This will be a 3 part rant ending in dealing with this subject http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/11/sony-sues-geohot-fail0verflow-over-ps3-exploits/ as it develops over the next few days but will start with something much more basic and fundamental to all of us who use computers and/or other devices that run software.
This first rant will deal with the "End User License Agreement" or EULA as it is often abbreviated. Most of us have seen and ignored these little things when we have purchased and installed software or some other device. The basic idea behind these pieces of legal mumbo jumbo is impose upon you as the user some form of agreement that you may or may not agree with to use a piece of software or software/hardware combination that you have spent your (or my) hard earned dollars on. These things started showing up in earnest about 20ish years ago give a take a little. The idea behind it is now you don't actually buy a product anymore but rather the right to use a product as the producer sees fit. This is where the conflict and BS comes in. While most companies are trying to use it to "protect" their stuff some companies actually try to use it to extend a more personal agenda. I use the work protect loosely because it is basicaly their opinion of how you should use their stuff and we all know what opinions are like. :P
Since most people who have landed here can probably use the google on the internet machine pretty well I'm not going to bother posting links to outrageous EULAs that have been found but have a look and you will see some funny ones.
Back to the whole idea of an EULA. Somewhere along the line we let companies tell us how we can and can't use things that we own. Every time I see one of these boxes when I install software or power up a new cell phone or some other device it pisses me off to no end. I find my self stuck between a rock and a hard place. If i don't "accept" the EULA I can't continue on my merry way to use the product I purchased, but I have a fundamental issue with someone else telling me how I can or can't use something I own. So like most of you I "accept" and ignore what it says because I want to use my item. To put it in perspective it would be like owning a car but being told you would be in violation of how the car was supposed to be used if you drove it on Sundays. Another example would be a coffee makes that stated you could only brew Green Mountain Coffee(R) with it. Some of these companies even put phone home functions in their products to make sure you are observing the EULA that they made up. Some of this is in the form of the infamous"copy protection" or DCMA violation threats. So next time you see an EULA or any license propaganda information pop up grab the nearest cold one and pour one out for the decline of our rights as consumers.
Just a note for any of you flamers out there. I actually write software for a living.
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