x1134x wrote:

>
> SoftComplete wrote:
>> Software piracy! Cracked serial numbers! Thousands of commercial
>> products are posted on the warez sites and become available to all
>> every day! Companies lose millions of dollars every year to software
>> piracy, and faulty protection programs.
>
>
> They don't lose near that much. You cannot get blood from a stone.
> Just because someone circumvented copy-protection does not mean that
> the originator LOST money. No money was ever invovled. If they
> thought the product was reasonably priced they would have just bought
> it in the first place. The reason people try to circumvent
> copy-protection is because they are aghast at the price of the product,
> and find it to be out of their reasonable spending range. If the person
> were unable to defeat the copy protection, they would not automatically
> fork up the money for the product, they would more than likely go
> without, or seek a cheaper alternative.
>
> Not saying what they are doing is RIGHT, just saying that it irritates
> the hell out of me to hear that "Millions of dollars are lost to
> piracy" because it just wasn't "lost" there was no money involved, and
> the reason for further investigating circumvention hinges on the fact
> that the person *WILL NOT* pay that much for it.
>
> x1134x


Very well put....

Imhotep