Letters to PC World, September 2005

Software Users' Rights

Photograph: Rick RiznerI found Anne Kandra's article about software end-user license agreements (EULAs) excellent but also very discouraging ["Software Licenses: Fight for Your Rights," Consumer Watch, July]. The real power to fight this monster lies with publications like PC World. When reviewing software, it should be as important to rate the EULAs as it is to assess the product's features. If that happened often enough, software developers might think twice about imposing onerous and unethical license conditions on their customers.

Terry J. Stone, Birmingham, Alabama

When Windows XP came out, I read the EULA and found it unacceptable. Then I read about the Free Software Foundation's GNU General Public License for Linux and other open software--it allows you to use, copy, distribute, and change open-source code as you see fit, but you must also pass along all of the rights that you received.

To me, the best way to fight for your rights is to use a GPL-licensed operating system and GPL productivity software.

Eric Skalwold, Ithaca, New York

Best Products of 2005

I loved "The 100 Best Products of 2005" [July], but I must disagree with your decision to include video games and game devices--specifically the Sony PlayStation Portable. The article on the PSP in the June issue ["Close-Up: PlayStation Portable," Digital World] was a graphics-heavy page that did little to explain what playing it was like. Its Web link did a nice job of further explaining the unit, but still said little about how it plays. So I fail to see how it's impressive enough to weigh in at number 19. I can understand why every other product on your Best list got where it is (you've given them in-depth reviews), just not the video game items.

Kyle Covino, Williamstown, Vermont

I received the July 2005 issue in today's mail, read it cover to cover (as usual), and then went in and downloaded your Product of the Year [Mozilla Firefox]. I have only one comment: WOW!

George M. Slater, Melbourne, Florida

You certainly confused me in your July issue. On one page [Privacy Watch] you caution that Mozilla Firefox has 28 security holes, and on another page it is first on your list of "The 100 Best Products of 2005." Firefox is just as chancy as our good friend Internet Explorer.

Robert Kramer, via the Internet

Editors' response: All software has bugs, but according to the security firm Scanit, Firefox was vulnerable to publicly known security threats for far fewer days during 2004 than Internet Explorer. Find out more on Firefox--and why it impressed us.

--Grace Aquino and Andrew Brandt

The Scourge of Spyware

Andrew Brandt's article "Can You Trust Your Spyware Protection?" [News and Trends, July] rekindled the anger I have toward spyware. As a computer technician for a southern university, I know that spyware is an ongoing issue for all of our clients. Unwanted and often disruptive spyware costs everyone time and money, and wastes resources that could be better utilized elsewhere.

To hear that some companies responsible for these malicious applications are complaining about being unfairly treated just takes the cake.

My definition of spyware is any application that installs itself without the express consent of the client. Applications that install themselves without warning or permission should be treated as hacking attempts, and the companies responsible for them sanctioned, fined, and sued to the maximum extent of the law.

Doug Robinson, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Digital Cameras and Special Needs

I enjoyed Paul Jasper's "Choose the Perfect Camera" [July], but both the article and the camera industry have missed a category of potential customers that I suspect is quite substantial.

I've been trying to purchase a camera for my very active 77-year-old mother. She has arthritis in her hands, and I have not yet found a model with buttons large enough for her to manipulate. A friend's mother has a mild case of Parkinson's disease; she can't maneuver the USB/FireWire plugs into the small receptacles and even has a hard time inserting memory cards. A short list of cameras for such people would have been useful.

I.E. (Skip) Hills, via the Internet

Techno-Snobbery

Regarding Steve Fox's July Plugged In column, is this man still waiting for his personal jet pack to show up? You know, the one that people in the fifties said everyone would have by now.

His statement that, because of the new broadband Internet video services, "TV as we know it is dead. The networks just don't know it yet" is techno-snobbery--embracing the best without regard for the rest--at its worst. This man needs a lot more reality in his life.

Steve Coats, via the Internet