I ruint me best argenomic char by sitting with me cutlass on.

FTA:

In gauging the total amount of software being used across the world, the report returned that the percentage of pirated software being used jumped from 38 percent in 2007 through to 41 percent in 2008.

Ah yes, the good old percentage increase. I wonder why the actual number of pirate installations isn't mentioned? Perhaps because it's an impossibly difficult number to accurately quantify.

I remember a few years ago, Microsoft was selling a combination package of Windows and Office in SE Asia for the equivalent of about $20 American dollars. In international trade this is dumping and is illegal, but it also clearly indicates that the profit margin on MS products in North America is absolutely massive if they can sell both these pieces of software for as little as $20 in other markets.

So excuse me if I don't believe the $50B figure.

This must be the same math they use when a few pounds of pot in the trunk of a guy's car has a "street value" of $4.5 million.

daywin:

[piracyguide.jpg]

Theft removes the original
Piracy makes a copy which you steal.

Rev.K: the profit margin on MS products in North America is absolutely massive if they can sell both these pieces of software for as little as $20 in other markets.

My wife and I own two full (not "upgrade-only") copies of Microsoft Office 2007 -- one Ultimate, one Enterprise (which is functionally the same as Ultimate, but only sold in volume).

The Ultimate copy we got for $60 because my wife is a full-time grad student.

The Enterprise copy we got for $27 because my company has a large Enterprise corporate license, and they allow the company employees to get a license for home use if they pay for the software package and shipping/handling costs.

So... $87 for 100% legit software that would retail for over $1300. Yes, there is a massive profit margin in there.

I know that development costs for software like this are astronomical, and that much of the pricing the recoupment costs built in, but there's still a METRIC FARKTON of margin in there, based on how many copies of Office Microsoft sells.

/I wonder how many copies they need to sell in order to break even.
//I also wonder if it takes them less than three months to do so.

President Malaysia! There are pirates in the Malacca Straits!

SHUT

DOWN

EVERYTHING

Eddie Adams from Torrance: daywin:

[piracyguide.jpg]

Theft removes the original
Piracy makes a copy which you steal.

Star Trek Replicator technology, obviously is evil.

JinxofSpades: When coming up with these statistics, they also like to include people who have installed the software on multiple computers in their own homes.

That is technically piracy, since the license they let you buy usually specifies only one install (and backups). Awhile back, I saw a EULA that, due to its lawyer-wording, basically forbid installing the software at all.

The whole system is just incredibly broken. Copyright law needs to be rewritten to make sense for the way the world works.

Inquisitive Inquisitor: Key word is that they are my computers.

Of course, a copyright maximalist would point out that it was their intellectual property that you infringed. They did not grant you a license for every computer you own.

Fano: Eddie Adams from Torrance: daywin:

[piracyguide.jpg]

Theft removes the original
Piracy makes a copy which you steal.

Star Trek Replicator technology, obviously is evil.

I thought they used that for making food and shiat... I wasn't aware they were using it to copy intellectual property. Guess I need to go to bittorrent and re-watch some of those episodes.

Eddie Adams from Torrance: I wasn't aware they were using it to copy intellectual property.

Someone had to invent the recipes that are being replicated.

pd771: I agree their profit margin is ridiculous, but if i remember they did this because China had some ridiculously high piracy rate. They didn't want illegitimate copies, even if it hurt their bottom line.

I'm sure that's why they did it, but it's illegal.

duckpoopy: Perhaps I can take a copy of your credit card number... It wouldn't be stealing.

It wouldn't be. If you purchased anything with my credit card, that would be fraud. But you can make as many copies of my credit card number as you like, so long as you and no one you give it to uses that information to commit fraud.

stuhayes2010: I don't buy it. WAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the days of games on 3.5" disks, all "we" did was copy games and give them to our friends and those companies made money (Sierra

Police Quest FTMFW!!!

benlonghair: F that. QFG = win. Oh and Leisure Suit Larry.

Space Quest 2 and that's my final offer!

Jim_Callahan: BKITU:
So... $87 for 100% legit software that would retail for over $1300. Yes, there is a massive profit margin in there.


What would retail for $1300? Not MSO 2007, that runs at about 90$. Even if you buy the version that's intentionally pumped up in price for the benefit of the foolish, it's still only about 200-300$.

//Was thinking maybe I'd gotten a bigger discount than I'd thought, but no, I just checked Amazon and it's what I thought.

Link (new window)

MSRP

t3knomanser: Eddie Adams from Torrance: I wasn't aware they were using it to copy intellectual property.

Someone had to invent the recipes that are being replicated.

ding!