DSEAH@WPI.BITNET (03/29/88)
On the subject of Lotus 123, these kinds of high power business programs are still somewhat vulnerable because of the large number of books availiable that are supposed to teach your better than the original docs. Someone could easily grab a bootleg of 123 and then buy a $25 book at B. Dalton, for a huge "savings" in money. On the subject of games, packing essential items with the software make it more difficult steal software. Infocom does this with style. I think their disks are unprotected, but there are so many crucial props included with the original game that it is worthless to copy and give away. If anything, NOT being able to have all those neat plastic widgets and cards and infotaters whets the casual software mugger's appetite. Even if somebody made an copy to store away in his cache, no profit is lost because that person wouldn't have spent any money anyway. Certainly, you can argue, "But if that person HAD coughed up the cash, along with everybody like him (or her), think of how much MORE money would be made!" I suppose this is what pisses off the software publishers the most. I can't figure out good way to cover arcade games under the "excellent documentation" approach. Dave Seah - Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Bitnet: DSeah@WPI.Bitnet | Apples Rock! // | Internet: DSeah%WPI.Bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU | // Zap!