Re: [cobalt-users] ![MASTER-CD]!

[cobalt-lists <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In all truth I email all the sloppy ones and remind them to install patches
as well as offer to do it for free, as requesting money makes them not want
to do it.

I avoid having me keep track of their servers and passwords as this would
present a legal problem and I would seriously suggest that no one do this.
Why, because by doing this you take on responsibility to do the updates.

By offering to do the updates, but making it clear to the customer that it
is still their responsibility, you make it clear that the responsibility is
still in their corner.

When I do hack the server back together after being hacked I make it clear
that 1) backdoors may remain  2) that its still their responsibility.

The key to avoiding legal problems is always to avoid responsibility and
include a long winded disclaimer w/ everything.  And then if a lawyer ever
does call, give them hell, the majority run when confronted with a legal
fight.

However, one point I would like to make is that the DMCPA does not create a
legal issue when moving a hard drive from a cobalt server to a linux box for
debugging purposes.

The reason why it does not is by moving the hard drive you do not copy or
reproduce anything.  The hard drive itself is nothing more than a storage
media device such as a VHS tape or a CD.  Under your interpretation you
would violate the copyright laws every time you decided to play a CD or VHS
in another machine.

These may sound like small points, but law is nothing more than two people
argueing over little points, that are really stupid to begin with.

The simple fact is cobalt would not pursue the matter if all you did was
debug the hard drive on a linux box, in fact they would never know.
However, if you decide to run it on a standard linux server you better be
sure you are the only ones on that server because the first time one of your
customers calls cobalt for support you are going to find your rear in hot
water.  Though again, if you gave cobalt enough money over the last year
then they probably would not make an issue of it as we found out from
www.cobaltracks.com.