Maryland Joined Virginia in Enacting UCITA

with minor modifications. The Maryland law takes affect in October while Virginia's was delayed until March 2001. The laws enact the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) which many people predict will increase the cost of software and allow software companies to run amuck with a variety of abuses. It is not clear why MD and VA jumped so quickly to adopt UCITA with little debate but that portends that it is unlikely to be good for consumers. [Dana Baggett]