Guest guest Posted June 21, 2003 Report Share Posted June 21, 2003 > > > http://www.arachnoid..com/boycott/index.html > Boycott Microsoft! > > Microsoft's XP software violates the law and abrogates consumer > rights. > > When you buy XP software, you do not own it, instead Microsoft owns > you. > > — 2001, P. Lutus Message Page — > > Please make a link to this page on your site -- link to > http://www.arachnoid.com/boycott > > I can remember when Microsoft was just another software company, > subject to market forces and amenable to common sense. I can > also remember when A.T. & T. was a telephone company. > > But that is all in the past. At the time I write this, Microsoft > is in the process of releasing Windows/Office XP, and this > release signals a historical departure for Microsoft. It signals > the first shot in a war — a war between Microsoft and its > customers. > > Read the following dialog carefully, and welcome to Microsoft's > " Brave New World. " > > > > Under this new system, your obligation to Microsoft doesn't end > when you purchase the software, that merely begins it. Not > included in the activation dialog is the information that > trivial system changes may invalidate your activation, you will > be required to contact Microsoft each and every time you need to > re-activate the software for whatever reason, or if you try to > sell or give away the software (Microsoft only allows this to > happen once), or if you try to exercise your right to install > the software on two systems used by one person. Also, the total > number of activations is always less than 12, after which you > must throw the software away and start over. > > ------------------- > > The XP series (Windows and Office) has a new feature — " product > activation " — that perverts the relationship that normally > exists between seller and buyer — when you purchase an XP > product, you don't own it, instead Microsoft owns you. > > The feature works like this: > > 1. You buy a copy of (say) Office XP. > > 2. When you install it, the installation program requires you > to contact Microsoft, otherwise the program goes into > " trial mode, " a 50-day period after which the program is > disabled. You must contact Microsoft to keep the program > from shutting down. > > 3. On being contacted, Microsoft " authorizes " the > installation. It also asks you for a lot of personal > information, some of which is optional — but only the first > time. Read on. > > 4. If you have to re-install Windows or the software because > of a virus, a hardware failure or some other cause, you > have to contact Microsoft again and explain why you need > their permission to re-install the software. If they don't > like your explanation, and in particular if they do not get > your name, address, phone number, and E-mail address, you > are out of luck — you must buy another copy of Office XP1. > > 5. If you need to make a copy of the software on another > computer for a legitimate reason (say you own a desktop and > a portable, but you never use them both at the same time), > you are out of luck — you cannot do this. Microsoft will > assume you are a criminal and refuse permission1. > > 6. If you decide to move your copy of XP permanently to > another machine, Microsoft will not permit this, instead > they will assume you are a criminal and refuse permission1. > > 7. If you decide to de-install and sell your copy of XP to a > third party, Microsoft will not permit the new buyer to > install the software, instead they will assume he is a > criminal and refuse permission1. > > 8. If, on the other hand, you jump through all Microsoft's > circus hoops, it seems you are limited to eight > re-installations (some say eleven), after which you might > as well throw away your expensive software. This means if > your system is attacked by viruses, if your hard drive > fails, or if you regularly upgrade your hardware and try to > transfer your programs, you are going to be buying a lot of > extra, expensive copies of Microsoft XP. > > In short, you can either (a) accept the default single > installation (the only relatively painless one — but which > requires you to contact Microsoft) and then throw the software > away, along with any data files you have created that rely on > the software, or you can (b) become a Microserf2, a vassal, a > petitioner, entirely dependent on Microsoft's conception of fair > play. > > And, no matter how your petition turns out, there is one thing > you need to realize — Microsoft decides. You are no longer a > citizen in a democracy, a responsible moral agent — Microsoft > decides whether you are a criminal or not, and they decide this > in advance. > > Back when the American Constitution was the law of the land, a > plaintiff had to wait until a crime was committed, then go > before a duly appointed judge and appeal for justice. Microsoft > has circumvented these democratic inconveniences and has become > a law unto itself. > > And make no mistake about it — Microsoft is breaking the law > with the XP series, in many ways. Consumers have legitimate, > lawful reasons to re-install software, reasons to install the > software on two machines used by one person, reasons to > re-install after a system failure, reasons to un-install and > sell a computer program. But under the Fascist