Acrobat Reader

[David Jansen]

On Tue, Mar 15, 2005 at 08:40:18AM -0500, Reuben D. Budiardja wrote:
[...]
> So this is not free ? I downloaded and installed it but wondering if I 
> supposed to have a license of some sort. Where do you get the link from? I 
> couldn't find it from the website (adobe.com)
[...]

Well, you get a free license, which makes for an interesting read. It's
always nice to see what weird restrictions are being placed on "free"
proprietary software. Makes you enjoy OSS so much more. From the license:

  2.2.1 Subject to the terms of this Agreement, you may install one copy
  of the Software on a computer file server within your internal network
  for the sole and exclusive purpose of using the Software (from an
  unlimited number of client computers on your internal network) via (a)
  the Network File System (NFS) for UNIX versions of the Software or (b)
  Windows Terminal Services. Unless otherwise expressly permitted
  hereunder, no other server or network use of the Software is permitted,
  including but not limited to use of the Software (i) either directly or
  through commands, data or instructions from or to another computer or
  (ii) for internal network, internet or web hosting services.

Yes, you read it right. You are violating your license if you place it
on a smb share, you need to use nfs if you want it on a network
disk. Also, you are probably not allowed to run it in a VNC session, but
lucky for us, we may use this piece of Linux software on Windows
Terminal Services.

Well, there is also the usual clauses about only being allowed to
install one copy of the software and only allowed to make one
backup. Yes that makes so much sense with a freely downloadable package!

David Jansen

(Not a lawyer, and proud of it when I read such nonsense written down by
a big company's legal division!)