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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!lhasa!stew@harvard.ARPA
From: stew@harvard.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: none
Message-ID: <12470@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Apr-84 12:36:00 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.12470
Posted: Wed Apr 18 12:36:00 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 24-Apr-84 19:09:55 EST
Lines: 31

Undeniably, there will always be unethical folks around who will copy
software given half a chance.  Expensive hardware additions may make
it much more difficult, but I tend to think that there is no combination
of hardware and software protection mechanisms that will eliminate
the problem, even leaving aside the problems these mechanisms cause
authorized users.

So, I suggest that the only way to go is make buying the software
\so/ much more attractive that everyone will buy it to get all the
benefits.  These benefits will be expensive to provide, true, but I
submit that the cost will be peanuts compared to the lost revenues
from thieving and expensive copy protection schemes.  Furthermore,
the registered users will be so blown away by the great benefits
that they will happily tell their friends that, yeah, this stuff
is expensive, but boy is it worth it.

It doesn't take much imagination to come up with a list of benefits
the software producer can provide if it is well capitalized.  The
kinds of things I'm thinking of are along the lines of updates,
consulting service, publications containing hints and experiences
with the program, guarenteed responses to bug reports and suggestions,
etc.  This won't work with, say, a game;  I'm thinking of more complex
pieces of software

I've been in computers a long time, but have only recently been
concerned with micros and other personal computers.  How do you
more experienced micro users think something like this might work?

Stew Rubenstein
lhasa!stew@harv-10.arpa
{allegra!ima,decvax!genrad!wjh12}!harvard!lhasa!stew