Terms of Service
ARCHIVED 2012-11-05, DATE APPROXIMATE · VERSION 20121105_rev01 · COMPARED WITH 20120905_rev01
Full text changes — 20120905_rev01 to 20121105_rev01
COLOUR MARKS THE SEVERITY OF A FLAGGED CLAUSE · + AND − MARK ADDED AND REMOVED
| 1 | With a new logo, a new operating system, and new phones on the way, Microsoft is definitely barrelling into the future. Presumably that's why it spruced up its [Services Agreement](http://) as well. The new version is remarkably readible, but [sneaks in a few new permissions that weren't there before](http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/31/microsoft-tos-changes-rights/). | |
| 1 | For the critically unhip who don't know their way around even the simplest of hip-hop slang, RapGenius is something of a translator, cataloging the ins and outs of the genre's jargon, and spoon-feeding it to squares like me. And what could be more packed with impenetrable slang [than the "lyrics" to the iTunes Terms of Service agreement](http://rapgenius.com/Apple-itunes-terms-of-service-lyrics)? | |
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| 3 | The new terms-which apply to Microsoft services like Skydrive, Hotmail, Bing, and others-go into effect on September 27th and are arranged in a very natural sort of question and answer format, with minimal legalese. Here, [see for yourself](http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/microsoft-services-agreement). But although this may seem like just a rewording, there are two important changes. | |
| 3 | I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the iTunes TOS (by the Hella Apple Lawyers) doesn't have much flow, but that hasn't stopped someone from [throwing it up on RapGenius for a much needed explanation, yo](http://rapgenius.com/Apple-itunes-terms-of-service-lyrics). Don't expect a particularly straight-faced interpretation of legalese here, but rather a more cynical and profanity-laden interpretation of the mammoth TOS. You know, [the kind of interpretation you need](http://rapgenius.com/Apple-itunes-terms-of-service-lyrics). And the wiki-based system means it'll only get better with time. | |
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| 5 | First, where Microsoft used to share data between services "solely to the extent necessary to provide the service," it's now freeing itself up to do that just to make services better. Or as the paranoid might read it, "whenever they damn well please." Second, they are jumping on the no-sue bandwagon, and forcing users to forfeit their right to sue by agreeing to the terms of service. A lot of companies, like Netflix and Sony, have been trying out this trick. It's uncertain whether it would actually stand in court, but so far it hasn't gotten to that point. | |
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| 7 | If you use any of the affected services after the new terms go live, you'll be agreeing with them, so if you have any interest in knowing exactly what it is you're OKing, now's a good time to look. It might still be a bore, but it's never been an easier bore to understand. \[[Venture Beat](http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/31/microsoft-tos-changes-rights/)\] | |
| 5 | The iTunes TOS isn't the only non-rap on RapGenius. You can check out a (less funny) translation of the [transcript from the first presidential debate](http://rapgenius.com/Barack-obama-first-presidential-debate-of-2012-lyrics), too. That said, the Hella Apple Lawyers drop the sickest rhymes; I can't wait for their next single, "Scroll down to read the updated agreement." \[[RapGenius](http://rapgenius.com/Apple-itunes-terms-of-service-lyrics) via [CNET](http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57531881-1/itunes-terms-of-service-gets-the-rapgenius-treatment-hilarity-ensues/)\] |