-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Piracy - The Enemy of Free Software
,----[ Quote ]
| [I]n the beginning they welcomed piracy (not openly, but certainly behind
| closed doors as was evidenced by several internal memos now made public) as
| they knew it would ultimately help their bottom line by increasing the amount
| of users using Office. The more users, the more power they gained, and the
| bigger they became. Eventually it became such that you couldn't go without
| Microsoft Office at home or work. It was only then that they started really
| truly cracking down on piracy and trying to make that few extra bucks by
| converting former pirates to legitimate users.
|
| So if piracy helps proprietary software so much, why does it hurt Open
| Source? The simple answer is, people have been brainwashed to believe that
| paid software is superior to free software. With that mentality in hand,
| they're more likely to pirate a paid version than use a free version. It's
| like the $20 ring vs the $200 ring. Both are the same, but one costs more,
| and ultimately it's the one that costs more that gets sold first. There's
| also the element of "perceived value". This is a condition where a product's
| actual worth is artificially inflated simply by increasing the cost required
| to purchase it.
`----
http://www.raiden.net/?cat=2&aid=482
Recent:
Avoid piracy pitfalls, go open source
,----[ Quote ]
| IT’S the kind of news that should strike fear in the hearts of chief
| executives and MIS managers who condone the use of unlicensed software in
| their companies.
|
| Earlier this month, police raided the Makati office of a large construction
| company, seizing 24 computers loaded with pirated software.
|
| Reports estimate the software at SKI Construction was worth P2 million, and
| consisted of 27 copies of Windows XP, 25 copies of Microsoft Office 2003, 17
| unlicensed programs from Adobe, and 16 AutoCAD installers. There’s no
| indication why the company needed 27 copies of XP for 24 computers; maybe
| there were some laptops that were out at the time of the raid.
|
| News reports were also silent on who tipped off the authorities, though it’s
| quite possible that it was some disgruntled employee who decided to turn in
| his boss for a cool P1 million, the reward offered by the Business Software
| Alliance (BSA), a trade organization that pursues anti-piracy actions around
| the globe on behalf of its members, which include Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk,
| Symantec and SAP.
`----
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business5_oct28_2008
Microsoft accused of hacking in piracy clampdown
,----[ Quote ]
| Across China thousands of computer screens are turning dark. The reason is a
| piece of software from a US firm.
|
| Software giant Microsoft is deactivating unauthorised copies of its Windows
| operating system, in a nation where 82% of all software is pirated – even if
| many end users do not know it.
`----
http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/electronic-threats/dn15009-microsoft-accused-of-hacking-in-piracy-clampdown.html
Chinese fume at Microsoft anti-piracy
,----[ Quote ]
| China's vocal bloggers seemed stunned that their computers seemed to have
| phoned Microsoft for the anti-piracy tool without asking.
|
| "The computer is mine", one angry blogger penned, "Microsoft has no right to
| control my hardware without my agreement", the poor fool thought.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/10/22/chinese-fume-microsoft-anti
Microsoft sued in China for black screen of death
,----[ Quote ]
| A Chinese lawyer has filed a legal complaint against Microsoft for installing
| Windows Genuine Advantage on his computer. He has asked the Ministry of
| Public Security to file criminal charges against Microsoft.
`----
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/10/22/china_fury_microsoft_wga/
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)
iEYEARECAAYFAkkKUxAACgkQU4xAY3RXLo6c+ACfeN6ZQyI494x4wvTKRDeZQIYn
U0gAn1ujCmCew0aWE/mz8qXpdIClCCY1
=fHYN
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
|
|
