Tim WaldenSection: 004

NO!

Consumers have no legal alternative over defective software they buy off the shelf because of restrictions on liabilities written in product licensing agreements.

Custom-built software is also protected against liability through various errors-and-omissions clauses.

Disclaimer Of WarrantySome of the Apple Software may be designated as alpha, beta, development, pre-release, untested, or not fully tested versions of the Apple Software. Such Apple Software may contain errors that could cause failures or loss of data, and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. You expressly acknowledge and agree that use of the Apple Software is at your sole risk. The Apple Software is provided ÒAS ISÓ and without warranty of any kind and Apple and Apple's licensor(s) (for the purposes of Sections 4 and 5, Apple and Apple's licensor(s) shall be collectively referred to as "Apple") EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. APPLE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE APPLE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE APPLE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE APPLE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED. FURTHERMORE, APPLE DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE APPLE SOFTWARE OR IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY APPLE OR AN APPLE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OR IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY. SHOULD THE APPLE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU (AND NOT APPLE OR AN APPLE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE) ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. THE LICENSE FEES FOR THE APPLE SOFTWARE REFLECT THIS ALLOCATION OF RISK. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

If Companies are being sued by their customers, they will be paying billions of dollars of damages towards them. As a result …

o The software will have to cost more in order to compensate

for the loss in law suits

o   If employees are being paid less they are less likely to put their all into their work o   Companies will be less likely to release riskier, yet more innovative products for the fear that their might be complex defects hidden within them

o   Less innovation means less competiveness and less competiveness means that software  companies could close down, and as a result thousands of people will be without a job

o   Hackers often infiltrate the system and put viruses in software that creates flaws throughout the producto Environmental changes can harm software

o   More designers and testers will have to be hired in order to perfect the softwareo   Employees bonuses and pay rate will be lowered in order to compensate

Will jeopardize innovation Vendors are working to create better and more

secure products Allowing these advancements is good for consumers

Will affect U.S. competitive advantage Would hinder product development and which would

result in lost of technical jobs and productivity Will jeopardize the U.S. industry’s leading position in

global  markets Continued…….>

Benefits to consumers Software cannot be foolproof

products of engineering are not perfect As technology benefits increase users find ways

to misuse or modify it Punishing the wrong people

There should be more prosecution of computer crimes, stiffer penalties for hackers and more cyber crime training for law enforcement instead of focusing on software manufacturer’s

Diverse changes in temperature that the software is kept

Computer or hardware may not be compatible with software

Technical problems with hardware

Regular wear and tear from customers

Bishop, Todd. “Should Microsoft Be Liable for Bugs?” Seattle PI. Hearst Seattle Media, 12 Sept. 2003. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://www.seattlepi.com/ business/ 139286_msftliability12.html>.

Cardinali, Richard. “If the System Fails, Who Is Liable?” Emerald. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://www.emeraldinsight.com/ 10.1108/ 09576059810226811>.

Cusumano, Michael A. “Technology Strategy and Management: Who Is Liable for Bugs and Security Flaws in Software?” The ACM Digital Library. Assn. for Computing Machinery, n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://delivery.acm.org/ 10.1145/ 980000/ 971637/ p25-cusumano.html?key1=971637&key2=2367977521&coll=GUIDE&dl=GUIDE&CFID=60714163&CFTOKEN=34348940>.

Schmidt, Howard A. “Perspective: Give Developers Secure-Coding Ammo.” CNet News. CBS Interactive Inc., 3 Nov. 2005. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. <http://news.cnet.com/ Give-%20%20developers-secure.%20/ -coding-ammo/ 2010-1002_3-5929364.html>.

License Agreement http://developer.apple.com/hardwaredrivers/download/licensing.txt