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Richard Dreyfuss reads the iTunes EULA

Why are consumer software license agreements so long? We don't know yet, but we have found a way to make them entertaining.

Rafe Needleman Former Editor at Large
Rafe Needleman reviews mobile apps and products for fun, and picks startups apart when he gets bored. He has evaluated thousands of new companies, most of which have since gone out of business.
Rafe Needleman
2 min read
Richard Dreyfuss, master thespian Richard Dreyfuss
Update 4:17 p.m. PT: Want to remix these audio files? We've made downloads available. Go to the end of the post.

This Friday's Reporters' Roundtable is on a topic that vexes us all: why are end user license agreements and terms of service so long and convoluted? To get ourselves in the mood for this show, we asked CNET fan (and Academy Award winner) Richard Dreyfuss if he'd help us out by doing a dramatic reading of the Apple EULA. He said yes. So, without further ado, we present to you,


Dramatic readings from the iTunes EULA by Richard Dreyfuss

Please read:
Your responsibility:
Damages:

This one's our favorite:

Effective until:


Don't miss Reporters' Roundtable live on Friday at noon Pacific at CNET Live. Or catch the recording afterward on the Reporters' Roundtable blog. Our guest for this great discussion will be Gabriel Ramsey, a writer of EULAs and a partner at the San Francisco and Silicon Valley law firm Orrick. Click the Remind Me button here to set up a NudgeMail reminder for this podcast (button will launch your default e-mail app).

If you have questions on this topic, send them to roundtable@cnet.com or drop a note in the comments below.

In addition to his acting career, Richard Dreyfuss is head of The Dreyfuss Initiative, a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort to reform civics education in America. The views expressed in these recordings or the Reporters' Roundtable podcasts do not necessarily reflect his opinions.


Downloads!
By popular request and with Richard Dreyfuss' blessing, we are releasing these audio files under the Creative Commons Attribution license. So if you want to remix these dramatic readings, go for it. Please link back to this post if you do so. Have fun!