XP system, the > consumer loses all these rights. > > I would list all the laws Microsoft is breaking with the XP > series, but that would require more space than your computer has > memory. Here are some highlights: > > * Presumption of guilt. Under American law, a person is > assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. The XP system > assumes a criminal intent, which is a violation of > constitutional law, and then the software acts on this > assumption, a power normally reserved to the police, which > is an additional violation of law. > > * Prior restraint. This idea, basically acting to prevent a > crime before it is committed, is a very delicate issue in > constitutional law, and because of the potential for abuse, > it is rarely permitted. Absent evidence of probable cause, > it is never permitted. Because there are legitimate reasons > to do things not permitted by the XP software, Microsoft is > engaging in prior restraint, and is thus breaking the law. > > * Misrepresentation. In commerce, there are a set of > assumptions about an item that is offered for sale. To put > it simply, a consumer item is assumed to be suitable for > its stated purpose, and this is implicit — offering the > item for sale creates some assumptions that, if they turn > out not to be true, are actionable. The XP software series > very simply is not what it seems to be — a set of computer > programs meant to serve the consumer's needs. This is false > — XP only serves Microsoft's needs. > > * Surveillance. By setting itself up as a moral judge of how > people use their software, by micro-managing how people > choose to use the XP programs, Microsoft has put into place > the most insidious system of spying ever conceived in > modern times. Once a consumer has experienced any version > of modern-day reality — a virus that requires the software > to be re-installed, one person with two computers, or who > buys a new computer, or who wants to sell or donate the XP > software to a third party — however these events turn out, > Microsoft gets every detail, along with all your personal > information. If XP comes to full flower, Microsoft will > know more about you than the US Government knows or ever > imagined knowing. > > That is the real reason for XP — it is not about preventing > theft, it is theft — Microsoft, while preventing you from > exercising your consumer rights, is also stealing information > from you that you would never voluntarily give up. It is a > desperate ploy to gather an incredible gold mine of information > about you — your choices, your experiences, your name and > address. And get this — you're paying them to do this to you. > > Because of XP, very soon Microsoft will know so much about so > many people (read: you) that they will no longer have to sell > software — they can simply sell their consumer database. But > this will only happen if you act like sheep and buy the XP > series software. The choice, the power, is yours. > > * Addendum -- February 2002 > > In a breaking news story, some Microsoft customers have > discovered this new passage in the Microsoft XP EULA (End > User License Agreement, the binding contract that every > Microsoft XP customer agrees to): > > " You acknowledge and agree that Microsoft may automatically > check the version of the Product and/or its components that > you are utilizing and may provide upgrades or fixes to the > Product that will be automatically downloaded to your > Workstation Computer. " > > This passage says, in essence, that Microsoft has the right > to examine your computer's hard drive and download software > onto your computer automatically, without your knowledge or > explicit consent. > > On reading this new language, one corporate customer said > this: " The idea that Microsoft can change our software > without notifying us is totally unacceptable. Any > alteration to our standard configuration can only be rolled > out after careful evaluation and testing. Does Microsoft > have no clue? " (full text at InfoWorld) > > Conclusion? Microsoft holds you and your rights in contempt, and > they want total control over your computer — and your life. They > expect you to take this lying down. Please — don't live up to > their expectations. > > That is why I ask you to: > > * Write your congressional representatives and demand that > Microsoft be stopped. > > * Refuse to purchase any of the XP series of Microsoft > software. > > — and — > Boycott Microsoft! > > Further reading: > > * The Microsoft Boycott Campaign > * What's Wrong With Product Activation > > 1. Unless, that is, you succeed in convincing Microsoft that you are > not a criminal. You do this by pleading, begging and giving up your > personal information, like a felon, a parolee, an alien resident, a > Microserf. > > 2. Microserf. Noun. One who pays to become enslaved to Microsoft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 ---unless you hack the os and remove all the outside doors coming in karl In , Misty <misty3@p...