twltims@watmath.UUCP (Tracy Tims) (04/24/84)
There are major differences between photocopies of books and copies of
computer programs:
A photocopy of a book costs almost as much as the book itself,
in many cases. It also takes a fair amount of effort to produce.
The final product is certainly less nice to use than the original.
A copy of a computer program costs only as much as the media. The
copy can often be produced in private (how many of you own
two sided photocopiers?). The amount of effort spent on copying
a program can be minimal, especially if it has been already
cracked. The resultant copy is every bit as useable as the orginal,
barring documentation (not so much of a problem).
For better pieces of software, I would expect that the amount of time spent
in writing, distributing and maintaining the software and documentation
could approach the investment in the production of a book.
The problem is that the money and trouble saved in copying a program is far
greater than the money and trouble saved in copying a book. Perhaps the
conjectured pricing level that will bring the situation to an equilibrium
will also force most software developers out of business.
I would rather that programs were not copy protected, and that it became
a standard method of operation for distributors to accept a smaller fee
for programs that had been copied by users. This would provide in effect,
an army of ``salesmen'' (the installed base) who would pass on the software.
Instant distribution. I wonder how well it would work.
Tracy Tims {linus,allegra,decvax,utcsrgv}!watmath!twltims
The University of Waterloo, 519-885-1211 x2730