Mel, I agree with you completely.
It's basically a "seriously money-losing proposition" for MS or any other company to go after one or two individuals who may have "refurbished" their copies of MS Word from an abandonware site, or even go after people who never bought the software in the first place but who download the obsolete stuff from the web. It's the current "money-making" products they care about. Indeed, if any company is going after individuals now, its normally over music downloads, not obsolete software! I'm not saying this to give anyone a false sense of security here. I'm just stating fact. There are always "risks" associated with downloading stuff from abandonware sites, but the fact is there is risk associated with any decision in life. I personally believe there's a greater risk to me simply by driving to work each morning than there is for me to download an old copy of MS Word 4! But again, there will always be those who vigorously defect "the letter" of the law, and hence, discourage downloading ancient software or poo-poo the idea of labeling it "abandonware." In contrast, I myself am a realist who prefers to live in the "spirit" of the law and keep our classic Mac community alive and kicking. To me, if there is an "obsolete software" resource available, I have no ethical problem in tapping that resource from time to time, especially if I had purchased a lot of that software in the past. And this doesn't mean I advocate going around "stealing" either (unlike Jobs and Woz who built and sold Blue Boxes in the 70's). Mark Twain's advice to us is still sage indeed: "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." Best, james Wages -- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------
