At 04:01 PM 4/27/2007, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >When China, for instance, or India, with populations of 1 billion+, >copies say, a US engineering quota of a given piece of software, then >pays their educated poor a few dollars a day and a bowl of rice to do >the same work that you're doing, how long will you or your sister, >brothers or children be working? Not very long I fear. I'd rather have >draconian measures in place than to give it all away.
It's interesting to see this analysis. It is the true public interest argument against unlicensed software use, that it allegedly gives an unfair edge to those who haven't paid for the software. However, I'd suggest, if China is going to eat your lunch, they are going to do it whether or not they pay for the software, for the cost of software is still a small matter compared to labor and other costs. The idea that the "educated poor" in those countries will work for a "few dollars a day and a bowl of rice," is, I'd think, rather exaggerated. Yes, labor costs are still lower in those places, but there are other considerations. My own impression is that Microsoft and other companies have generally shot themselves in the foot by imposing strictly enforceable licensing procedures. It used to be that the most widely "pirated" software was Microsoft operating systems and office software. And the company was also the largest and most profitable. (Maybe still is.) But I know for a fact that many users started with Microsoft software copied from a friends disks, and then, later, came in out of the cold. And I'm sure that story was repeated over and over. Essentially, Microsoft had a "trial" distribution network that it did not have to pay a penny for. Which effect was greater, the increased eventual sales to users who started with unlicensed copies, or the loss due to users who continue with unlicensed use, who would otherwise buy. The latter is the only "loss" to the software company, and it isn't exactly a loss, it is an income item that was not realized, but that also did not cost anything in terms of support. The use of the term "piracy" for unlicensed use is essentially propaganda, for true piracy involves taking something by force, a very nasty crime, often punished in various cultures with the death penalty. I'm really not sure which effect is stronger, but, as I said, if Microsoft lost as much to piracy as they have claimed, how in the world did they manage to be so profitable? In fact, those "losses" were, I'd assume, based on an assumption that all the unlicensed users would have purchased instead, which is highly unlikely. You don't have to have the latest and greatest software to compete on price, where labor costs are low. And a whole design industry, practically, could be based on a single license, where cheaper older versions (licensed or not) are used for actual design, then translated through the latest version for transmission to, say, U.S. customers using that version. The idea that strict licensing is going to help with the design balance-of-trade strikes me as unlikely to be accurate. These countries are also perfectly capable of writing their own software.... I've communicated with design houses in India and Russia and, while I didn't verify licenses, my impression was strong that they were licensed users. But I would not be so sure that all the licenses they were using were legitimate; still, compared to their labor costs, software cost would not predominate. They *could* be legitimate, fully and thoroughly, and not have to raise their prices significantly. I run Windows 2000 Server on our office machine, used for bookkeeping. The users access it through Terminal Services and Remote Desktop, I access it from home that way. Windows 2000 Pro and XP Pro both included Terminal Services licenses which allow this with no additional TS CAL required. My understanding is that beginning with 2003 Server, this is no longer the case, TS CALs must be purchased. And, guess what? I'd probably upgrade to a more recent server edition, except that I'd then have to license everything, adding significantly to my costs. I wonder how common this reservation is.... ____________________________________________________________ You are subscribed to the PEDA discussion forum To Post messages: mailto:[email protected] Unsubscribe and Other Options: http://techservinc.com/mailman/listinfo/peda_techservinc.com Browse or Search Old Archives (2001-2004): http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] Browse or Search Current Archives (2004-Current): http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
