Bonum Certa Men Certa

Have Microsoft EULAs Just Been Declared Invalid in the United Kingdom?



Summary: Microsoft's software licences may lack a legal basis and Apple is tickled for breaking the law as a sacred, secret and specially-blessed hypePhone gets out of Apple's hands again

SEVERAL years ago, an analysis was published in The Register which contended that Microsoft's EULA is not enforceable in Britain. Microsoft claims no liability [1, 2, 3, 4] and also forbids benchmarks (which Phoronix produces a lot of these days). A reader has just sent us this new article from The Register. It says that the "High Court rules software liability clause not 'reasonable'" and that "The IT industry feared that the result would make it harder to make claims for software, but the Court said that EDS's fraudulent misrepresentation was down to the conduct of one employee, not the whole firm. Experts said that this made it less likely that IT suppliers would overhaul the way they sold their systems."



"This is a very important story," explained our reader, "and a good tech journalist would investigate all such 'only your money back' agreements." Like its close partner Samsung, Microsoft has a history of using British law (+EULA) as an instrument of abuse.

As side news, Apple's 4th generation hypePhone has been 'leaked' again. [via]

Wow, Apple aren’t being too careful these days, they appear to have lost another 4th gen iPhone – this one is a 16 GB model. These images have appeared on a Vietnamese website Taoviet.vn.

Rumors are that this handset was bought in the US for $4,000 by a Vietnamese businessman, along with an iPad. What do you think? Genuine? Other rumors suggest this iPhone is fitted with the A4 processor, same as the iPad.


Will Apple break the law again (or have the police break the law) by bullying the person in possession of this phone, just as it did to Gizmodo? (details in the links below)



Recent Techrights' Posts

Sponsored by Linux Foundation
All the pages are full of 'Linux' Foundation ads that are not about Linux
It's Hard to Dispose or Get Rid of Swasticars Now
'Memecars' only sell as long as people have a 'belief' in them
 
Links 13/03/2025: COVID-19 Legacies and "Modern" Cars as Spying Machines on Wheels
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 12, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 12, 2025
The Fall of the Open Source Initiative (OSI): Microsoft-Sponsored OSI is Probably Not Even the Real Steward of the Open Source Definition, It's More Like an Identity Thief at This Point (Like "FSFE", a Microsoft-Sponsored Imposter of FSF)
As we'll show later, many people (even inside OSI) are very angry at the OSI right now
Gemini Links 12/03/2025: Cataloging Books, Ramen, and MElon
Links for the day
Links 12/03/2025: Anti-Union Actions and New Efforts at Truce/Ceasefire in Ukraine
Links for the day
CodeWeavers Ads Weaved by LLM Slop at BetaNews
How much of this was even touched by a human being?
Springtime Plans
We currently have two long series underway
In Australia, iOS Estimated to be Bigger Than or Equal to Windows
Not even counting macOS
Brett Wilson LLP Does Not Deny Microsoft or Another "Third Party" Secretly Funds the SLAPPs Against Techrights, Bankrolling Despicable People Who Deserve Criticism
Writing about crime is not a crime
Gemini Links 12/03/2025: LLM Slop Lacks a Future, Wordle Clone Comes to Gemini Protocol
Links for the day
Using FUD That Blames "Linux" for Typos, Turning It Into LLM Slop That Blames "Linux" for Typos
It is probably the "leader" at LLM slop (fake 'articles') about "Linux"
Links 12/03/2025: Big Cuts to US Education and Science (e.g. NOAA)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 11, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Crossbow murders: prevention, missed opportunities
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
This yt-dlp Bug Report Shows Us That the Future of YouTube is DRM and It's Time to Leave (yt-dlp Should Also Leave Microsoft GitHub, Which Censors YouTube Downloaders)
GAFAM traps aren't "free hosting"; they herd us all into a world of tollbooths and locks, surveillance and planned obsolescence (you own nothing, you only rent)
Ukraine Didn't Take Twitter/X Down, Microsoft or Windows Likely Did
There are many debunkings (to likely false accusations), but won't that just be another example of Windows TCO, exacerbated externally in the form of Windows botnets?
The Fall of the Open Source Initiative (OSI): Worse Than What the Media Has Focused on, Losing Sight of Who Owns and Runs the OSI
Members' dues are less than 3% of the income; where does the 97+ percent come from other than Microsoft?
Apple Seems to Have Run Out of Things to Boast About After Apple Vision Pro Failed Spectacularly
With "Apple Intelligence", Apple has finally named a product after what target customers lack
Slopwatch: Reckless FUD and Machine-Generated Spam from LinuxSecurity.com, cybersecuritynews.com, and gbhackers.com (Google Boosts LLM Slop About "Linux")
Google and so-called 'Google News' continue to yield anti-Linux misinformation
Gemini Links 11/03/2025: 'Chainsaw Politicians' and Proprietary Software Hell
Links for the day
Links 11/03/2025: Covid-19 5 Years On and Violence in Syria
Links for the day
Links 11/03/2025: NASA Besieged and "DOGE Has Become What It Claimed To Destroy"
Links for the day
Fresh IBM Layoffs Reported in Europe and North America, Jobs Allegedly Moved to South Asia (Low Salaries)
As usual, IBM does not talk about this
Illuminating Injustice is Critical When Reckless Microsofters and Law Firms Try to Silence Reporters of Violence Against Women
I want to clarify that I'm well within my right (and not running afoul of any rules) by explaining what goes on here
EPO Central Staff Committee: "The Strategy of the Office Lacks Transparency and Cannot be Understood"
Microsoft and the EPO violate data protection laws
Microsoft Has Not Much Left to Show Investors, Shares Fall Almost 20%
It's not even clear how Microsoft makes money anymore
Links 11/03/2025: Spring and Misfin Server
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 10, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 10, 2025