Piracy Solution?

[Martin]

I see the money and resources that Microsoft pump into anti-piracy -
activation, etc, and I wonder if perhaps there is a far easier way for them
to stamp out the appeal of pirate copies of XP. Why not simply lower the
cost for personal use, perhaps even allow install on multiple home PC's?
Let's face it, the primary reason that people turn to pirate versions is the
cost - in Australia $479 for a copy of XP Pro is RRP, and considering that's
$479 per PC what does a family with 2 or 3 computers choose, full legal
versions or much cheaper pirated copies? The software alone ends up costing
more than the damn computer, and that's just to get the basics!!

Now, if MS were to strip away all the fancy packaging, manuals, etc and just
pump out a CD with the user guide on the disc, I'm sure that would help
reduce the cost, and if they then sold XP Pro or Home for strictly personal
use at say $50, with the ability to install that on 5 computers (providing
all were based at the same address and strictly personal), how many would
choose to risk using a pirate copy? I'd say that the number of pirated
versions would drop dramatically if this was done, as who wouldn't jump at
the chance to have a fully legal copy on ALL of their home computers for
around $50, or even less??

Does this idea make any sense to others? I know MS need to recover their
costs, etc, but given the extent they are going to to try and get rid of
pirated versions, and given the number of pirated versions out there,
wouldn't it be far better for them to just cut the cost and then end up
selling heaps more copies????

OK - ready for the shoot down!! Or, if you agree - perhaps forward onto Mr
Gates???? ;-)

 

[Richard Urban]

You could charge $10.00 and people would still pirate the O/S. It's human
nature, much as trying to get through the intersection before the light
turns red - even though you know that you may have an accident in doing so.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Robert Moir]

I see the money and resources that Microsoft pump into anti-piracy -
activation, etc, and I wonder if perhaps there is a far easier way
for them to stamp out the appeal of pirate copies of XP. Why not
simply lower the cost for personal use, perhaps even allow install on
multiple home PC's?

Yes, I've said all along that they should allow a decent price break, at
least, for people doing this.

Let's face it, the primary reason that people
turn to pirate versions is the cost

No. People pirate software because people are dishonest. I've seen pirate
copies of budget games. I've seen "ripped" copies of shareware where the
software author isn't some large faceless corporation that people might
think can afford the loss.

In the break room where I work someone left out a charity box "buy a snack
from this box, pay the charity" kinda thing - not expensive - and you
guessed it, people took from the box without paying into the charity box.

Now, if MS were to strip away all the fancy packaging, manuals, etc
and just pump out a CD with the user guide on the disc, I'm sure that
would help reduce the cost, and if they then sold XP Pro or Home for
strictly personal use at say $50, with the ability to install that on
5 computers (providing all were based at the same address and
strictly personal),

You have of course performed a full cost analysis of the price of XP and
determined they could do this without suffering a loss? Can you show us your
figures?

how many would choose to risk using a pirate
copy? I'd say that the number of pirated versions would drop
dramatically if this was done, as who wouldn't jump at the chance to
have a fully legal copy on ALL of their home computers for around
$50, or even less??

I'd say you have a poor understanding of how pirate groups operate and why,
and a poor understanding of why people choose pirate software.

Does this idea make any sense to others? I know MS need to recover
their costs, etc, but given the extent they are going to to try and
get rid of pirated versions, and given the number of pirated versions
out there, wouldn't it be far better for them to just cut the cost
and then end up selling heaps more copies????

It is clear that their current anti piracy measures are a joke. It's clear
that the people most inconvenianced by them are the honest customers. It's
also clear that many people find the pricing policy for Windows unjust in
this regard. It's interesting to note that Apple also expect you to pay per
computer- though with a _very_ large price break for multiple copies in one
home.
http://store.apple.com/133-622/WebObjects/australiastore?productLearnMore=M9640Z/A

Apple's price works out at about $60 per machine for 5 computers... want to
bet people cheat and put it on 6 machines? Want to bet people "borrow" their
neighbour's copy? Want to bet you can find a bittorrent to download a hacked
copy? I _know_ all the above goes on with Apple software and yet they
already follow your suggestion.

So sorry, I don't think you have the answer any more than I think Microsoft
do.

