You have elaborated on the matter quite well. It's bound to the US but all are valid observations nonetheless.

Thank you all for the replies.

I've been doing freelance work for a while "commando style" (let's say). I took advice from one of the posters here and charge 1/3 upfront, 1/3 upon delivery of product, and 1/3 upon delivery of source code. This worked great, btw, so a big thanks to you-know-who-you-are. Up to this point, however, I've never worried about contracts of any kind. Budgets and specs are discussed over email so, I guess, they might have been some kind of "verbal contracts". Honestly, I couldn't say what legalese applies. So, the amount of business I'm doing is growing and, more often than not, I'm dealing with companies (rather than privates). I have become increasingly concerned about issues of liability and what not. Truth be said, the projects I contract for are not on the million dollar mark in any way whatsoever. Rather, the software I develop is the "do X and Y" kind and that's that. Nonetheless, I keep thinking, what about a contract? I most politely would like to request the advice of seniors and other experienced folk on these matters. Any pointers or links would be appreciated. I will say that, it appears to me, adding the work of writing down contracts would increase my expenses. I'm not sure how to factor this in when one of my usual project goes for some US$5,000 give or take.

Thanks guys.

Over the next few months, I will be sending/receiving a bunch of files to/from another computer out there in the wild net. Emailing them is a pain. Is there a ip2ip file transfer application you guys have used and recommend? Free is always better. Yes. There is plenty sample code in CP. I myself wrote a simple program to do just this years back and might have to do again if all else fails...

Let's be honest. IE is used as much as it is becuase it comes with Windows. That's the only reason. It's easy for us (technical folk) to claim it takes nothing to install something else (we have). But it is not so "evident" for the average user. Antoher issue is whether or not the EU bureaucrats have the right to take on monopolies... as the US has and whether or not this is just another case of EU bashing.

I'm not sure how to ask this... is your request legal? I'm honestly curious as to the status of VS6.

Or infamous. If his obsession were with blacks (for example), he would've been banned from the site a long time ago. However, xenophobia is sadly "ok" around here...

Simmons' injuries are self-inflicted... and to follow on your analogy, Simmons would've also been stripped of medals won on any sport because of his many bigotted comments. This is a technical site.

Thank you for the reply. Perhaps it is my lack of understanding of the matter but, I feel, the problem is not the copyright in and of itself. This is not an issue of authorship but of licensing. Perhaps it will be better illustrated if I explain my particular problem. We work with a software for which we have to purchase a license yearly. The company no longer exists and, therefore, purchasing licenses has become impossible. Legally speaking, must the software be uninstalled when this period ends?

If the company that produced certain software is gone or if the company still exists but no longer sells and supports certain software, is it legal to use the software beyond its purchased license? For instance, could I install it in more machines that I originally licenced it for? Could I give a copy to a friend? There seems to be no economic harm to the owner company as it has abandoned its software but, what are the legal issues involved? If anyone is in-the-know, it would be much appreciated. Thank you all.

I'm afraid I don't understand this: http://www.codeproject.com/script/Surveys/Results.aspx?srvid=844[^] Is this a pity vote or what is going on? Even if you are a friend of this guy, the real work of other authors is being disrespected.

That is what my friend said. A critical appraisal of the sources is absent and that is the problem. That and lack of expertise in the field in question... which, truly, are related things.

My mistake. He didn't mean that his students use it as a reference (on a paper, for example). He meant that his students use it in the belief that it is an credible source of information. I didn't know that academic institutions prohibit citing Wikipedia. It would explain a lot.

I had lunch with a friend (an academic) some time last week. He elaborated at length on the many factual errors he finds in Wikipedia articles on his field of expertise. He said that he has tried on sereval instances to correct this (as his students keep using Wikipedia as a source) only to find his corrections systematically erased within days. The problem, he said, was that there is no critical assessment of the literature on which contributors based their opinions. His final assessment was that ego rules over reason in Wikipedia and that the ultimate usefulness of Wikipedia (under this circumstance) can be no more than entertainment. I've never paid much for Wikipedia but I was intrigued and decided to test out my friend's observations. He was right. Factual errors abound and corrections quickly lead to, apparently so-called, "edit wars". What are your thoughts on and experiences with Wikipedia?

More generalities, more insults, more hand waving. Very little understanding.

Yet true.

People are free to vote as well as have an opinion. Both are reflections of themselves. Regarding whoever insulted you, I can only recommend that you consider what I said and let them own up to the responsibility of their opinions...

Your generalizations are nothing more than your problem. Help yourself by taking a moment to try to understand this. It might help you to consider the "crime" of the original poster. His feelings were hurt by the way Indians are spoken of around here. At the time of this response, some 21 people have voted down (vetoed, rather) his post. How does that make any sense? He is not even given the right to feel bad about the insults hurled at him.

That is nice and appreciated. I'm American, though.