Vista “wrestles control of the ‘user experience’ from the user”
Canadian internet law professor Michael Geist explains in an editorial this week (published in the Toronto Star): “In the name of shielding consumers from computer viruses and protecting copyright owners from potential infringement, Vista seemingly wrestles control of the ‘user experience’ from the user.”
For instance, Vista’s End Users License Agreement (EULA – pdf, 100 kb, 14 pages) limits the numbers of copies that can be made (allowing only one for backup purposes). The anti-virus program that comes with Vista reserves the right to delete any programs it deems dangerous without permission, even though this could mean the removal of legitimate and useful software (or prevent other software from working). And the EULA warns users that “you may not work around any technical limitations of the software.”
And that’s not all — read the whole editorial for more.
Dr. Michael Geist is the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa.
(via EFF’s DeepLinks)
[…] Michael Geist, professore canadese di legge su internet, nell’editoriale del Toronto Star sottolinea l’esperienza limitante che Vista fornisce all’utente: il contenimento della quantità di copie realizzabili a tutela del copyright, e l’eliminazione dei programmi ritenuti pericolosi dall’antivirus, senza previa accettazione da parte dell’utente, sono solo due degli esempi riportati. […]