From: dillon@overload.Berkeley.CA.US (Matthew Dillon)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.software
Subject: Re:	Copy Protection
Distribution: world
Date: 12 Aug 92 17:00:44 PST
Organization: Not an Organization

In article <1992Aug11.202724.2079@metrosoft.com> gvh@metrosoft.com (Gordon Van Huizen) writes:
>In article <dillon.0l5v@overload.Berkeley.CA.US>
>dillon@overload.Berkeley.CA.US (Matthew Dillon) writes:
>>
>> Disagree.  The majority of people I know would buy it if they could
>> afford it. It's more an issue of cost verses the financial standing of
>>...
>
>While what you're saying does reflect the behavior of the society we're
>in, it unfortunately adds legitimacy to the idea that if something isn't
>priced the way you see fit you can steal it. Lowering the price to the
>point where everybody is comfortable buying a piece of software is
>financial suicide, particularly in small markets. If one took your
>thoughts to heart there would be little reason to continue developing
>software. If you price it at the point where you can AFFORD to continue
>making products, people will steal it?

    Garbage in, Garbage out, just because the situation isn't ideal doesn't
    mean we should use different equations.  We have to use equations based
    on the here-and-now, not the would-like-to-have-been.  Discussing the
    problem doesn't add to the problem.

>> Disagree.  Even if you are caught, something on the order of making a
>> copy or two of software X cannot be equated to the market price of the
>> software for each infraction in terms of legal recompense.	Unlike
>>..
>
>So there is some threshold below which loss of revenue doesn't injure me
>as a software developer? It's OK in small doses? Isn't that tantamount to
>saying "Hey - we only took the stereo - we didn't take the whole car!"?.

    No, that isn't what I said at all.  I was refering to two facts.. (1)
    pirating a single program will not and should not carry a 5 year jail
    sentence (or something of similar vein), and saying so is hardly an
    advocasy of piracy, and (2) people seem to believe that every pirated
    copy of so and so software equates to a lost sale in real monetary
    terms when, in fact, it does not.  An overall percentage of pirated
    copies does, of course, but I very much doubt that percentage to be
    high at the consumer level (I expect it to be MUCH worse at the
    small-company/corporation level).  This isn't to promote piracy...
    another problem is that SOME people like to jump on any statement that
    even remotely deflates the emphasis on losses due to piracy, even if
    it's closer to reality.

>It's amazing to me that people can sit back and calmly rationalize
>stealing at any level. Particularly in this community. I'm not aware of
>any NeXT software developers that are operating on high margins. Even the
>well-funded ones like Pages and AppSoft will need to pay back their
>investors at some point (which will be QUITE some time from now). I'm
>personally offended that there is intellectual debate that in any way
>justifies theft.

    You can rest easy, you have made a classic misinterpretation of the
    debate.

>community at large. Do you really feel that NeXT developers are pricing
>things extravagantly high to reap massive profits? As far as I know we are
>all trying to stay in business.
>
>Gordon

    I'd be interested in turnover statistics for NeXT developers, I would
    expect them to be high.  The prices are so far out of range that they
    restrict the customer base to the point where a company cannot have any
    guarentee of a relatively stable inflow of cash.  One advantage of a
    larger user base (inplies lower price) that has nothing to do with
    profit or loss is that you have a much greater ability to predict your
    cash inflow curve.	If you can't survive with a predictable and
    constant cash inflow then you sure as peanuts will not survive with the
    inherently less predictable situation that occurs when you have a
    restricted customer base.

					-Matt

>--
>----------------------------------------------------------------
>Gordon Van Huizen	     vox: 619.488.9411	fax: 619.488.3045
>Metrosoft		     gvh@metrosoft.com [NeXTmail welcome]
>----------------------------------------------------------------

--

    Matthew Dillon	    dillon@Overload.Berkeley.CA.US
    891 Regal Rd.	    uunet.uu.net!overload!dillon
    Berkeley, Ca. 94708     ham: KC6LVW (no mail drop)
    USA