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From: cthulhu@athena.MIT.EDU
Newsgroups: net.micro.amiga
Subject: Piracy << WARNING: SEVERE FLAMES AHEAD >>
Message-ID: <1844@caip.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Sat, 12-Apr-86 17:06:20 EST
Article-I.D.: caip.1844
Posted: Sat Apr 12 17:06:20 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Apr-86 03:26:14 EST
Sender: daemon@caip.RUTGERS.EDU
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
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From: cthulhu@athena.MIT.EDU

I really with I could understand people who defend prices of $100 for a paint
package, but it just doesn't make sense to me, and I'm a software developer
myself.  Software piracy is bad, but it is undeniably deserved.  Great, says
the purchaser of a spiffy new Amiga, look at all the things I can do, and for
-only- $1295. Depleted wallet in hand, he goes to his local computer store to
buy some software.  First, he wants to draw pretty pictures.  $100.  Then
he might want to program in a decent language.  $300 more.  Next, it might
be nice to word process something.  $100, please.  That`s $500, just to do
THREE THINGS.  Hardly even justifies multitasking, especially since you
can't with any of the evilly copy-protected, resource-stealing software...
Would you buy a car if it cost half the car's price to go out and drive
around the block.  There is absolutely no excuse.  It takes more effort,
and probably more talent, to write a book, yet they're sold for $3.  But
they cost more to make, say the apologists.  Sure, each book may cost
$0.10 to produce, while software costs, say $2.  But they don`t sell as many
copies, they whine.  Not always so.  Many programs now sell more copies than
books.  We're paying the cost of software piracy, that's why the prices are
so high.  Wrongo. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Without
software, the machines are useless, and people feel ripped off since they 
can`t pay the exorbitant prices.  Anger is wonderful at removing moral
qualms.  There is no solution to the piracy problem.  Protection
only hurts legitimate users.  The best thing companies could do is to lower
their prices to a reasonable level where people would begin to be able to
afford the software, and use their computers.  Perhaps then legality would
win out over expedience when it comes to acquiring software.  $69.95, hah!
Its a nice program, WITH the backup disks, it might be worth $25. Borland
proved the feasibility of lowered prices, but now even they're moving away
from it.  $100 is, quite simply, insane.
						- Jim Reich