From: mathew <mathew@mantis.co.uk>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc,comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Top Ten Software Rip-offs, 1992-07-27
Summary: UK Mac users are fed up with sitting at the back of the bus
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 18:19:06 BST
Distribution: world
Organization: Definitely NOT Mantis.  Not even slightly.

                        TOP TEN MAC SOFTWARE RIP-OFFS

                            Monday, July 27, 1992

Firstly, sorry about last week's chart.  I inadvertently transposed two of
the column headings, and much confusion resulted.

And now, on with the show...

Last week, Aldus jumped straight in at number one.  This week, they're
proving that it's not just a one-off, capturing the number two slot.  Let's
see if they can go for the hat trick!

The spreadsheet wars take their first casualty:  Poor old Lotus 123 has
dropped out of the chart, booted out by Microsoft's Excel.  A superior
rip-off from Bill Gates and his crew.  However, Microsoft's position is
precarious at number ten.

#  Company         Product                   UK RRP   US RRP   UK RRP  Rip-off
   name            name                      pounds     $        $       %ge

1  Aldus           Personal Press            195.00   199.00   364.65   83.24
2  Aldus           Persuasion                450.00   495.00   841.50   70.00
3  Symantec        Symantec Anti-virus        89.00    99.00   166.43   68.11
4  Claris          MacDraw Pro               325.00   399.00   607.75   52.32
5  Salient         AutoDoubler (crippleware)  65.00    79.95   121.55   52.03
6  Aladdin         StuffIt Deluxe 2.0         79.00    99.00   147.73   49.22
7  On Technology   OnLocation                 99.00   129.95   185.13   42.46
8  Beagle Bros     BeagleWorks               219.00   299.95   409.53   36.53
9  Pixar           MacRenderman              695.00   995.00  1299.65   30.62
10 Microsoft       Excel 3.0                 345.00   495.00   645.15   30.33

              Exchange rate used was 1.870 dollars to the pound.

Someone suggested that as well as sliming the bad guys, we should applaud the
good guys.  So, a big hand please for... Claris?!

                                 HERO CORNER

#  Company         Product                   UK RRP   US RRP   UK RRP  Rip-off
   name            name                      pounds     $        $       %ge

1  Claris          Resolve                   225.00   399.00   420.75   5.45

Hmm.  Given that they're also at number four in the rip-offs chart, perhaps
they should make up their minds what their policy is.  If Resolve can be sold
for virtually the same price in the US and UK, why can't MacDraw Pro?  It
rather demolishes the argument that there's a good reason for the price
differences, doesn't it?

For those wondering how this stuff is calculated:
UK RRP in $ = UK RRP in pounds * exchange rate
Rip-off %ge = (UK RRP in $ / US RRP in $ - 1) * 100

That is, for a rip-off percentage of 50%, the UK price is 1.50 times the US
price when both are written in the same currency.  The table's generated by a
Hypercard stack, so if anything's wrong with the maths it should be
consistently wrong. :-)

Since I'm a sporting chap, I use the tourist exchange rates -- the rates you
or I would get if we walked into a bank and asked to change some currency.
Rates are obtained from BBC teletext on the day I post the article.  Also, to
be scrupulously fair, all prices are quoted without tax.

Finally, for those still confused, RRP stands for Recommended Retail Price.  I
gather they're called Manufacturer's Recommended Retail Prices or something
similar in the USA.  If you compare street prices, you get even bigger
percentages.

Crippleware is software deliberately crippled to force the user to pay more
money.  If anyone wants to try un-crippling AutoDoubler, I've been given a
rumoured low-down on how to do it by someone who wishes to remain anonymous.
Mail me for info.  No guarantees.


mathew
[ Boring references follow ]

1  US: MacWorld June 1992 p.141  UK: MacUser April 3 1992 p.101
2  US: MacWorld July 92 p.158    UK: MacUser 15 May 92 p.84
3  US: MacWorld June 1992 p.24   UK: MacUser May 15 1992 p.89
4  US: MacWorld July 1992 p.21   UK: Claris brochure
5  US: MacWorld June 1992 p.125  UK: MacUser May 15 1992 p.18
6  Guess
7  US: MacWorld June 1992 p.188  UK: MacUser May 15 1992 p.89
8  US: MacWorld June 1992 p.164  UK: MacUser April 3 1992 p.86
9  US: MacWorld June 1992 p.180  UK: MacUser May 15 1992 p.83
10 US: MacWorld July 92 p.172    UK: MacUser 15 May 92 p.84

And our first heros:
1  US: MacWorld July 92 p.172    UK: MacUser 15 May 92 p.84

Note:
Opinions expressed are those of the author, and nothing to do with Mantis
Consultants.  Don't bother suing me; if I had enough money to make it worth
your while I'd be able to afford your software.

Copyright:
This article may be freely copied and republished, but I'd appreciate it if
you'd let me know where it ends up.

Xref: sparky comp.sys.mac.misc:14055 comp.sys.mac.programmer:13192