Software piracy remains a problem

For the thousandth time: Pirating software != loss of sales!

So saying piracy is costing the country R1.9 billion is bull!
 
I dont get these articles...

bottom line: 99% of software comes from overseas. By buying a copy of windows instead of pirating it, im effectively keeping money in SA. I would rather spend my money on something that injects it back into SA.

Sure, R1.9bn is being drained from local software agents and other local software resellers. But by pirating, SA is also saving about R8bn (just a guess) that would be destined for overseas pockets. AND that "drained" R1.9bn is probably being spent elsewhere in the economy anyway.

Seems the only people that are moaning are international software houses and their local resellers. The rest of SA is winning! I am not saying pirating is right, but dont tell me the cons outweigh the pros.

Can someone explain? Am I missing something?
 
But by law piracy is not ethical, so one should not support piracy at all. Instead use free open source software.

By using open source, the companies will still lose the billions (international companies mostly), SA will create jobs, save people money and keep the money within south africa all LEGALLY.

The fact that companies will still lose billions if open source is encouraged is the main reason why it's never mentioned.
 
How do they calculate their 'losses' ? Surely they wouldn't assume that everyone using a pirate copy would have bought a legit version!?
 
Price raping in SA is due to one fact, and one fact only: consumers who buy for the sake of having, or, put differently, keeping up with the Jones... If the consumer would learn to boycott suppliers by NOT buying overpriced items, and rather do without the newest, latest, greatest, blingest, then the prices WILL drop, since the goods are manufactured already, and by reducing the price the supplier at least covers his expenses if not making a slightly smaller profit. But it takes only ONE consumer to break a boycott like this, and the prices will never drop...
 
ettubrute said:
Price raping in SA is due to one fact, and one fact only: consumers who buy for the sake of having, or, put differently, keeping up with the Jones... If the consumer would learn to boycott suppliers by NOT buying overpriced items, and rather do without the newest, latest, greatest, blingest, then the prices WILL drop, since the goods are manufactured already, and by reducing the price the supplier at least covers his expenses if not making a slightly smaller profit. But it takes only ONE consumer to break a boycott like this, and the prices will never drop...
Click to expand...

Microsoft cut their prices in China precisely because piracy rates were sitting at 90% +. If we want to see a price cut, the answer is obviously to pirate more. The big companies appear to be quite happy with a 34% rate. They only seem to sit up and take notice when the rates edge closer to 80/90%

More interesting Ars Technica here: http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/book-review-2008-05.ars
 
Alle grapies op n stokkie

Right. Lets be serious now. Lets not limit discusions with Microsoft here..

Example -
Building a hard drive:
A company say "HardCore" build hard drives.
Jack works for them. Jack has 3 snotnose kids and a lovely wife to support.
All of a sudden "HardCore" cannot sell any more harddrives because consumers rather buy a cheap bad component copied version by some illegal company. "HardCore" goes down. Jack lose his job. His kiddies become the next generations gangsters.

Now:
Building a Software Program:
A company say "HardCore" develop Software.
Jack works for them. Jack has 3 snotnose kids and a lovely wife to support.
All of a sudden "HardCore" cannot sell any more software copies because consumers rather pirate illegally. "HardCore" goes down. Jack lose his job. His kiddies become the next generations gangsters.

I work for a software company.
If the customers we supply to decide to rather pirate my company will go down, and I will lose my job.
It takes MILLIONS to create software here in South Africa.
This CAN be pirated.

Piracy is the same as stealing a TV at Hi-FiCorp.
Its just ALOT easier.
And its really really wrong.

Decreasing prices of Games,DVDs will never beat FREE but stolen.
Do the right thing that your mommy taught u :D
 
stormy said:
Piracy is the same as stealing a TV at Hi-FiCorp.
Its just ALOT easier.
And its really really wrong.

Decreasing prices of Games,DVDs will never beat FREE but stolen.
Do the right thing that your mommy taught u :D
Click to expand...

Dude please give me break. I can say that driving faster than the speed limit and not stopping dead at the stop sign is against the law. It's just as bad as 'stealing a TV.' Guess what you people who would refrain at every corner from 'pirating' aren't angels. Stop giving yourself so much credit.

But don't get me wrong. I don't support piracy. I try to buy the games I want to play. Have I pirated? Yes. I also have quite a grand collection of original titles.

IMO people who spend their lives criticising piracy should just take a LONG GOOD look at their own lives. Then decide whether they want to judge other people based on laws and morals.
 
Hey Hey I never said im perfect. Not at all. Im a solid hypocryte. Just like U :)
Quote: "I dont condone piracy" yet I pirate.

Dont shoot the hypocryte preacher when he is right.
We all know a broken clock is right twice a day though :)

All im saying its stealing beacause it cost millions to make that product you are copieng for free. It hurts the company, and a company is people with lives, kids,family, friends very much like your own.

How would you like it if people steal from your company and cause you to lose your job?

DONT justify your actions using microsoft as an excuse.
Sega had to close their doors almost in the time of the Mega Drive and has never really recovered. Not buying originals will void the companies that make those games = no pirates to copy = no games or products

mmm now what is that torrent site's name again... :D
 
stormy said:
Hey Hey I never said im perfect. Not at all. Im a solid hypocryte. Just like U :)
Quote: "I dont condone piracy" yet I pirate.

Dont shoot the hypocryte preacher when he is right.
We all know a broken clock is right twice a day though :)

All im saying its stealing beacause it cost millions to make that product you are copieng for free. It hurts the company, and a company is people with lives, kids,family, friends very much like your own.

