Re: Ada is getting more popular!

["Thomas Løcke" <tl@ada-dk.org>]

On 2010-10-28 10:19, Dmitry A. Kazakov wrote:
> On Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:06:25 +0200, Thomas L�cke wrote:
>
>> If I buy a car, I can change it as I see fit.
>
> You cannot, there are serious limitations on what you allowed to do, at
> least in Germany.


Luckily I don't live in Germany then!

The limitations in Denmark are solely a matter of whether your changed
vehicle is allowed to drive on public roads, ie. can you get a license-
plate for it.

There are no laws in place that hinders me in taking my brand new Ford
apart and mess around with it for my own personal use.


>> I can take it apart and see how it works.
>
> This also may be forbidden. I believe taking apart a DVD player is
> punishable under the DMCA.


The DMCA has no effect in Denmark.


> According to the recent court rulings you can't even sell the thing you
> once bought:
>
> http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/09/first-sale-doctrine/


You can in the EU.


>> But when buying software, I'm usually kept in the dark. No tinkering,
>> no learning, no self-maintenance, no nothing. It's a black box.
>
> No, the problem is that the black box is sold with no warranty. The
> producer must be liable to his product. The rule must be: more you close,
> more responsibility you have to take for the money you charged.


Hmm.. Yes and no.

Back in 2000 I bought a product from a vendor. This product is an
important part of my business. It has over the years evolved, and
they've kept it running to my satisfaction. I've paid them A LOT of
money to develop new features.

Then came Windows 7.

The vendor refused to update the software to be able to run on Win7,
and while they were at it, they also decided to stop supporting the
product completely.

They do not intend to offer a version 2 of this product.

The result of this is that my business is now running on borrowed
time. There are no similar products readily available, and the ones
there are, would require completely redifining how my business operates,
re-schooling all my employees and telling customers that services
they've relied on for many years are going to vanish.

I've asked if I could buy the source, and was met with a blank stare.

Black box.

An extended warranty would hardly have solved this issue. This one
piece of software, which 2 years ago was just a tool, has become a
ticking bomb.

I can't upgrade to Win7. I can't get support. I can't do anything about
it. I'm stuck on XP with a software suite that has been abandoned
without any prior warning.

Fundamentally this is of course my own fault. Back in 1998-9 when I
scoped the market for suitable products, I should of course have
required a guarantee from the vendor that they product would not
suddenly get dropped and that they would upgrade it to newer version
of the Windows OS. Or I should just have required the full source. But
then I would probably not have been able to buy it at all.  :o)

-- 
Regards,
Thomas L�cke

Email: tl at ada-dk.org
Web: http:ada-dk.org
IRC nick: ThomasLocke