Article-I.D.: mitre-be.8603101603.AA03799
Posted: Mon Mar 10 11:43:55 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Mar-86 05:41:14 EST
References: <1561@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The MITRE Corp., Bedford, MA
Lines: 42

This ought to start a nice controversy...

Tsk, tsk! These allegations that Atari users would pirate software!
I guess it just means Atari owners are recognized as being the most
knowledgeable personal computer users.  (After all, they DID select the Atari,
didn't they?)

In my experience it is true that no measures whatsoever that depend only on
software shipped to a user on a disk can prevent a determined and
knowledgeable systems programmer from breaking the protection on a program.
You have to rent the user a sealed computer or something.  As long as THEY own
the computer and can do what they will with it, there's no way.

The same goes for cartridges unless you seal them up so they will
self-destruct on opening.  But of course you can up the ante a little because
the only convenient way to copy a cartridge might be with some hardware, not
software.

If I were in the software business, I think I would take a different approach.
Practically give away the machine-readable code.  Invite everyone to copy it
or to buy it from you for $5.00 or whatever.  Include in each copy a polite
message telling the viewer how to get the documentation by mailing you $15 or
so.  (Much more than that and they will try to copy it illegally.)
This approach would turn the whole copying scene into a source of free
advertising!

I think the whole problem is that people are charging too much for software,
especially for the home market.  Charge less and you will find that more
people are willing to pay it.  There will be an optimal price for maximum
revenues, and it is a LOT less than most vendors are now charging for their
software.  Especially for the "junk" software, which includes all but a small
percentage of all games, and a fair amount of non-game software.

If a user wouldn't be willing to pay a nickel for your software, you aren't
losing a nickel if he has a free copy of it.  If he decides he likes it, he
will probably be willing to pay for the documentation to make it more useful.

For the business market, where the software is being use to make money, a
tougher approach to the problem is in order.

						-John Sangster
						jhs at mitre-bedford.arpa