Summary: When one of the hard-disk drives the server that processes credit-card information for a wholesaler began to show signs of approaching failure, the company's information-technology manager naturally decided to replace the disk. To install the credit-card-processing software on the new disk, he needed a license key from the software manufacturer. However, the software manufacturer wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to force the company to upgrade to a newer version and refused to provide even a temporary license key for the older one.

The wholesaler did not want to upgrade immediately, partly because it would cost several thousand dollars and partly because it was impossible to be sure, without extensive testing, that the new version of the credit-card-processing software would interface correctly with the wholesaler's inventory and accounting software.

Fortunately, before the old hard disk failed, the information-technology manager was able to copy its exact contents to a new one, making it unnecessary to obtain a new key. The executives of his company are now looking for an alternative source of credit-card-processing software and have acquired a new appreciation of the importance of open source.