brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) (03/22/85)
Some articles posted on the net have contained several misconceptions that should be cleared up: 1) No program has been severely hurt by software theft, and no company has gone undef because of it. I hope that the recent articles posted to the net clear this up. There are lots of program. And remember, any progam that fails would have lasted longer without theft. It's true that lots of things fail from bad management - but "bad" management is defined as management that isn't good enough to survive under the circumstances. Well widespread theft is one of those circumstances that should't be there. I myself have essentially left the low-end commodore market because my programs (even though they sell for $50) are extensively pirated. 2) If Borland can sell Turbo Pascal for $50 why does other software cost more? Remember that Borland is an exception and is currently one-of-a-kind in the industry. Every other company that tried $50 software in the higher-end markets has died. Borland operates on slim margins with a huge advertising budget. It's not the thing a startup can duplicate. 3) Turbo Pascal isn't copy protected I've spoken with Philipe Kahn about this personally. This program is "copy protected" by a cleverly designed manual that's the wrong size and the wrong binding for photocopying. 4) Most software theives wouldn't buy it so a sale isn't lost That may be true for some theft, but not in my case. Some of my products include system programs like an assembler and other programming tools. They are widely stolen, because they are in demand among programmers and hobbyists, the people that are the biggest theives (sad to say). They only cost $50 and one isn't copy protected. But they are stolen like crazy. And the theives are using them, not keeping them on the shelf. If you're using a $50 product, you should have paid for it. I've even had people come up and complimented me on the products when it's clear they stole it. 5) Software is like books, and the book industry survives Software is copied perfectly on a disk. You get a copy every bit as good as the original. Not so for books and a photocopier. And copying a book is a lot of work, and often involves destroying the binding of the original. -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473
sjk@aicchi.UUCP (Ksiazek) (03/25/85)
>5) Software is like books, and the book industry survives > > Software is copied perfectly on a disk. You get a copy every bit as > good as the original. Not so for books and a photocopier. And copying > a book is a lot of work, and often involves destroying the binding of > the original. >-- >Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473 Not only do books photocopy terribly, who would pay 5 to 10 cents per page for these terrible copies.A four hundred page book even with 2 pages xeroxed on one sheet still costs ~ $20.