ASUS eeePC: GPL, Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act violations

Blogger Cliff Biffle in his blog Cliff Hack Things has pointed some issues regarding the Asus Eee PC and what he contends are GPL and Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act violations.

For the Asus Eee PC, Asus uses open source software that uses GNU GPL licensing conditions. This means Asus is obligated to make the sources for the software they're distributing available, even if they have not modified them. But Cliff conducted his own research and has discovered Asus has posted a 1.8GB ZIP file on its website that it claims contains the sources, but it's not -- it contains a few .debs (not even the versions that ship on the machine) and some kernel headers.

Cliff noted that ASUS is also distributing BusyBox inside the system's initramfs image. This is interesting because another company distributing BusyBox without complying with the GPL is presently being used in the first US civil suit over GPL violations.

As for the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, basically Cliff contends the bright yellow "Warranty void if seal is broken or removed" sticker over the RAM upgrade slot is non-enforceable.

The Magnuson-Moss Act is a 1975 Federal law that lays down some rules for how consumer warranties work. One of the specific things it prohibits are "tie-ins," additional items or services you must buy from the manufacturer to make your warranty work. Cliff provides excellent examples from the FTC's site to prove his point. Moreover, he drives home his point by pointing out that Asus will soon be selling a higher-end model with more RAM. If the model is simply the original with a different DIMM and, say, a PCIe SSD dropped in, then what ASUS is saying is "These socketed, consumer-upgradeable parts will void your warranty if you touch them -- but if you pay us another $150 we'll change them for you." The unfair tie-in becomes evident when expressed that way.

While Cliff's excellent research may not interest most Asus Eee PC owners (presumably computer novices), his post nevertheless makes for an interesting read if only it shows how ground-breaking the Asus Eee PC can be in more ways than one in spite of being made out of mostly off-the-shelf components. :)

The full article can be read here.