__/ [ unionpenny@xxxxxxxxx ] on Wednesday 28 June 2006 06:36 \__
> Rex Ballard wrote:
>> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>> > Open Source community subversion as marketing ploy
>> >
>> > ,----[ Snippet ]
>> > | The launch of Microsoft's Codeplex "shared source" site is merely the
>> > | latest attempt to undermine and usurp the open source community via
>> > | clever marketing.
>>
>> I recently had someone try to tell me about a Microsoft "open source"
>> package called GRETA. He told me that it was supposed to be a really
>> fast regular expression handler, similar to that used in PERL, GREP,
>> and SED.
>>
>> He have me the link, which I followed, and was immediately greeted with
>> a "license agreement".
>>
>> Unlike so many people in this industry, when I see a license agreement,
>> I actually READ IT CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCEPTING IT. The first part
>> looked pretty good, I could view the code, use it for free, and refer
>> others to the same link. Pretty nice. But then I got a bit further
>> down in the language and got to the "gotchasucker" clause. It seems
>> that you have the right to view the code, and you can even use anything
>> you can remember, after you've closed the file, and this includes
>> patent, copyright, and other intellectual property rights. HOWEVER
>> ***** NONE of these waivers apply to any dirivative work produced by
>> you or anyone else creating derivative works based on this license.
>>
>> Simply put, just by accepting the license, I could not use ANY regular
>> expression handler in my code or projects again. Because Microsoft
>> would have the preponderance of the evidence - record of my acceptance
>> of the EULA - to prove that such code was based on Microsoft's product
>> - regardless of how different it was. Furthermore, the wording of the
>> license effectively covered such tactics as "clean-room" reverse
>> engineering, "closed book" reverse engineering, and "functionally
>> similar" reverse engineering.
>
> So Microsoft is slipping ever deeper into the world of scamming any
> suckers that wander by. Sounds like a very respectable phishing
> operation. Why do US courts take this seriously? Why do I need a
> lawyer to safely surf the net?
>
> --
>
> Unionpenny "use Microsoft, go to jail"
Rex wrote an excellent post, which I enjoyed reading during lunch. Deceit of
the public is nothing new. It's merely a black art. Think, for example,
about free introductory offers whose cost inflates to become unbearable. The
price of Windows, for example, can be deceiving. Many people simply assume
that Windows comes with those programs that will open all their documents
and spreadsheets.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | England - 1 Ecuador - 0
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