Status of Cryptography Research in implementation of the EUCD

[Owen Lewis]

Alright :-) I can't resist one more round.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ukcrypto-admin@chiark.greenend.org.uk
> [mailto:ukcrypto-admin@chiark.greenend.org.uk]On Behalf Of Graham
> Sent: 16 August 2002 00:02
> To: ukcrypto@chiark.greenend.org.uk
> Subject: Re: Status of Cryptography Research in implementation of the
> EUCD
>
>
> >>And if I, as a home user, can't use the home computer I
> >> have legally bought in any way I want for any legal purpose because
> >>of a user agreement that forbids the way I use the software, it is
> >>immoral and should be illegal.
> >
> >You did not have to buy it if you did not like the terms. Buy someone
> >else's product or make your own. It really is that simple.
>
> It isn't that simple.
>
> It was pointed out to me the other day that the reason PC-World,
> Curry's, and Dixons supply only Microsoft based computers is an
> agreement with Microsoft that they will supply ONLY Microsoft products.
> That is probably the case with most manufacturers/retailers (Novatech
> in Southampton is one such).  I have rung around several manufacturers
> seeking to buy a Linux system without success.

Mmmmm.... are you sure?

PC World certainly sells Linux in one or two flavours. I'm fairly sure I
have seen Apple in their stores though its a dribble and erratic in its
presence (presumably determined by when they can acquire a cheap lot (much
of what they sell superseded products).

You or I can knock out boxes with LINUX installed. I suggest that the reason
we do not is that it does not (quite yet) make business sense to do so.

IBM certainly now will ship their systems with LINUX installed to order
though the bulk of their shippings are still with MS OS (still the
overwhelming preponderance of the market because of the wealth of
applications written to  MS Win X).

> If you read the EULA from Microsoft for Windows 98, I am forbidden even
> to remove it from the computer!  This is not a level playing field, and
> it has become so to protect the interests of the few over the interests
> of the many.

This, I promise you, is not as straight forward as it seems. As an end-user
you expect excellent by-phone technical support from the manufacturer of
your shiny new system? Yes. The major PC manufacturers do not install the OS
'out of the box' but in a proprietary tweaked version to give optimum
performance on the various hardware configurations in the several models
they sell. The OS package is usually dropped onto the hard drives in batch
run with fast data transfer and not onto individual machines after they are
assembled, via CDROM or other even slower port.

This means that if you or I pee about with the operating system (e.g.
uninstall the one supplied and drop in another, apparently of the same type
that we bought off the shelf in PC World, the results are not entirely
predictable. What the PC manufacturer/tweaked OS manufacturer say is that if
you do this you void your warranty and thus lose your free technical
support. This sounds hard but I can see their point of view. Most PC
malfunction results from file corruption, software mis-configuration or
application incompatibility (getting rarer in the MS world largely as a
result of MS's efforts to minimise the possibility of it occurring). They
can supply, remotely, excellent technical support to users who have lost
their way provided only that they have full knowledge of the OS files
installed, their version and optimum figuration. They take the trouble to
make sure they keep a record of this for each machine they sell. Alter the
OS in your box and you're on your own (or pay for hands-on bespoke support).

An actual case in point. X buys a shiny new Dell laptop. It comes with Win
2000 installed. He requires this laptop specifically to use an application
he has which will only run under Win 9x/ME. Silly boy doesn't RTFM (or the
big label on the application box) until after his new toy arrives and he
finds his application will not run. Sensibly, He rings Dell to ask if he's
all right to install, additionally, his old copy of WIN 98 and use tee
machine in dualboot configuration. Dell tell him that if he does he will
voids his warranty. They offer (at an economic price) to take the machine
back, remove the  HD with 2000 (which they will trash) and insert an new HD
with Win 98 pre-installed and configured to their systems optimal
requirement. That is how things are done these days. Don't blame MS. Don't
blame Dell. Consider the overall result of the current market expectation of
a perfect level of remote technical support from operations that, to sell
competitively, must operate on paper-thin margins.

These days, PC buyers get unbelievable value for money, in terms of cost,
reliability and (from the better manufacturers) excellence of remote, free,
technical support. But there is no such thing as a 'free lunch'.

> Despite that, it is the sharing of knowledge and the wide user base
> which shares and exchanges that knowledge and enables people to
> contribute to the whole that's important.  I would like to see
> consumers have the choice which they currently do not have, and the
> ability to be part of a community.
>
> That's where we differ.

Well, I hope at least that you now can see why we differ.

Owen