--

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Lowering the price will not change anything with piracy.
Price is simply another excuse thieves use to justify their stealing.
Thieves will steal at any price.
They would just need another excuse.

There are many reasons Microsoft could lower the prices, but stopping piracy
is not one of them.

 

[logan]

Marty...Marty...\

Please don't ever consider going into business yourself.....


I choose Polesoft Lockspam to fight spam, and you?
http://www.polesoft.com/refer.html

 

[Plato]

I see the money and resources that Microsoft pump into anti-piracy -
activation, etc, and I wonder if perhaps there is a far easier way for them
to stamp out the appeal of pirate copies of XP. Why not simply lower the
cost for personal use, perhaps even allow install on multiple home PC's?

MS charges exactly what the market will bear in order to maximize
profits. In other words, if they charge a fee higher or lower than the
fees you see now their profits would decrease.

 

[Plato]

Marty...Marty...\

Please don't ever consider going into business yourself.....

Agreed.

 

[Winux P]

Lowering the price will not change anything with piracy.

Bollocks! Just increase the price and watch piracy increase.

Price is simply another excuse thieves use to justify their stealing.
Thieves will steal at any price.

That's right, just look at Microsoft.

They would just need another excuse.

There are many reasons Microsoft could lower the prices, but stopping
piracy is not one of them.

Maybe answering to the share holders is one of them not to do so.

--
Stupider Bonehead [BDH]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar
http://www.dts-l.org

I see the money and resources that Microsoft pump into anti-piracy -
activation, etc, and I wonder if perhaps there is a far easier way for
them to stamp out the appeal of pirate copies of XP. Why not simply lower
the cost for personal use, perhaps even allow install on multiple home
PC's? Let's face it, the primary reason that people turn to pirate
versions is the cost - in Australia $479 for a copy of XP Pro is RRP, and
considering that's $479 per PC what does a family with 2 or 3 computers
choose, full legal versions or much cheaper pirated copies? The software
alone ends up costing more than the damn computer, and that's just to get
the basics!!

Now, if MS were to strip away all the fancy packaging, manuals, etc and
just pump out a CD with the user guide on the disc, I'm sure that would
help reduce the cost, and if they then sold XP Pro or Home for strictly
personal use at say $50, with the ability to install that on 5 computers
(providing all were based at the same address and strictly personal), how
many would choose to risk using a pirate copy? I'd say that the number
of pirated versions would drop dramatically if this was done, as who
wouldn't jump at the chance to have a fully legal copy on ALL of their
home computers for around $50, or even less??

Does this idea make any sense to others? I know MS need to recover their
costs, etc, but given the extent they are going to to try and get rid of
pirated versions, and given the number of pirated versions out there,
wouldn't it be far better for them to just cut the cost and then end up
selling heaps more copies????

OK - ready for the shoot down!! Or, if you agree - perhaps forward onto
Mr Gates???? ;-)

 

[Uncle Joe]

Had a former pen-pal in Singapore who reported that the folks
there pay $15.00 per pirated copy of Win XP Pro and another
$15.00 for a disc full of pirated Adobe and Macromedia software.
All come with hacked keys. He said that the people there laugh at
stupid Americans for paying full price for software.

You can't stop crime; you can only punish crime.

Bill Gates and Steve Ballard at Microsoft are not in the business of
making life easy for the public. They're in the business of making
tons of money...and Gates, in particular, energetically protects his
lofty niche as the World's Richest Man.

By their very nature, human beings are possessed of a dark side. How
many of us would readily resort to pirated software if we thought
we could get away with it?

It's totally unrealistic to expect Microsoft to sell XP Home to a
single user for only $50. Microsoft has vast expenses such as a
large campus, sales offices around the world, tens of thousands of
programmers, future software development such as is presently
going on for the new Viagra operating system, "influencing" the
Congress, FTC, and Commerce Department, and maintaining
a fleet of luxury Gulfstream G5 jets.

The only solution I can visualize for the future is "open" operating
systems and a suite of "open" applications--all running over the
Internet and business networks. Strides are being made but we're
a long ways off from that goal. Perhaps that's Google's next goal.

