File-sharing pirates attempt new software standard

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The real problem with software piracy...

... is not that XYZ company is losing millions in sales every quarter, but rather that software itself is mis-characterized as a product. Software is not a product, but rather a service. Since I know that there are those of you who will vehemently and ardently disagree with me, let me show you why this is true. I'm going to give you a list of reasons. No one reason alone makes my statement true, but the combination of these reasons will leave little else as a rational conclusion.

***

1) Consider what a "product" is: something that is the tangible result of some process performed on some object. Now while software is undoubtedly the result of some process (programming) done on some object (programmable hardware), that result is by no means tangible. I'll explain that in a moment.

First I need to address why I say a product is tangible. Consider this: everything sold at a store is tangible. Otherwise you couldn't pick up the object and take it to the register for check-out, right? So why isn't software tangible? Simple. You never buy the actual software. Instead, you only buy some media containing an encoded representation of the software. That encoding is dutifully translated into an exact replica of the intended software when you install and run what was encoded on the media. I could've said it this way though: software is a just a pattern, media contains the blue-print for that pattern, and a computer is the device that displays the pattern to you.

2) Software is designed to "perform" some function for you. Consider that the majority of the things computers are used for today used to be done by people. In fact, that's how "computers" got that moniker. "Computers" used to be people who's sole job was to perform mathematical calculations (usually accounting relation). When technology grew to where one machine, programmed with the right pattern, could do in short fashion what took 10 or more people an entire work day to achieve, the machine took over both the title and job position of "computer".

Since then, with appropriate patterns, computers have partly or completely replaced other jobs as well, including type setting (Microsoft Word, Adobe Illustrator, etc), blueprinter (AutoCAD, etc), accountant (PeachTree, Quicken, etc...), transcriptionist (Dragon Speaking Naturally, etc), etc.... Long story short is that no matter the package, software "performs" a service.

3) Software doesn't actually do anything! Software doesn't do anything anymore than words on a page. Words on a page do nothing. When a human reads the words, then that human reacts to what was read. The words themselves are incapable of action. As is also the case with software. The patterns created by developers are incapable of action. It's the processor(s) in a computer which, upon reading these patterns, reacts and performs some useful task.

***

Now, given a reclassification of software as a service, how do you go about stealing discrete instances of a service? Software piracy is akin to calling a plumber to unclog the main drain pipe coming from your bathroom, watching him closely as he performs his job, then doing it yourself the next time it happens.

Did my learning how to do it for myself by copying the plumber cause the plumber to lose a sale? From the plumbers stand-point, most certainly. From my standpoint, most likely not. Why? Because if I hadn't watched him do it, I probably would have taught myself some other way.

But how does that apply to software? Simple. People pirate software for a limited # of reasons. It's usually one or more of the following: because they can, because they want but cannot afford, because they need but cannot afford, because they wish to evaluate before deciding whether or not to buy. When it comes down to it, more than half of the people who do not fall into the last category either don't use the software at all, or would never have purchased it to begin with.

Companies should just chalk piracy into their advertising budget. It's impossible to get rid of, and causes invaluable word-of-mouth advertising, when the software is good that is.

A veteran software developer

Posted by: kingmph@...   Posted on: 11/07/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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