"Jim Watt" <jimwatt@aol.no_way> wrote in message
news:lhg7m1disd7u3568qhmm7ilhge739nqgst@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 29 Oct 2005 14:46:42 GMT, "Hairy One Kenobi"
> <abuse@[127.0.0.1]> wrote:
>
> >> But a lot of the 'piracy costs millions' is hype.
> >
> >Agreed. Particularly in the music industry - wish they'd make up their
mind
> >as to whether I'm buying a license or the media. Having already had money
> >from me for both vinyl and CD, damned if I'm going to start buying the
whole
> >lot all over again in electronic format!
>
> I think you were always buying a licence, looking at the wording
> on my vinyl, it sought to restrain me from broadcasting the work.

Indeed. But the whole industry becomes strangely at odds with that view if
you buy the same CD as an LP that you already own - the license is
[uniquely] bound to the medium. Not that it /says/ so explicitly, of
course...

> You are right about the cost of software, but your analogy with the
> car is not the same as the software.

How so..? OK, so the bits to make a Ferrari cost a deal more than a CD,
package, distribution, support, and a 35% minimum retailer discount, but..
we're just arguing in the same way as Wilde: not over what's on offer, but
merely the price.

> The one that puzzles me was my attempt at shareware, which was
> half decent and achieved 10,000 downloads yet not one registration
> I'm tempted to post a keygen for it to see if anyone is interested.
>
> Quickly checking google, I see the software available on a number of
> warez disks, yet without a licence code its not very useful at all
> and the security was pretty good and specific to the machine.

Haven't checked warez sites (I've had around 34k direct downloads since
2003, but all freeware - with a thoroughly open license, there's no point in
even pretending that someone is saving money!
http://www.codecutters.org/software/license.html)

Not sure how the overall development "cost" would stack up, if declared - I
don't take notes of my free time ;o)

Personally, I pay for decent shareware (and "naggers" violate my view of
"decent"). Most of it's crap, TBH. The good stuff is worth the payment but,
TBH, I think that shareware has pretty much been killed by a combination of
cooperative freeware and the ease in being able to simply sell software over
the 'Net.

Anything that purports to do something useful, but actually doesn't without
a license key, well, that doesn't get too far down my personal evaluation
procedure...

IMHO, of course :o)

H1K