 

[kurttrail]

I see the money and resources that Microsoft pump into anti-piracy -
activation, etc, and I wonder if perhaps there is a far easier way
for them to stamp out the appeal of pirate copies of XP. Why not
simply lower the cost for personal use, perhaps even allow install on
multiple home PC's? Let's face it, the primary reason that people
turn to pirate versions is the cost - in Australia $479 for a copy of
XP Pro is RRP, and considering that's $479 per PC what does a family
with 2 or 3 computers choose, full legal versions or much cheaper
pirated copies? The software alone ends up costing more than the
damn computer, and that's just to get the basics!!
Now, if MS were to strip away all the fancy packaging, manuals, etc
and just pump out a CD with the user guide on the disc, I'm sure that
would help reduce the cost, and if they then sold XP Pro or Home for
strictly personal use at say $50, with the ability to install that on
5 computers (providing all were based at the same address and
strictly personal), how many would choose to risk using a pirate
copy? I'd say that the number of pirated versions would drop
dramatically if this was done, as who wouldn't jump at the chance to
have a fully legal copy on ALL of their home computers for around
$50, or even less??
Does this idea make any sense to others? I know MS need to recover
their costs, etc, but given the extent they are going to to try and
get rid of pirated versions, and given the number of pirated versions
out there, wouldn't it be far better for them to just cut the cost
and then end up selling heaps more copies????

OK - ready for the shoot down!! Or, if you agree - perhaps forward
onto Mr Gates???? ;-)

MS spends more money on Piracy than its efforts take in.

And they'll never lower prices as long as they have no real competition
on the desktops of the world.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

 

[kurttrail]

You could charge $10.00 and people would still pirate the O/S. It's
human nature, much as trying to get through the intersection before
the light turns red - even though you know that you may have an
accident in doing so.

LOL! At $10 bucks, hardly anyone would pirate it, and would even by the
multiple copies that MS wants them to buy. It certainly would be easier
to buy the pirate at that price point.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

 

[kurttrail]

Lowering the price will not change anything with piracy.
Price is simply another excuse thieves use to justify their stealing.
Thieves will steal at any price.
They would just need another excuse.

LOL! What an ass. You do know that in many parts of the world where
Windows is pirated the most, people actually pay for their pirated
versions in shopping centers.

If the price was right, people would rather buy the real thing than some
knock off.

There are many reasons Microsoft could lower the prices, but stopping
piracy is not one of them.

Greed is the main motivation why they don't.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

 

[kurttrail]

MS charges exactly what the market will bear in order to maximize
profits. In other words, if they charge a fee higher or lower than the
fees you see now their profits would decrease.

Actually if piracy is as rampant as MS cries crocodile tears over, then
the market isn't bearing that price.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

 

[Richard Urban]

Please explain to me then, why someone would go to Kazaa to download a
"free" copy of ZoneAlarm Free, Ad-Aware Free etc., when you can get it from
the manufacturers web site for the sum cost of "nothing".

They think they are beating the system, that's why!

But then, you are talking to a person who has actually sent in a "donation"
for SpyBot Search and Destroy!

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Stealing will happen at any price as has already been demonstrated by
others.
I do not accept the excuse of price that some thieves use to justify their
own theft.
They would simply come up with another excuse if the price was only a $1,
perhaps it is "So cheap the owner will not miss it."

Both of you continue to display your own insecurities.
If you were able to stick to the issues, you would.,
Instead your need to insult with the mistaken belief it strengthens your
position actually shows your own character flaws.

If you have the ability to stick to the issues without all your emotional
garbage do so, otherwise do not bother posting back as often is the case you
do so only for your own ego trip and nothing more.

 

[kurttrail]

Please explain to me then, why someone would go to Kazaa to download a
"free" copy of ZoneAlarm Free, Ad-Aware Free etc., when you can get
it from the manufacturers web site for the sum cost of "nothing".

How many people actually do that?

They think they are beating the system, that's why!

Personally, I'd just say they are stupid.

But then, you are talking to a person who has actually sent in a
"donation" for SpyBot Search and Destroy!

Good for you.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

 

[kurttrail]

Stealing will happen at any price as has already been demonstrated by
others.

Yes, but a very small percentage of people. But more people engage in
copyright infringement, not stealing, due to price considerations, and
draconian licensing.

I do not accept the excuse of price that some thieves use to justify
their own theft.

Where do you live? Where do most of the people live where software
piracy is the worst?

