Small print

Software – and increasingly that means software used on-line or downloaded from the web – is vital to our work and leisure. Every new function or feature seems to require a download or a sign-up and each time we do this we are asked to enter private or company details and agree to some terms and conditions. Sometimes this applies to required upgrades as well.

Even purchased software from the biggies such as Symantec and Microsoft require agreement to licensing and usage terms before you can complete the installation and get on with using the product / service. Now be honest – how many times do you scroll through the tiny text in the tiny window and read what you are expected to agree to?

And when you do venture into the scroll box (nothing much in the inbox today or listening to a webinar?) – do you understand what all that stuff means? Most of us just click the “I agree” box and get on with the download or install because we have jobs to do – we’re not contract lawyers.

The National Consumer Council has done a study on end-user software licensing. See the report at http://www.ncc.org.uk/nccpdf/poldocs/NCC195rr_whose_licence.pdf

I hope their report doesn’t just get left in the archives. Something should be done to address the balance of power between the software giants and the poor old user.

I have worked in IT and software development for many years. When we developed software in the “old days” writing the specification – and getting the client to agree  – was a major task often taking years (by which time the client management had all moved on to more dynamic arenas!). But we did specify what the software was going to do in gory details and how it was going to do it. Generally we didn’t get paid if the end product didn’t meet the spec.

Nowadays we mostly use and rely on packaged software. But do you know what it is supposed to do? It’s difficult to find a “specification” for software packages. Most often you will find scenarios, case studies and the differences between this version and the previous one. At least with most downloadable software you have a trial period to see if it does the job for you before committing to purchase but that seems to me a hit and miss affair and very time-consuming. Maybe the next job for the NCC is a review into presale documentation available with software and on-line services.

Lights out!

Well it very nearly was! We were informed a fortnight ago that the electiricity supply would be turned off for a few hours today while the engineers did something vital. Of course, like most households and businesses we are heavily reliant on electricity. Even the propane-fired gas heating needs electricity to work. And we have several computers, servers, phones, routers, switches….. any amount of kilowatthour-guzzling equipment that we need to keep the place going.

Thankfully, we had done a bit of “continuity planning”and purchased a modest petrol-driven generator and the appropriate safety switches and mechanisms required to protect the mains circuits when the generator is providing power. We also have several UPSs (uninterruptible power supplies) protecting the main servers and switches and vital PCs (mine!).

These cut in when the power went off and kept things going until the generator came on stream (10 minutes fiddling around in the out-house).

So we carried on as normal during the 4 hours the chaps were doing the cabling repairs. Except that because the generator we have is fairly modest, there wasn’t enough power to run the 3kw kettle. Desperate measures – out came the camping stove to keep the caffeine junkies happy!