UUCP> brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) writes:
>This is exactly what is happening.  Several software companies are offering
>guarantees on their established products.  I hope to do the same on mine once
>they have been out for a while.  (I think it's a law of software that you can't
>guarantee the early releases of a program unless you're IBM and have $100,000
>to test it.  I hope the government doesn't try to pretend otherwise.)
>-- 
>Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473

This is exactly the problem.  I pay money for your software, you want
me to "beta" test the software for you.  Oh, you say it IS tested, but
you just can't guarantee it will do anything useful for me.  Oh, you
say you do stand behind your products but if it's unacceptable to me I
can't return it.  Right, you tell me I read the disclaimer...

As we all anxiously wait for obnoxious software companies to go out of 
business, all of us can help nudge software companies in the right direction.
AVOID software with obnoxious "disclaimers", AVOID software without 
provision for site licensing, AVOID software with copy protection.

DO give business to companies that seem to be responsive to user needs,
e.g. Microrim (Rbase 5000) which dropped copy protection on entire line,
has site licensing, etc., Microsoft (Wordstar, Wordstar 2000) which
dropped copy protection, etc.  (I have no relationship with either of
these companies and use them as examples only.)  We can't be happy with
every product, every company, every time, but some companies seem to be 
trying to be much less antagonistic than others.  $$ talk, let's rattle
them up... ADAPSO, are you listening?  (Yes boys and girls, can we get
ADAPSO members to all spell "SITE LICENSING"?  :-)

-- 
Mitch Che
Pacific Bell
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