14 Oct
2000
14 Oct
'00
1:50 p.m.
> Wait a sec. Something you said made me stop and
think for a minute.
> YOU, an individual, own a thing. An action by a completely separate
> group of individuals far far away have magically made the thing you
> own *obsolete*?
Tony replied:
This depends on how you define 'obsolete'.
Presumably said group of
individuals can :
Stop selling the thing
Stop supporting the thing
Sell a product that does all your 'thing' will do and more.
What they can't do is prevent the 'thing' being useful to you.
Unfortunately for some things that last statement is false. I had a
VideoGuide that I really liked, but they were bought by a competitor and
shut down. Prior to that, the device would do some functions even if
you weren't subscribed. But when they shut down the service, they sent
poison packets to all the units, and now they won't do anything.
There was some talk about a class-action lawsuit against them for
intentionally damaging a product they had already sold. But nothing
came of it.
Now in the states that have passed the UCITA, this sort of behavior
is actually legal! :-(
Eric