Newman.pasa@Xerox.COM (03/30/88)
David E. DeMers asserts that > Some people will NEVER buy anything if they can steal it. Others will > steal software if it doesn't take much work. And others are honest, and > won't use pirated software even if it is offered to them by a friend. > .. for those in the first and third groups, copy protection is meaningless; > while for those in the second, it is a deterrent to theft. I beg to differ about the meaninglessness of copy protection for *anyone*. I am basically in your third category. However, copy protection on software that I have bought is absolutely inexcusable; I avoid buying software that I know to be copy-protected to avoid the attendant problems. Any study on this subject should also try to quantify the amount of money lost due to people like me. Newman