Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1+some 2/3/84; site dual.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!dual!mats
From: mats@dual.UUCP (Mats Wichmann)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Software Piracy - Marketing Persipective
Message-ID: <441@dual.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Apr-84 11:33:08 EST
Article-I.D.: dual.441
Posted: Mon Apr 16 11:33:08 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Apr-84 08:15:57 EST
References: <326@hou2a.UUCP>
Organization: Dual Systems, Berkeley, CA
Lines: 51

> From: kho@hou2a.UUCP (S.KHO)
> Newsgroups: net.micro
> Subject: Software Piracy - Marketing Persipective
> Message-ID: <326@hou2a.UUCP>
> Date: Fri, 13-Apr-84 14:31:35 PST
> Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ

> The interplay of the price of product, prize of obtaining the
> product from alternate source and personal profile is
> just like the $20 bill on the ground example.
> The $20 bill is a product. Its price is $20.
> The normal way to "buy" $20 is to earn it (the old fashion way.:-)
> When it is sitting on the ground, it is your alternate source.
> Depending on your profile (i.e., income, ethical value, awareness of
> the $20 bill, ...etc.) you may not pick up and keep the $20.
> But what if it's a stack of bills worth $200? $2000? $2 million?
> At what "price level" will the "prize" more than your "value"?

This reminds me of a joke I once saw in a turn-of-the century Swedish
magazine passed down through a couple of generations of my family.
It was originally designed to be read with a heavy (fake) Jewish/German
accent. Translated, it comes out something like:

  So, my son, if you find a pfenning on the ground, you may keep it.
  If, however, you find a thousand marks on the ground, you should turn
  it in to the police, for then you will receive a good name, and a good
  name is a man's fortune. If you were to find a million, you need not
  turn it in to the police, for then you would already have a fortune, 
  and thus have no need for a good name.

Seriously, despite the possible non-relevance of the pile-of-money,
I though this article provided an excellent perspective on the topic,
and thanks for posting it.

I still feel that there is a parallel between books and software. True,
the author of the book is not called upon to do support AFTER the book
is published. Just ask the author of a text how much time he spent
between the time he `finished' writing the book and the time it finally
appeared on the bookshelves. Ture, software is not as static as a book,
but if a good product were properly prepared through the aid of a good
software publishing house, the amount of post-publication support
on the part of the author would also be minimal. I am not saying that
this will happen in more than a few cases, but the parallel still exists.
Most software products make it out before they are really complete,
i.e., there is something there (product OR documentation) that someone
had not thought of. The game packages are probably the closest to
products that don't need post-sales support.

	    Mats Wichmann
	    Dual Systems Corp.
	    ...{ucbvax,amd70,ihnp4,cbosgd,decwrl,fortune}!dual!mats