My problem is pretty simple. I have not and never will be a software pirate. I downloaded a few songs from Napster when it still worked, but even then 90% of it was live cuts of songs I had on CD.

I _still_ have not been able to get a copy of the 10.1 update. Both Circuit City and the local mac shop are out, and I really want to give this puppy a spin. I don’t want to wait 6-12 wks or whatever it is.

A friend of mine, who was able to obtain an update kit, has offered to let me download the disc images from him via FTP (we both have cable).

While I could technically wait till I see him again and get it on CDR (it will be awhile too, he lives 3 hours away), I kind of want to go ahead and get it.

Is there any legal problem with doing this? In general, can one distribute free, full-install-detecting Apple updates at will, provided you are willing to spare the bandwidth? I’m assuming I can do this without concern, please let me know if you think it would be a license violation.

Apple doesn’t seem to want you to share the update. The license that came with my 10.1 update says “Single User License” on the front.

Later, inside the booklet, it says “This License allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time.  This License does not allow the Apple Software to exist on more than one computer at a time, and you may not make the Apple Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple computers at the same time.”

I don’t understand why Apple would not want you to redistribute a free update, but there you have it.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: David Nelson on 2001-10-04 20:32 ]</font>

Then again, some Apple employees copied the discs for distribution.  It’s a free update, you own the original, and you have been unable to obtain it through other channels…

I can’t speak for Apple by any means, but I don’t think Apple’s clampdown on outside distribution of its software updates was intended to cover the situation you described.

There is a far cry from copying Photoshop or the original Mac OS X and stealing it, and getting a hold of a free update from a buddy.