Economic condition is certainly a major component of software piracy,
and only an idiot cannot see the reality of that.

They would simply come up with another excuse if the price was only a
$1, perhaps it is "So cheap the owner will not miss it."

A very negligable percentage will engage in softare piracy with a more
reasonable price point.

Both of you continue to display your own insecurities.

HUH? You and Crusty are the ones showing your insecurity, thinking the
worst of your fellow human beings.

A very small percentage are bad. The vast majority of people are good,
honest people.

If you were able to stick to the issues, you would.,

LOL! What issue have I not stuck to? Your view that people are
basically evil?

Instead your need to insult with the mistaken belief it strengthens
your position actually shows your own character flaws.

You insult yourself with your own views. And you are trying to cover up
your own character flaws by attacking me for thinking that most people
are basically good.

If you have the ability to stick to the issues without all your
emotional garbage do so, otherwise do not bother posting back as
often is the case you do so only for your own ego trip and nothing
more.

You are an ass. Anyone that thinks that people are basically thieves
and unethical is an ass. It is your ego trip to help you to delude
yourself that you are better than most people, when in reality, you are
nothing but an pompous ass!

And here you demonstrate how you aren't better than the most people.
Most people in Newsgroups don't go around changing the words of other
people's sigs. Mostly it is only trolls that engage in that kind of
activity!

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

 

[Winux P]

Stealing will happen at any price as has already been demonstrated by
others.
I do not accept the excuse of price that some thieves use to justify their
own theft.
They would simply come up with another excuse if the price was only a $1,
perhaps it is "So cheap the owner will not miss it."

Both of you continue to display your own insecurities.

We're not the cry babies here.

If you were able to stick to the issues, you would.,
Instead your need to insult with the mistaken belief it strengthens your
position actually shows your own character flaws.

Not insulting, not out to strengthen my position especially in a newsgroup.
Crikey your a wimp and a cry baby.

If you have the ability to stick to the issues without all your emotional
garbage do so, otherwise do not bother posting back as often is the case
you do so only for your own ego trip and nothing more.

Emotional? OK you're right here it is, BWHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

And what are you responding for Stupider? Oh it's not show us all how good
you look on that chair of virtue you sit on. It doesn't do you any good
anyway. Bet's on you deny being a hypocite too.

- Winux P

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

"thinking the worst of your fellow human beings"
You have no idea what I think, you only know what I say.
That assumption of yours is wrong as are many of your assumptions.

"A very small percentage are bad"
I never said anything to suggest what % is good or bad.
You are probably correct here.
Thieves are "bad"

"Your view that people are basically evil"
That is not my view and I never suggested such, but I suppose it goes along
with your agenda.

"Anyone that thinks that people are basically thieves and unethical"
Again you do not know what I think, but you assume to meet your agenda.
Another assumption of your is wrong.
People who steal are thieves and unethical.

"...yourself that you are better than most people"
I never suggested or said that, more of your agenda at work?

 

[kurttrail]

"thinking the worst of your fellow human beings"
You have no idea what I think, you only know what I say.
That assumption of yours is wrong as are many of your assumptions.

LOL! You totally ignore the fact that the majority of infringers are in
third world nations, or in nations that are pirates themselves.

And your call these people "thieves," IOW criminals, not people that are
just civil infringers.

"A very small percentage are bad"
I never said anything to suggest what % is good or bad.
You are probably correct here.
Thieves are "bad"
ROFL!


"Your view that people are basically evil"
That is not my view and I never suggested such, but I suppose it goes
along with your agenda.

No, you haven't said it, but it is your implication.

"Anyone that thinks that people are basically thieves and unethical"
Again you do not know what I think, but you assume to meet your
agenda. Another assumption of your is wrong.
People who steal are thieves and unethical.

Again, very few people steal. By implication, you make piracy sound
like it is one of the worse crimes on earth, when in reality, on an
individual basis, it isn't even a crime, but a civil offense.

"...yourself that you are better than most people"
I never suggested or said that, more of your agenda at work?

I have no agenda other than defending my fellow human beings for scum
like you.

But I love how you have changed the subject away from lowing the price
of MS Software would have a positive effect on lowing piracy. Again,
another example of how unethical you are.

ROFL! And you continue to demonstrate that you are basically a troll by
changing the words in my sig! Thanks!

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"