On Mon, Sep 05, 2005 at 03:39:14AM -0700, Mel wrote: > Many years ago, I had a minor problem with WORD v 4.0 > and called Microsoft software support. I was told > that V 4.0 was no longer supported and that Microsoft > was no longer responsible for maintaining that > version.
I guess I have two points to make here: the first one is that the danger associated with abandonware depends upon the company who published the software. A lot of companies genuninely don't care about these old products, and they don't see any value in attacking users of abandonware. That said, what a generic staff member says and company lawyer says may be entirely different things. Because of this and since these companies are so rarely willing to give written permission to copy abandonware, you have to be aware of what the law is and what the potential consequences are. The second point is that the software industry has changed with the times. There was a huge shift in software support in the 1990s, there has likely been an even larger shift in their perception of property rights over the past decade. It is at the point where Apple practically refuses to acknowledge anything prior to Mac OS X 10.2, never mind Mac OS 9, and never mind System 6. Support for products seems to disappear after three years. Even Microsoft, which has a larger and wealthier corporate market to take care of, tries to retire support for a product after five years. Granted, they haven't been as successful. Contrast that to pre-Jobsian Apple, where Apple was supporting products produced as early as the late-1970s. This, incidently, is the era when the Older Software Downloads site (which still offers System 6) comes from. IIRC, the same could be said for Microsoft five years ago. Byron. -- System6 is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 123Inkjets.com <http://lowendmac.com/ad/123inkjets.html> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> System 6 Heaven <http://www.euronet.nl/users/mvdk/system_6_heaven.html> System6 info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/system6.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:system6@mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/system6%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deals www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