How would you like it if people steal from your company and cause you to lose your job?

DONT justify your actions using microsoft as an excuse.
Sega had to close their doors almost in the time of the Mega Drive and has never really recovered. Not buying originals will void the companies that make those games = no pirates to copy = no games or products

mmm now what is that torrent site's name again... :D
Click to expand...

... Dude, you need help!...

If your family goes without food, I can promise you it won't be the piracy that made you lose your job...
 
The problem with all the software vendors is a lack of competition. The old story of supply and demand. I own a small company running 8x Windows based PC's. I am forced to use windows, as my very expensive industry specific programs don't work on any other platform. Even the price of our local software (accounting) is ridiculous. Don't try and give me the crap that that the local software is being pirated.
My packages all require either a dongel, or activation. No self respecting cracker or hacker has taken the time to crack the stuff I'm forced to use. Instead the local companies force me to pay annual renewals, and R1200 per call, so that we can figure out how their poorly written software works. We get audited by the industry bodies to verify our licenses. All this cost me about R40k a year. What do I get in return for all of this ???? . . . grief !!! Because of all of this, I've got no problem with piracy.
 
stormy said:
Right. Lets be serious now. Lets not limit discusions with Microsoft here..

Now:
Building a Software Program:
A company say "HardCore" develop Software.
Jack works for them. Jack has 3 snotnose kids and a lovely wife to support.
All of a sudden "HardCore" cannot sell any more software copies because consumers rather pirate illegally. "HardCore" goes down. Jack lose his job. His kiddies become the next generations gangsters.
Click to expand...

Yeah, fair enough, but on the other hand if you're buying from HardCore you use up money which you may have had to spend on something else. We're not all Scrooge McDuck here with our big old money bin, we've only got a limited amount of money which we get to spend each month. If one person gets it, then another person won't.

So if I buy from HardCore then some OTHER company would have ended up having "losses" because I would not be able to afford to buy both. In my first example this was the restaurant industry, because they always get hit first when people don't have spare money to throw around. Your choice is whether you want to turn HardCore's kids into gangsters... or turn the restaurants owners/staff's kids into gangsters.

Of course the great thing about the restaurant is that with most software companies being international, MORE money stays in the country via the restaurant so we can prevent more kids from becoming gangsters by piracy. Think of the children, pirate! :D

(now I'm not arguing about piracy from any moral point-of-view, purely from a South African economic one. So try and hold your patriotism in! :eek:)
 
...and how is price gouging any MORE ethical or moral than piracy?

Software companies and retailers that put up their prices because there is little competition or not enough distribution channels are just as bad as the pirates in my book. It is piracy in another form. They are holding the customers blackmail... their attitude is "so our software is hard to get hold of, well therefore you are going to pay a premium for it".

The solution is not more piracy, it is...

1) Free and Open Source Software
2) Widespread Distribution Channels and Easy Access
3) Competitive, Fair, Realistic, Flexible and Transparent Pricing
4) Honest and Meaningful Long-term Support
5) A fair approach to International Distribution

I know that I can probably not pay the same here in South Africa as I would for a piece of software that sells at $10.00 at Best Buy in the USA. If it is imported then I would expect to pay a reasonable premium for that. But 2 to 3 times the value? That is utterly ridiculous and just as criminal. And even worse for software that is pressed and boxed locally (like most Microsoft products).

Take overseas magazines at CNA for example. The cover price of the magazine says $7.99. That is R61.50 when converted into Rands... but CNA is charging R150.00 for the magazine... more than double it's price in the USA. You cannot tell me that it costs that much to ship it here! Are they shipping it via overnight express? I refuse to buy magazines anymore at CNA cos they are criminals. Same applies to a lot of the DVDs, Console Games and Software for sale through major retailers in South Africa.

WE KNOW WHEN WE ARE BEING RIPPED OFF!
 
oh, and while we are on the subject...

This business of putting copy protection onto legitimate products and warning about piracy in the form of Adverts on DVDs is absolutely INSULTING and ludicrous! Why treat those who buy legitimate products like criminals.

Why should I (who have bought a legal copy of a DVD) have to sit through the same anti-piracy ad EVERY SINGLE time I watch the DVD.

I would love to give SAFACT and the BSA and all those similar organisations a big klap for giving all of us a big F-you every time we have to watch that or hassle with that DRM or copy - protection crap.

copy-protection is not our problem... it is yours... you deal with it.... don't force me to do your work for you!

You want to know why piracy is so bad?? Because people don't want to watch those stupid ads at the beginning of their DVDS!!!!!!

Catch a wake-up and fire the moron idiot who thought up that idea.:mad::mad:
 
stormy said:
Sega had to close their doors almost in the time of the Mega Drive and has never really recovered. Not buying originals will void the companies that make those games = no pirates to copy = no games or products
Click to expand...

Sega got into trouble through their own incompetence. They produced bad addons like the 32x and CD, and then finally bungled the whole release of the Sega Saturn. The PlayStation killed Sega off finally, not piracy. Compare that to how much piracy there is for the PS/PS2, and yet Sony STILL makes money from the PS2 hand over fist.

And it looks like they're still being utterly incompetent since recently they announced another $500 million loss...
 
Thanks guys. :D
Had a nice laugh with this tread.
We are all so damn human and imperfect.
 
still a problem....for who? Its not like the fat cats that get all the money can't afford petrol any more!

Take overseas magazines at CNA for example.
Click to expand...

Don't get me started on that!!! :mad:

I can never understand the markup on magazines, 100% import duty + 100% markup + another 100% markup and you get close to the selling price.
 
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