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From: johnston@minnie.me.udel.edu (Bill Johnston)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: All Commercial Software Developers or Companies (pls read)
Message-ID: <57191@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: 25 Jun 91 20:57:04 GMT
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In article <1991Jun25.192619.9070@zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu>, edgar@function.mps.ohio-state.edu (Gerald Edgar) writes...
>In article <1991Jun25.164556.9703@Sugar.NeoSoft.com> peterc@Sugar.NeoSoft.com (Peter Creath) writes:
> 
>>would YOU want to buy a $1000 CAD program with no information?
> 
>I wonder...if nobody bought the program (with no information), and nobody
>pirated the program, what would happen?

What would probably happen is that the author look around and
find that the most successful and popular software companies
around have been fairly liberal with their policies.

Forgive me for belaboring this.  No Fred story this time.

No legal department will admit it, but 80% registration rate 
on a big distribution base is a hell of a lot better way to make 
money on in the software business than hiring SPA to catch the
few people that have even heard of the hypothetical $1000 CAD program
with the lousy docs and no money-back guarantee.

You only need to look at the companies that have succeeded and
those who haven't to see that this is so.  Sure, alot of companies
fold and blame pirates.  But how many people were using their
stuff?    System changes and the ever-advancing state of the 
art has kept my software registration status current.  If a company
doesn't keep pace with the times, they get dumped.  If they don't
offer upgrades at prices that make it worth my while, 
then goodbye you-know-who!  (Well, that's what I wish that 
I had done.  I was too curious not to buy the Excel upgrade.)

The commercial software on my hard disk is paid for and for the most
part I have chosen the types that use the "personalize" feature
in lieu of copy protection.  In some cases, though, like MIDI
software, I've purchased copy-protected stuff when it was clearly
the best tool for the job.

But I'll be damned if I am going to post an armed guard at the 
door on the off-chance that the janitor is masquerading as a 
software pirate.  Guess my IP number if you want to steal your
software instead of paying for it.  I occasionally login with
NCSA Telnet, and when I do, I sure as hell don't bother to 
set an ftp password.  

It is not difficult to pirate software, and it never will be,
because the burden imposed on the honest will always outweigh
the complexity needed to foil the pirate.

The notion that a software company will make few extra bucks by getting
companies to audit is typical of what happens to a company when it is 
driven by its bean-counters and legal department, instead of being 
driven by the excellence of its engineering.

Every now and then, a political candidate starts spewing blather
about how his/her new tax program will refill the coffers of the 
treasury by catching tax-evaders and making them pay up.  This never 
adds a nickel to the treasury; what is does do is add another gazillion 
pages to the tax code and make honest folks miserable.

And making honest folks miserable is THE ONLY THING that SPAudit
is likely to accomplish.  Even Fred agrees, after a few beers.

-- Bill (johnston@minnie.me.udel.edu)