piracy and oss

[Tim Schmidt]

My point (perhaps I should have done more than imply?) is that the real 
value of software lies not in it's shelf price, but what it can do for it's 
user (This line of thinking meshes well with that of software as a service 
and not an industrial product).  Who cares how much software costs?  No one. 
  If you need the service, you will pay whatever it takes to get the 
software that provides that service.  If that software costs $5000 you'll 
pay it.  If it's free, bonus.

I know this because Machintosh users routinely pay 2x as much for their 
computers as an equivalent PC, 3D renderering artists pay $20000 for Maya 
and similar software, Offices pay $500 for a copy of MS Office 2k, etc etc 
etc...  They all provide services that people want/need.  The problem with 
GNU/Linux addoption is not price, it's function and education.  Users who 
are aware of GNU/Linux are either using it, or waiting for software to 
provide every service they need.  The average home user has most of his 
needs taken care of already (out-of-the-box office, net, e-mail, etc.), but 
still needs an easy way to buy/install games (for both big and little kids). 
  That's it.  That's all that's keeping linux off of every desktop I know of 
(I know of -lots-).

Most people are content with the pre-installed software for just about 
everything, but they have to have the newest game... Installation of said 
game is the only rough spot (most win32 games run fine on transgaming's WINE 
tree, but that's a bit too much of a hassle for a windows user (DL form CVS, 
compile, install, configure, then install game, etc...), Linux games are few 
and far between on store shelves).

If Linux was absolutely every bit as easy to use (think: install my games 
on) as Win32, but still retained all its current advantages, people would 
buy it even of it cost twice as much as Windows.

I don't think price has a lot to do with software adoption.


>From: "Marcel Kunath" <kunathma@pilot.msu.edu>
>To: computer_holic@hotmail.com (Tim Schmidt)
>CC: kunathma@pilot.msu.edu, linux-user@egr.msu.edu
>Subject: Re: piracy and oss
>Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 22:51:37 -0400 (EDT)
>
>Well I started this thread and make my closing remarks. Even though there 
>is
>lots of things to consider here I still believe all are miniscule compared 
>to
>the economic / financial example I had given and unless I have totally
>overlooked something in my calculation or I am not taking enough things 
>into
>account I am pretty certain piracy lowers the market value of proprieytory
>software to a value of free software and hence chokes of demand for free
>software. (market value as in us dollar cost)
>
>mk
>
> > > > >I wonder if there
>is a way for the community to > >report pirates but not look like the devil 
>in
> > >disguise and if we should do anything at all.
> >
> >
> > I Think Microsoft and other proprietary software vendors are doing just 
>fine
> > ferret-ing out 'pirates' (RMS strongly discourages the use of that 
>word...
> > and I agree, hence the quotes).  Let them do their own dirty work, and
> > they'll come out looking like the devil.
> >
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>
>--
>Marcel Kunath
>
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