Subject: New book - Software: What to do when software fails
From: Emanuella Giavarra (ecup.secr@dial.pipex.com)
Date: ma 19 loka 1998 - 18:41:57 EEST
(Forwarded from cni-copyright list)
John Wiley & Sons have just released my new book (with David Pels), BAD
SOFTWARE: WHAT TO DO WHEN SOFTWARE FAILS.
Bad Software is written for dissatisfied small customers (consumers,
small business). It helps them figure out how to get support or
compensation for defective software.
-- First half of the book helps customers negotiate with the software
publisher or retailer.
-- Second half teaches customers legal approaches to solving their
problems. Small customers have a lot of power in American law. You can
see how valuable Article 2B is for software publishers by contrasting
customers rights under current law with what they'll have after 2B.
-- The Appendix is a critical analysis of Article 2B.
For more information, check my website, http://www.badsoftware.com
Working press can contact Carmela Dellaripa
(Carmela.Dellaripa@wiley.com) for a review copy of the book.
============
Here are some of the nice things that pre-release readers said about the
book:
"This book is worth buying for the first chapter alone. In Bad
Software, Cem Kaner and David Pels provide consumers with simple steps
for dealing with defective software--a how-to book for consumer
protection in the information age. In addition to practical advice,
they discuss an important legislative threat to consumers: Article 2B
of the Uniform Commercial Code. Kaner and Pels are right on target in
their scathing critique of this regressive draft law that will allow
software companies to insulate themselves from liability for defective
products.
--Ralph Nader.
"No software customer, be they home user or corporate CIO, should be
without this book. If you're tired of dealing with buggy programs and
poor technical support, this is the place to find out what you can do
about it."
--Ed Foster. InfoWorld, "Gripe Line" Columnist.
"A masterful job."
--Watts Humphrey. Fellow: Software Engineering
Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University.
"Bad Software is a good book. We've become so accustomed to computers
that freeze up, 40 minutes on hold at customer service, buggy software
with the perpetual carrot 'that will be fixed in the next release'Kaner
and Pels have shown us the way to fight back, and confirmed our feeling
that we don't have to accept bad products. I recommend this book to
anyone else who shares the frustration."
--Daniel S. Coolidge. Chair of the Computer and
Technology
Division of the American Bar Association Law Practice
Management Section. Head of the Intellectual Property
Group at Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green. Former
computer engineer.
"Bad Software is a wake-up call to software consumers to stop putting up
with poor product quality. The authors did an excellent job of
navigating controversial issues. Consumers are told in no uncertain
terms what the law entitles them to and what it does not. Examples of
good and bad publishers are given, and both definitely do exist. The
overall explanations of how software producers evaluate the requests of
consumers and how consumers evaluate the trustworthiness of producers
are superb. Every software consumer should own Bad Software."
--Jeffery E. Payne, President, Reliable Software
Technologies.
"An expert analysis of the serious problems that Article 2B will create
for the general public and for writers."
--Jonathan Tasini. President of the National Writers
Union,
Lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Tasini v. New York
Times.
"Software purchasers are often perplexed when confronting problems with
packages. Bad Software was written for those disappointed and confused
purchasers. It provides practical help in dealing with problems with
software. Bad Software is instructive and readable for consumers and
computer professionals alike. It's a required resource for anyone using
software packages."
--Sharon Marsh Roberts. Chairman, Independent Computer
Consultants Association.
"An important contribution to improving the quality of a product by
creating more knowledgeable consumers."
-- Dr. Frederick C. Van Bennekom. Senior Consultant,
Service Management International; Lecturer,
Northeastern University College of Business
Administration.
"This book is easy to use. Its advice is wonderfully specific, simple,
complete, and clear at all stages. I like the authors' friendly,
conversational style, and I appreciate the book's reminders that an
unhelpful technical support person might be acting in good faith. I
wish that I'd had this book when my fax modem developed a mysterious
conflict with my answering machine."
--William J. Pardee. Author of "To Satisfy and Delight
Your Customer."
"Kaner and Pels have written a readable, approachable book not only for
the consumer, but also for the technical support staff and management.
Everyone who buys or sells software should read this book."
--Johanna Rothman. President, Rothman Consulting Group,
Inc.
_______________________________________________________________________
Cem Kaner, J.D., Ph.D. Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 1200 Santa Clara, CA 95052 408-244-7000
Author (with Falk & Nguyen) of TESTING COMPUTER SOFTWARE (2nd Ed, VNR)
This e-mail communication should not be interpreted as legal advice
or a legal opinion. The transmission of this e-mail communication
does not create an attorney-client relationship between me and you.
Do not act or rely upon law-related information in this communication
without seeking the advice of an attorney. Finally, nothing in this
message should be interpreted as a "digital signature" or "electronic
signature" that can create binding commercial transactions.
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