(End User License Agreement) The legal agreement between the manufacturer and purchaser of software. It is either printed somewhere on the packaging or displayed on screen at time of installation, the latter being the better method, because it cannot be avoided. The user must click "Accept" or "I Agree" and the license does stipulate the terms of usage, whether the user reads them or not.
The license disclaims all liabilities for what might happen in the user's computer when the software is running. It generally guarantees nothing except that the disk will be replaced if defective. If it sounds like a license to get away with making inferior software, one has to consider that it is impossible for even the largest vendor to test a program in every possible configuration in the PC world. Some combination of hardware failure and/or software bug can always cause a program to crash and cause the loss of whatever data are in the machine at that time. See clickwrap, concurrent use license and per seat license.
The license disclaims all liabilities for what might happen in the user's computer when the software is running. It generally guarantees nothing except that the disk will be replaced if defective. If it sounds like a license to get away with making inferior software, one has to consider that it is impossible for even the largest vendor to test a program in every possible configuration in the PC world. Some combination of hardware failure and/or software bug can always cause a program to crash and cause the loss of whatever data are in the machine at that time. See clickwrap, concurrent use license and per seat license.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Death of the black box EULA
- Nonsense. Just look at Psystar.They died by the EULA. The judge even brought that up.And open source software has an EULA of its own, telling you exactlly what you can and must do to be able to use the software.Any failure to follow the EULA/GPL allows the owner of the...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-25
- Death of the black box EULA
- The makers of black boxes know they can't hold customers to their EULAs forever. They have to compete with free. The eye of Gates has fallen. The age of men has begun. by Dana Blankenhorn
- Blog posts 2009-11-25
- For The First Time in Ages, I Agree With Apple
- Spiders and dust on a slippery slopeWorst inside of a computer I've ever seen was a spider infestation. Must have been a million of them. But what I wonder is where does voiding the warranty stop?A generic abuse statement may not be sufficient in the world of EULA's....
- Discussion threads 2009-11-24
- Law firm interested in hearing from banned Xbox Live gamers
- Maybe "law" can become a GDP driverNow that America has seen virtually every domestic industry go down the toilet, maybe it can provide law services to the rest of the world.If this self-righteous lawsuit is any indication, the is no need to fear the loss of American innovation and savvy;...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-24
- Panel: do cloud computing economic advantages break down in enterprises?
- Cost of computingCompanies will utilize this to get rid of expensive license models of Microsoft flavors.Hardware costs are...not the biggest problem. Bandwidth is what is ridiculously high. To get into anything with high enough upload speeds will set you back plenty. Some cable companies are offering decent speeds in the...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- Inside the Google Chrome OS security model
- The proof will be in implementationAll of these lofty goals are one thing. Making it happen in code is quite another. It sounds like they are just giving a laundry list of what people want them to say. I'm in the "believe it when I see it" camp. Good intentions...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- Is it OK to use OEM Windows on your own PC? Don't ask Microsoft
- RE: Is it OK to use OEM Windows on your own PC? Don't ask MicrosoftI built my current desktop in July and purchased/installed an OEM version of Vista Home Premium. I also took advantage of Microsoft's free upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium which I installed on the same PC....
- Discussion threads 2009-11-15
- Microsoft gives up to 1 million Xbox modders the boot from Live
- Exactly. I could not agree moreno different then many other things.In NASCAR, the team owns the car, NASCAR the rest.You are perfectlly free to do with your car whatever you wish, NASCAR just will not allow you to run it at their events.Microsoft is not stopping them from modifying their...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-11
- Mac OS 10.6.2 breaks hackintoshes
- Author's views please ...... does the ZDNET author of this post care to say:1. Whether the 'hack' in 'hackintosh' is morally acceptable and/or legal?2. Whether there is any merit in Psystar's case that OSX is tied to Apple hardware? i.e. the vendor makes it a condition of purchasing the OS...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-11
- New tool aids .Net developers in writing Linux, Mac OS X apps
- Windows only applications will be a thing of the past before long.We could also use some good tools for porting general Win32 apps to Mac and Linux using WineLib.Agree, but, for the transition, these kinks of tools will helpNTmore reasons to avoid NovellThese proprietary apps that work only with M$...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-10
- Is MySQL an "albatross" around the neck of Larry Ellison?
- The EC is CLUELESSAbsolutely NOTHING changes about MySQL or its license open source with the buy out.infiltrated M$ agents are obfuscating this issueThe MySql should be a slam dunk, but M$ agents are feeding false information to the commision to harm OSS.Are you sure about that?MySql (and of course SUN...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-10
- Seven perfectly legal ways to get Windows 7 cheap (or even free)
- RE: Seven perfectly legal ways to get Windows 7 cheap or even freeGreat post, Ed! Seeing how you outlined the cheapest way to get Microsoft Windows 7 there should be no reason why anyone would not want to upgrade now. Price is no longer an issue. This would be...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-06
- DoneEx XCell Compiler 1.9.9 (Windows)
- DoneEx XCell Compiler offers very easy and hassle free Microsoft Excel workbook copy protection. You can compile Excel spreadsheet into EXE application with securely hidden formulas in binary format and protected VBA code. With registration/license management feature you can protect your compiled Excel workbook from illegal copying from one computer...
- Software downloads 2009-11-05
- iHacked: jailbroken iPhones compromised, $5 ransom demanded
- ... WHAT?Who in their right mind keep a server running with default usernames/passwords on the default port....I doubt that jailbroken iPhones are alone in this. It's possible, specially if iPhones have a ssh server running, that this could happen on non-jailbroken iPhones also.Just one question...Has this person been remanded yet?...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-03
- Psystar: From Hell's Heart, I Stab at Thee!
- No matter who they have to sueApple will never allow competition.agreedthey want as much profits as they can make.too bad their computers aren't very good for anything other than the basics and some visual/audio work ;)with that said, i believe that apple will have its future in their i-products (ipod,...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-02
- Clean install with Windows 7 upgrade media? Get the facts!
- Unbelievable"Last week I complained about Microsoft?s shoddy documentation of how its upgrade procedures are supposed to work. I?m delighted to report that I got a tremendous and immediate response from within Microsoft, offering assistance in my testing and also promising to clean up and expand their documentation."So what exactly did...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-02
- Apple releases iTunes 9.0.2, kills Palm Pre sync ... again
- Round up the executive and throw them in jailApple's behavior is simply unacceptable.Palm... Shakes HeadNote to Palm: Make a Front end that uses the iTunes DB or quit trying to keep hacking. It is REALLY stupid. A) You will never keep ahead of this.B) Even if you keep fixing it,...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-29
- Thanksgiving Boom for Firefox 1.0.2 (Windows)
- Celebrate the fall harvest, family and the things we're thankful for. We've gathered some great sites into the toolbar from online games and holiday history, to the recipes you'll need to wow the family. Explore the links, enjoy the theme. These themes are free and we switch your default search...
- Software downloads 2009-10-29
- Ecoboom for Firefox 1.0.1 (Windows)
- Be green with this eco-friendly nature theme for your Firefox browser. Includes links to leading sites, environmentally friendly products and an easy way to contribute to rain forest preservation--you're browser is something to be proud of. These themes are free and we switch your default search engine to BING, ASK...
- Software downloads 2009-10-29
- Psystar releases 'build your own Hackintosh' kit
- there a few brain who will throw a fit big time Will nice i really wanna see what will happen on the legal side .but its a bit too late how many people already have the appz .... Well like many people ask for so long osx...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-23
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