BSA Claims Half of PC Users Are Pirates 585
judgecorp writes "Despite continued pressure on business users to buy legitimate software, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) reports that the campaign seems to be failing. Well over half (57%) of users surveyed in a global survey admit to using pirated software. That's a big increase from the same survey last year — when 43% admitted to using pirated software. The BSA surveyed 15,000 people in 33 countries."
Underestimation? (Score:5, Insightful)
Only half?
Different Approach? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Underestimation? (Score:5, Insightful)
Over half of PC users worldwide have admitted to using pirate software
Their lips are moving... you know what that means. (Score:4, Insightful)
Obviously...
Re:Different Approach? (Score:5, Insightful)
When you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
When you have lawyers on staff, every problem looks like an ambulance.
Re:And 43% of those surveyed... (Score:5, Insightful)
Not all of the 43%. Some of us have learned from the Ernie Ball story and moved off closed source entirely.
Re:Underestimation? (Score:4, Insightful)
Crackpipe statistics (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Different Approach? (Score:4, Insightful)
Quite the opposite. This is great news for the RIAA and the like. Now whenever they do their scattershot lawsuits, they have a rock solid legal argument. "No your honor, we don't have any evidence. But statistically speaking, the defendant is almost certainly guilty!"
Sounds like Cop Statistics to me. (Score:5, Insightful)
Cops figured this out decades ago - no matter that crime stats have been falling for ten years, somehow the police always need more people, more equipment, and tougher laws.
Any survey by the BSA - or any group with a vested interest - is automatically suspect.
If *most* of the population are criminals... (Score:5, Insightful)
is it really a crime?
This country is, at least in theory, a democracy. If more people break that law than voted for the current president, doesn't that indicate that the majority of people don't believe that piracy is "bad"?
I feel like there should be some eloquent Latin quote for this... Ubi omnes sontes, nemo sontes? Did I get that right?
who pirates software any more? (Score:5, Insightful)
I haven't needed to pirate anything in years, everything has a free and good-enough equivalent now. What does anyone pirate today?
Re:Underestimation? (Score:5, Insightful)
TFA is just a troll. Or flamebait. Or both. I don't know.
Re:WHAT'S STOPPING US? (Score:5, Insightful)
C'mon! Let's get to 100% PEOPLE!
That'll be just for the attitude of those bastards. ;-)
Actually BSA thinks that all the PC users are pirates - but they are scared that if they tell the truth as it is, they'll look like loons
Re:Underestimation? (Score:5, Insightful)
The blame lies 100% at the door of the greedy corporations who are gouging.
Not really. If you believe they are gouging then don't use their products, use a free alternative, like GIMP instead. Now the reason I say that is because I believe piracy is not a way of protest, in fact it just makes it worse. Consider that - as many here will attest - piracy != lost sale so piracy isn't necessarily 'hurting' the company, what it does is cement the idea that the software in question is the best (or at least 'necessary'), superior to cheaper or free alternatives, thus making it the de-facto standard in the market and driving out cheaper or free competitors.
The same thing happens with other software too, Windows for example. People claim to not like it and to pirate it to only use it out of necessity, but that just drives its use in the market leading to more people to use it out of necessity so to a degree piracy drives legitimate sales.
Obviously if legitimate sales start to sag but usage continues to grow then the companies see piracy as a problem.
Re:Underestimation? (Score:5, Insightful)
I should have put this in the above post but personally I think the 'Free for non-Commercial Use' model is a good method for most paid software companies. I see it as viable predominantly because it wouldn't be far from the system we have now (as in it would require minimal changes) except that these home users - that are probably just using the software for hobby or educational purposes and can't justify the cost nor the infringement penalties anyway - would not be painted as 'criminals' and those who derive income from the tools they use would be the ones who pay for the development of said tools.
It's not a perfect solution and it's not the only solution, but it's more harmonious while being not too far removed from what we have now.
Re:Underestimation? (Score:5, Insightful)
Pretty much this. A program sells for $700 when a reasonable facsimile is available for free, legitimately. Same is true for almost every other piece of software that sells for hundreds of bucks. People realize the stuff really just isn't worth that much.
It doesn't even matter if the alternative isn't identical or not as good. It's free. By normal human rationale, that means the other similar one can't possibly warrant a price that high. Sure, it may be a little better, but not $700 vs $0 better. And that's how I believe most people rationalize piracy.
These companies would probably be ahead giving away the core software for free to home users and collecting some here and there on microtransactions.
Re:Underestimation? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Underestimation? (Score:5, Insightful)
Which is exactly why - if anything - software piracy is helping companies get market share and eliminate competition. Better to use an alternative than to pirate.
In other markets this balances out because if a company's product is too expensive people turn to alternatives, when that company loses marketshare they either adapt - by lowering their price or adding more value - or they die, but in the case of software people can pirate and since in most cases a piracy != lost sale that won't kill the company but it will increase their marketshare. That can then get to the case in point where the market leader is perceived - by many - to be massively overpriced but since they are effectively the only game in town there are few - if any - viable alternatives.
Re:WHAT'S STOPPING US? (Score:5, Insightful)
Isn't that right. If the majority of the population breaks the law, there is a problem with the law.
Re:WHAT'S STOPPING US? (Score:5, Insightful)
Not fully. I fully respect that companies need a way to make profit.
This is not a problem with the law, its often a problem with the companies. Asking way too much for certain products or having a horrible distribution scheme. Say about bittorrent what you wish, but if I actually look for some software, I find it, usually having to only look for 1 site. And it doesn't annoy the fuck out of me during installation.
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Re:Underestimation? (Score:2, Insightful)
The blame lies 100% at the door of the greedy corporations who are gouging.
The blame lies 100% at the door of the greedy users.
Re:Most mac software (Score:4, Insightful)
Because Apple are usually smart enough to realise that serial numbers and drm schemes only cause inconvenience to paying customers...
So how does that explain the DRM in Final Cut Pro X which uses the iTunes receipt in the app folder to validate the install? The definitely have DRM in there.
Re:WHAT'S STOPPING US? (Score:1, Insightful)
Not fully. I fully respect that companies need a way to make profit.
Why? Profit is a means, not an end. If the profit motive isn't serving man in some area, then it need not be there.
You might as well say, "I fully respect that worshippers need a gold-plated Church in every town."
Re:WHAT'S STOPPING US? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Underestimation? (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, derp a herp derp to you. Of course Lunix installs "depend on your hardware", and that's the problem. Its compounded by cretins who claim that graphics chipset X or WiFi dongle Y "work" with Lunix drivers, using a definition of "work" that reasonable human beings wouldn't recognise. Sure, that dongle will connect to my WLAN just fine... if I don't mind it dropping out every 30 seconds unless I turn off WPA and even WEP.
Don't get me wrong, I'm on SUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu and Mint all the time, but "depends on your hardware" just isn't good enough for Joe User.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:WHAT'S STOPPING US? (Score:2, Insightful)
Copyright Infringement is a crime (or at least an infraction) that you can commit in the privacy of your own home.
Just like interracial sex. If it harms no one, you do it in the privacy of your home, why should it be a crime?