Tuesday, January 25, 2005

InfoWorld: Quicker and Quicker Quicken Sunsets

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======================================================================== THE GRIPE LINE: ED FOSTER http://www.infoworld.com ======================================================================== Tuesday, January 25, 2005 IN THIS ISSUE * Terms of Embarrassment * Dell's SC Return Policy * NPF Headaches -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ADVERTISEMENT FREE FORRESTER REPORT ON BUSINESS SERVICE MANAGEMENT Infrastructure Change Management is the Key to Business Service Management. IT leaders often find it challenging to start the process of aligning IT with business goals. Forrester believes that infrastructure change management puts IT firmly in control of the infrastructure and moves you closer to achieving Business Service Management. To learn more, download the complete Forrester analyst article, compliments of BMC Software. http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDC3:353CA35 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ======================================================================== TERMS OF EMBARRASSMENT One of the best ways to rid ourselves of bad terms is to hold their purveyors up to a little public embarrassment. So this week we examine another collection of egregious EULA provisions that readers have spotted. Cast your vote for the worst of them all, and let's see how many of them we can make disappear. You might recall that among the outrageous terms that went away after readers pointed them out was Hilton's ( http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDBA:353CA35 ) "we own all your information" privacy policy. But while Hilton did remove the most offensive privacy terms, some other bizarre legal language remains in its website usage agreement ( http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDBF:353CA35 ). For example, in its "Release" section, the Hilton website terms describe California's Section 1542 and similar laws that say you don't give up claims you don't yet know about. But Hilton says: "Nevertheless, it is your intention, through this Agreement, and with the advice of counsel, fully and finally settle and release all such matters, and all claims relative thereto, which do now exist, may exist, or have existed between and among the parties hereto, including the Indemnified Parties. You hereby acknowledge that you have been advised by your legal counsel, understand and acknowledge the significance and consequence of this release and of this specific waiver of Section 1542 and other such laws." So even the most casual of visitors browsing a Hilton-related website is supposed to have retained counsel in order to give up their legal rights? While Section 1542 releases aren't all that uncommon in EULAs, I haven't seen any others where you agree you've consulted an attorney. Of course, EULA writers like to push the envelope in a number of areas like this. One reader spotted an "equitable relief" section in the EULA for Sierra's Hallmark Card Studio Deluxe 2004: "You hereby agree that Sierra would be irreparably damaged if the terms of this License Agreement were not specifically enforced, and therefore you agree that Sierra shall be entitled, without bond, other security, or proof of damages, to appropriate equitable remedies with respect to breaches of this License Agreement, in addition to such other remedies as Sierra may otherwise have available to it under applicable laws." In other words, said the reader, it would seem that Sierra can do anything it wants to you. Another reader, knowing my fondness for censorship clauses, pointed out one that goes beyond the typical restrictions on publishing benchmarks. The EULA for Micromuse's Netcool product ( http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDB8:353CA35 ) states: "No benchmark results nor results of any functional testing or evaluation of the Program shall be disclosed to any third party or used for any purpose other than to facilitate Licensee's internal use of the Program." If you can't disclose your evaluation of the program to any third party, the reader wondered if she was violating the EULA by telling me what she thinks of their censorship clause. What if she wanted to recommend the software to a friend at another company - would that also be prohibited? Spyware EULAs no doubt deserve their own separate ... http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDBB:353CA35 ======================================================================== DELL'S SC RETURN POLICY As if we didn't already have too much fine print from the software vendors, now it looks like we've got to read the hardware vendors' terms as well. At least that's what one reader discovered when he tried to return a Dell server that wouldn't work properly with his Linux application. "I recently ordered a PowerEdge SC420 server from Dell," the reader wrote. "I ordered it with an SATA Raid array and ordered the second drive from Dell to make sure it would work with the first drive. They said it came with software to assist in loading the server system. Unfortunately, even though it does not warn of this limitation on the on-line order system, this software does not support any Linux installation -- not even the Red Hat products Dell sells. When it arrived, I tried to load my server software on it, which happens to be a Linux-based product. I actually tried three different products and each one said there were no hard drives." The reader called Dell's legendary support, with predictable results. "I called Dell for support and they said I had to find a driver, but they could not really tell me how ... http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDBC:353CA35 ======================================================================== NPF HEADACHES Is Norton Personal Firewall causing support headaches for ISPs around the world? That's what one reader hypothesizes after noting a pattern in the support calls his company receives. "I work for a large business ISP in the UK which also hosts some large home-user ISPs, and the team I work for deals with our support mailbox." the reader wrote. "We get approximately twenty to thirty e-mail a day, and maybe five calls a night, that take a course as follows: End user: Hi, Someone's trying to hack me, and they're on your network, their IP is 123.123.123.123. TELL THEM TO STOP IT OR I'LL TAKE LEGAL ACTION! Support: That IP address belongs to a web proxy that you use as part of your contract with (an ISP we host). End user: Then tell them to stop it! Support: 'They' are not doing anything. 'They' is a server cluster. What told you about this? End user: My firewall. Support: Which one is it? End user: Norton Personal Firewall. Support: OK. Can you try a different one, and see if the same thing happens, please? End user: Ha! I already have! But nothing showed up, so I guess it was inferior. NPF is an industry ... http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDBD:353CA35 Contact Ed Foster at Foster@gripe2ed.com . Ed Foster's "Reader Advocate" column, http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDC0:353CA35 , can be read exclusively at his GripeLog Web site: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDC4:353CA35 ====================================================================== INFOWORLD SMB NEWSLETTER Sign up today for the latest news, reviews, and product information essential to the smooth running of your SMB's IT operations. http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDBE:353CA35 ====================================================================== ADVERTISE To advertise, contact Elisabeth_raphel@infoworld.com. ====================================================================== UNSUBSCRIBE/MANAGE NEWSLETTERS To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your e-mail address for any of InfoWorld's e-mail newsletters, go to: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDB9:353CA35 To subscribe to InfoWorld.com, or InfoWorld Print, or both, or to renew or correct a problem with any InfoWorld subscription, go to http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDC2:353CA35 To view InfoWorld's privacy policy, visit: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B2DDC1:353CA35 Copyright (C) 2005 InfoWorld Media Group. 501 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94107 This message was sent to: GDEWILDE@GMAIL.COM