> wrote: > > > > > > http://www.arachnoid..com/boycott/index.html > > Boycott Microsoft! > > > > Microsoft's XP software violates the law and abrogates consumer > > rights. > > > > When you buy XP software, you do not own it, instead Microsoft owns > > you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 The definition of " Microserf " is anyone using Micro$oft Windows. Therefore, by definition, anyone using Windows is a " Microserf. " -- Neil Jensen: neil The WWW VL: Sumeria http://www.sumeria.net/ If M$ Windows is better because more people use it, We'd all better start eating at McDonalds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 Does anyone on the internet *not* use Windows? I didn't know there was any other way. If Linux *not* windows based? barb --- Neil Jensen <neil wrote: > The definition of " Microserf " is anyone using > Micro$oft Windows. Therefore, by definition, > anyone using Windows is a " Microserf. " > -- > Neil Jensen: neil > The WWW VL: Sumeria http://www.sumeria.net/ > If M$ Windows is better because more people use > it, > We'd all better start eating at McDonalds. > > SBC DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 Only a few tens of millions of us people use Macintosh computers to access the Internet, and to create and maintain our Websites. We do not have to agree to allow Apple to upload anything they or their subsidiaries wish to upload to our computers whenever they wish to upload them without even asking for our permission. Windoze users agree, simply by using the OS, to allow Micro$oft this privilege. It's in the EULA! Since I began using Macs twenty years ago i have only had my compouter infected by viruses twice, once from a floppy disk, once from a ZIP disk (it was a M$ Word Macro Virus). Both times i was able to purge them without any negative effects. Hardly a day goes by that i don't receive at least one PC virus via email, and ofen mulitple times in one day (two of them so far today alone). I don't even have antivirus software installed on my Mac because, to date, there are no viruses extant for Mac OS X. No operating system is based on Windoze. Windoze is based on other OSs. LINUX is roughly based on UNIX, as is the new Mac OS X (Free BSD). M$DOS was a ripoff of UNIX and Micro$oft was sued by the UNIX people for patent infringement -- and lost. They had to redo DOS to make it different from UNIX. One way they did this was to change all of the slashes to backslashes. That's where the DOS backslash came from. Micro$oft does not inovate. They copy, steal or buy companies that do inovate. >Does anyone on the internet *not* use Windows? I >didn't know there was any other way. If Linux >*not* windows based? barb > >--- Neil Jensen <neil wrote: >> The definition of " Microserf " is anyone using >> Micro$oft Windows. Therefore, by definition, > > anyone using Windows is a " Microserf. " -- -- Neil Jensen: neil The WWW VL: Sumeria http://www.sumeria.net/ " ...whatever things Microsoft may be famous for, good systems design is not, as it happens, one of them. " -- Douglas Adams, author of " The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 I think it is a good idea to not use Windows. I'm so stupid. I didn't know os is the term of difference betw Apple and Windows and Unix. Anyway, I am a bit of a renegade in other ways but don't understand the tech biz and so thought I would get caught needing to do special things to get around fact I wasn't using Microsoft stuff. First time I was on a computer at work was a MacIntosh. So simple to use. I remember that. However, I remember I got a Sony Beta tape recorder and everything came out in the less expensive VHS and I was stuck so... Thanks for the explanation. barb --- Neil Jensen <neil wrote: > Only a few tens of millions of us people use > Macintosh computers to access the Internet, and > to create and maintain our Websites. We do not > have to agree to SBC DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 5, 2003 Report Share Posted July 5, 2003 Right on! Macintosh is the smart computer...it's easy to setup use and trouble shoot. Windows is for dummies, after all they bought em! And agreed Microsoft just rips off... Bob Jones on 7/3/03 13:28, Neil Jensen at neil wrote: > Only a few tens of millions of us people use Macintosh computers to access the > Internet, and to create and maintain our Websites. We do not have to agree to > allow Apple to upload anything they or their subsidiaries wish to upload to > our computers whenever they wish to upload them without even asking for our > permission. Windoze users agree, simply by using the OS, to allow Micro$oft > this privilege. It's in the EULA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 5, 2003 Report Share Posted July 5, 2003 I am an Apple Certified Technician. My income is not what i would like it to be because most of my clients fix their own minor problems -- problems that Windoze users would bring in for the tech to fix. The Windoze tech where i work has a smaller customer base than i but has much more work. That's the main downside to Macs, IMHO. >Right on! > >Macintosh is the smart computer...it's easy to setup use and trouble shoot. >Windows is for dummies, after all they bought em! > >And agreed Microsoft just rips off... > >Bob Jones -- -- mactech neil | Apple Certified Technician Networking & Computer Communications, Inc. | Apple Authorized Macintosh Computer Networking and Systems Integration | Sales & Service Phone (505) 265-1013 fax (505) 265-0927 | http://www.nccabq.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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