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> Things don't have "terms". Technically correct. But software running on "things" has terms. It's called a license. When you buy a movie, you don't own the fi

• ajross 8y ago
  You're conflating things. Your example is about copyright, not licenses. Copyright doesn't constrain use, it constrains distribution (though there's a parallel argument there about DRM and things like DVD region codes, etc...). The question you're sidestepping is whether a license can say "you can't run your own software on your own thing". Obviously it can be implemented to do so given the way computers work, but it's not at all clear why that should be so.
  • seba_dos1 8y ago
    Copyright can constrain use (although the actual extent varies a lot between jurisdictions). Most licenses (which are basically a way to manage copyrights) don't make use that, but some do (like a license that Apple uses for their SDKs, which disallows running it on non-Apple hardware). BTW. I ignore that and even many large, respectable companies ignore that, but it's there ;)
  • Spooky23 8y ago
    It can. IBM has had contracts for decades that govern use of your software on the hardware you bought from them. You buy CPU hours or the right to use a certain amount of the computer for a specific timeframe. One place I worked at had a mainframe that they could not use for production workloads unless a disaster declaration was made. They’ve been litigated and are valid.