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Thread ID: 68546	2006-05-03 01:14:00	Anti-Robin, good	CreightonBrown (5692)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
451563	2006-05-03 01:14:00	[I will not be subscribed to this thread] Faxed 2006.05.02 Microsoft 001 425 706-7329 Norton 00353 1 820 4055 Adobe 001 408-537-6000 You openly admit the poor cannot afford your software You still treat them as pirates You do not discount them software for poverty You do not give people at poverty legal rights to software You make them feel dishonorable You add facilitation for people to dishonor them because they think they are doing illegal activities because they are not legally entitled to the software when they can be unable to afford it Why will you not discount software for those that are poor instead of treat the poor like criminals? To say piracy is a crime for those who cannot afford it is to say that poverty is not a problem it’s a crime. Why do you treat those at poverty criminals? They can be decent people who sometimes did not have the same opportunities or luck of their choices or dice as others. Why do you not discount software for the poor who cannot afford software and respect the poor as equals instead of treat them as criminals? It may still be possible to make ‘low income license’ software financially profitable. Software Piracy - Honor the Poor with Low Income Licencing.doc How Piracy Opens Doors for Windows Bill Gates may not be entirely dismayed by software thieves. They seed the world market and make Microsoft a standard. By Charles Piller, Times Staff Writer April 9, 2006 Microsoft Corp. estimates it lost about $14 billion last year to software piracy — and those may prove to be the most lucrative sales never made. Although the world's largest software maker spends millions of dollars annually to combat illegal copying and distribution of its products, critics allege — and Microsoft acknowledges — that piracy sometimes helps the company establish itself in emerging markets and fend off threats from free open-source programs. The gist of the beneficial piracy argument is that the retail price Microsoft charges for signature products such as Windows and Office — as much as $669, depending on the version — can rival the average annual household income in some developing countries. So the vast majority of those users opt for pirated versions. The proliferation of pirated copies nevertheless establishes Microsoft products — particularly Windows and Office — as the software standard. As economies mature and flourish and people and companies begin buying legitimate versions, they usually buy Microsoft because most others already use it. It's called the network effect. "The first dose is free," said Hal Varian, a professor of information management at UC Berkeley, facetiously comparing Microsoft's anti-piracy policy to street-corner marketing of illicit drugs. "Once you start using a product, you keep using it." Even as the Internet makes global piracy easier than ever, Microsoft's revenue and profit have risen steadily. It earned $12 billion on $41.4 billion in revenue in calendar '05. That record of success has led many experts and software companies to regard piracy as less of a problem than initially assumed or even part of a comprehensive strategy, said Eric Goldman, a law professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee and the former chief counsel of a Silicon Valley Internet firm.	CreightonBrown (5692)
451564	2006-05-03 01:24:00	Interesting. Made sense at least.	roddy_boy (4115)
451565	2006-05-03 01:29:00	Sounds a more logical than previous posts. I wonder how much it costs to send to all three companies. Symantec's in Ireland?	bob_doe_nz (92)
451566	2006-05-03 01:30:00	I guess that is why Microsoft very sneakily released those Visual Studio Expresses for free. I think that will get heaps of people hooked onto it.	mejobloggs (264)
451567	2006-05-03 01:47:00	Interesting. Made sense at least. If it makes sense CB is not the author. :xmouth:	plod (107)
451568	2006-05-03 01:48:00	Sounds a more logical than previous posts. You actually read all of it? :dogeye:	Greg (193)
451569	2006-05-03 01:50:00	``At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge,'' said the gentleman, taking up a pen, ``it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.'' (Microsoft windows?) ``Are there no prisons?'' asked Scrooge. ``Plenty of prisons,'' said the gentleman, laying down the pen again. ``And the Union workhouses?'' demanded Scrooge. ``Are they still in operation?'' ``They are. Still,'' returned the gentleman, `` I wish I could say they were not.'' ``The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?'' said Scrooge. ``Both very busy, sir.'' ``Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,'' said Scrooge. ``I'm very glad to hear it.''	Terry Porritt (14)
451570	2006-05-03 02:01:00	I guess that is why Microsoft very sneakily released those Visual Studio Expresses for free. I think that will get heaps of people hooked onto it. Hope your not trying to be sarcastic Jo. It's sometimes hard to tell on a CB engendered thread CB, have you begun distributing Linux, BSD, BeOs, Open Solaris or whatever, yet?	Murray P (44)
451571	2006-05-03 02:12:00	No, I was serious Murray. Especially Visual Web Developer. It is one very slick app. I havn't had time to play with it much yet, I havn't even read its limitations (it must have some i guess). One of the first thing many newbies to web development do is go and grab free software to help them. Since VWD is free, and very nice, a lot of people are going to jump into it, and therefore a lot more developers are going to be using Microsoft stuff. Sort of like how CB was talking about Microsoft saying that piracy can be helpful, because it gets people using their products instead of alternatives. Microsoft making VS express free makes it 'legal piracy' :)	mejobloggs (264)
451572	2006-05-03 02:23:00	You do not discount them software for poverty Actually he does. Software in other countries is priced according to their level of income. Still expensive but expensive relative to their income - we'd find it dirt cheap. And there are plenty of other choices, linux, Open Office etc etc. If they can afford a PC in the first place then installing free O'Ss and apps is not a problem.	pctek (84)
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