interesting story
Alex Snow
alex_snow at gmx.net
Wed May 15 15:33:10 EDT 2002
So Do I. Can't use it though because I don't got jaws "NT authorisation".
Maybe there's a crack for that also?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gregory Nowak" <greg at romualt.dhs.org>
To: <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 3:28 PM
Subject: Re: interesting story
> Yeah. A friend of mine surprised me the other day by cheerfully informing
me that he's got a cd of a cracked copy of windows xp.
> Greg
>
>
> On Wed, May 15, 2002 at 03:22:42PM -0400, Alex Snow wrote:
> > Sounds just like Microcrap. Hypocritical.
> > And about that xp activation thing, it's been cracked.
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Igor Gueths" <igueths at attbi.com>
> > To: <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2002 7:33 PM
> > Subject: interesting story
> >
> >
> > Hi all. Hope this is of interest.
> >
> > Did Microsoft Flirt With Piracy?
> >
> > Complaints about open-source software policy reveal
piracy
> > rap
> > in France.
> > Kim Zetter, special to PCWorld.com
> > Thursday, May 09, 2002
> > While Microsoft cracks down on software pirates the
world
> > over, the software giant itself was quietly convicted
of
> > piracy charges in France last fall--and the case,
while
> > supposedly under appeal, may cost the company some
> > business.
> > The French division of Microsoft is facing a fine of
about
> > $422,000 for illegal use of another company's source
code
> > in
> > an animation program called Softimage 3D. The program
has
> > been
> > used to create such films as The Matrix, Men in Black,
and
> > Star Wars. But the dispute itself was cited by a
> > governmental
> > buyer who contends Microsoft should not complain about
> > pirates
> > when it is guilty of the same transgression. Microsoft
did
> > not
> > respond to requests for comment.
> > Borrowed Code
> > The issue started in 1995 when Microsoft France
purchased
> > Softimage, a Canadian company that developed the 3D
CGI
> > animation program Softimage 3D. The acquired company
was
> > accused of illegally lifting source code from a
> > proprietary
> > program called Character, developed by the owners of
Syn'x
> > Relief, a company near Paris.
> > In 1994, Softimage had negotiated with Syn'x about
> > integrating
> > parts of the Character program into Softimage 3D. But
the
> > deal
> > fell through when Softimage demanded all rights to the
> > code,
> > according to a report in PC World Malta. In 1995, when
> > Syn'x
> > severed its relationship with Microsoft-Softimage, the
> > company
> > assured Syn'x that it had removed "some or all" of
> > Character
> > from its software. But Syn'x charges that
> > Microsoft-Softimage
> > removed only one part of the code, and retained eight
> > other
> > functions that Character's developers had registered
with
> > the
> > French National Intellectual Property Institute.
> > After Syn'x sent two letters to Softimage and
Microsoft
> > demanding the functions be removed, the company filed
> > suit. In
> > 1998, Microsoft sold Softimage to Avid Technologies
but
> > remained responsible for the legal infringements of
its
> > former
> > wholly owned subsidiary.
> > Although Syn'x eventually fell into bankruptcy as a
result
> > of
> > the case, the program's authors continued their fight.
> > Last
> > September the Commercial Court of Nanterre, France,
> > awarded
> > Syn'x the judgment for damages and interest. Microsoft
has
> > vowed to appeal the decision.
> > Sales Pitch Rebuffed
> > Microsoft's brush with piracy in France came to light
only
> > this week. The case was overshadowed at the time by
the
> > focus
> > on the September 11 terrorist attacks. But recently a
> > Peruvian
> > congressman raised the issue in regard to a Microsoft
> > contract.
> > Dr. Edgar David Villanueva Nuñez corresponded in April
> > with
> > Microsoft's general manager in Peru over proposed
> > legislation
> > there that would require any software used by the
Peruvian
> > government to be open source (or "free software," as
it's
> > referred to in Peru). Microsoft representatives
protested
> > the
> > plan, writing the congressman that producing
open-source
> > software makes a software company vulnerable to piracy
of
> > its
> > intellectual property by competitors. If Peru mandates
the
> > use
> > of open-source software by government agencies, it
"would
> > establish discriminatory and noncompetitive practices
in
> > the
> > contracting and purchasing" of software by public
bodies,
> > Microsoft stated.
> > Nuñez was apparently not persuaded. He replied to
> > Microsoft:
> > "The inclusion of the intellectual property of others
in
> > works
> > claimed as one's own is not a practice that has been
noted
> > in
> > the [open-source] software community; whereas,
> > unfortunately,
> > it has been in the area of proprietary software." He
cited
> > specifically Microsoft's conviction by the Commercial
> > Court of
> > France, "for violation of intellectual property
(piracy,
> > to
> > use the unfortunate term that your firm commonly uses
in
> > its
> > publicity)."
> > Meanwhile, Microsoft remains one of the most outspoken
> > critics
> > of piracy, aggressively pursuing violators and urging
> > authorities to crack down on anyone who illegally
copies
> > its
> > software. The company even went so far as to include
an
> > Activation Wizard in Windows XP, which prevents
customers
> > from
> > loading a single copy of XP onto more than one PC. The
> > company
> > amended the policy after user outcry.
> >
> >
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