rogerk@mips.COM (Roger B.A. Klorese) (05/08/88)
>In article <810@netxcom.UUCP> ewiles@netxcom.UUCP (Edwin Wiles) writes: >>When I came to a >>final decision, which would take some time, I WOULD purchase one of them. >>The others would be destroyed. >>Is this a 'justifiable' usage of 'copied' software? >>Or am I asking for a lawsuit? When you buy a car, you can rfead all the rags, read the documentation, test-drive it... but you can't take three or four of them home for a month or so until you decide which one you want, then give the others back... -- Roger B.A. Klorese MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. {ames,decwrl,prls,pyramid}!mips!rogerk 25 Burlington Mall Rd, Suite 300 rogerk@mips.COM Burlington, MA 01803 * Your witticism here.* +1 617 270-0613
ewiles@netxcom.UUCP (Edwin Wiles) (05/09/88)
In article <319@mipseast.mips.COM> rogerk@mipseast.mips.COM (Roger B.A. Klorese) writes: >>In article <810@netxcom.UUCP> ewiles@netxcom.UUCP (Edwin Wiles) writes: >>>When I came to a >>>final decision, which would take some time, I WOULD purchase one of them. >>>The others would be destroyed. >>>Is this a 'justifiable' usage of 'copied' software? >>>Or am I asking for a lawsuit? > >When you buy a car, you can [read] all the rags, read the documentation, >test-drive it... but you can't take three or four of them home for a month >or so until you decide which one you want, then give the others back... That is a practical consideration, not a moral or ethical one. If I take a car home, I not only have to find space to park it, but I'm denying anyone else the oportunity to purchase that particular car. If I were to make a copy of a peice of sofware, the 'original' is still there for someone else (who can make up their mind quicker than me) to purchase. If I could get around the practical considerations, I would want that much time to try out various cars. Since I can't, I do the best I can from second and third hand reports. (news articles, friends, etc...) However, I COULD try out software without hurting anyone for several months, and thus have first hand experience to make up my mind. If I can get it, I infinitely prefer first hand experience. An interesting idea! I wonder what software would cost, if instead of receiving a shrink wraped package, you simply went to the dealer with your own disks and copied what you wanted! (Paying for it of course...) You would receive all the documentation as usual, but would provide your own disks and copying service. Would that reduce the price any? The company would no longer have to pay for shrink wraping and packaging. Only for documentation duplication. That should be a significant savings... Later! -- ...!hadron\ "Who?... Me?... WHAT opinions?!?" | Edwin Wiles ...!sundc\ Schedule: (n.) An ever changing | NetExpress Comm., Inc. ...!pyrdc\ nightmare. | 1953 Gallows Rd. Suite 300 ...!uunet!netxcom!ewiles | Vienna, VA 22180
jxyp@beta.UUCP (Jay Plett) (05/10/88)
In article <319@mipseast.mips.COM>, rogerk@mips.COM (Roger B.A. Klorese) writes: > When you buy a car, you can rfead all the rags, read the documentation, > test-drive it... but you can't take three or four of them home for a month > or so until you decide which one you want, then give the others back... I've never bought a car without first taking a demonstrator home overnight. I haven't done it, but I wouldn't hesitate to take 3 or 4 home overnight (one per night) if that's what it took to find one that 'fits'. Of course, I wouldn't expect to keep one longer. If 24 hours with the car didn't satisfy me, I would rent one, or borrow a friend's. I've satisfied myself from experience that I can successfully evaluate a car in 24 hours. And I've learned from experience that none but trivial software can be evaluated in less than a week.
barmar@think.COM (Barry Margolin) (05/10/88)
In article <818@netxcom.UUCP> ewiles@netxcom.UUCP (Edwin Wiles) writes: >An interesting idea! I wonder what software would cost, if instead of >receiving a shrink wraped package, you simply went to the dealer with >your own disks and copied what you wanted! (Paying for it of course...) >You would receive all the documentation as usual, but would provide your >own disks and copying service. Would that reduce the price any? The >company would no longer have to pay for shrink wraping and packaging. Only >for documentation duplication. That should be a significant savings... It probably wouldn't cost significantly less. How much of the $100 to $500 cost of a typical program do you think reflects the cost of the materials? Remember, the manufacturer is probably getting pretty hefty quantity discounts. If the disk and shrink-wrap account for more than $10 I would be very surprised. Also, the dealer would probably charge you for the service. All that copying results in wear and tear on his equipment, and he would need to recover those costs. Barry Margolin Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com uunet!think!barmar