| |
| |
|
Mahavir Information |
| ||||||||
|
PC Owners - The Largest Criminal Gang Ever?
The year is 1981. IBM has just released the Personal Computer; a low cost machine it hopes will create a winning brand. Several models are produced in quick succession accompanied by an ad campaign featuring a Charlie Chaplin figure. The message is clear: It's cheap and it's cheerful. The growth vector for the product turns out to be a software application called a spreadsheet. Its many early forms - VisiCalc, Multiplan, Lotus 1-2-3, along with WordStar word-processing and of course games all help drive hardware sales. Nobody seems to question the rapid and promiscuous spread of these programs by copying onto 5.25" floppy disks and passing them from person to person. That was then. This is now. Harsh fines and jail sentences are threatened to anyone involved in doing what came naturally back in the early '80s. It's a Very Bad Thing to copy software without having a license to do so. They say 'this stuff is ours, we want to be paid for it', and of course they're right. But here is a problem. Software's binary information is a kind of digital DNA, always wanting to replicate. It's what has made and sustained the digital revolution. When transmitting information, whether from one disk to another or over the Internet, errors can be corrected, faint signals regenerated as new, and even lost portions of messages recreated. This is the essence of the digital world, and replication is its big trick. One of the things most of us did with our first computer was to copy something. In our early PC vocabulary COPY was the most popular word. Doing it was so easy and so immediately rewarding. It did nobody any harm - did it? The user got the software and the manufacturer got their product widely distributed. But a company has to make money, not just gain market share, and at some point in time a shift occurred. It's as if the manufacturers decided to play the soccer off-side rule and grab the high moral ground at the same time - nearly every PC owner in the world was suddenly wrong-footed. And no one after all can disagree with their position. But how will they play catch-up on their lost revenues? How can they now make all their customers compliant? A London analyst who specialises in intellectual rights issues says "the paradigm we have at present where the license chases the product doesn't seem to be an effective mechanism for compliance by itself." In other words trying to push a license into everywhere the software has gone without the ease with which the software got there in the first place will prove difficult. But that's not all. An account manager for a hardware firm in the US says "It can be difficult to keep the licensing nailed down. The hardware changes, the software moves on, departments, even companies, merge. The picture is always changing" Demand has always fuelled innovation in Information Technology. Fluid, dynamic, competitive, the elements of IT constantly move. Suppliers apply different strategies at different times for different reasons: Market share, volume shipments, profit. Licensing is a big weapon in their arsenal. Then new technologies emerge, legislation changes, big players go bust and others are created. It's hard to see how a static and legalistic document can cover all this. There are also the licensing arrangements that software manufacturers employ. Licenses may be priced according to whether they are academic, charity, large volume, product upgrade, competitive upgrade, client server, thin-client, or one of several other types. On top of that there are the popular service add-ons of maintenance and technical support. Of course if we all started afresh that would make things easier. But as that's impossible we must do two things; look at new software in terms of correct quantity and correct type of license. That's the easy part. The not so easy part is to look at what your company already has and see what licenses, if any, are missing or incorrect. 'The biggest criminal gang in history' is about to be disbanded. ©2003 Jamie Plenderleith
About The Author Jamie is a software design engineer with Everyman Technologies of Dublin Ireland. He attends Trinity College Dublin part time and is a Sci-Fi fan.
MORE RESOURCES:
Acne - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Keeping Passwords Secure As the web has evolved, so have the methods of collecting personal information. A large number of websites require visitors to register to gain access or participate. Cisco CCNA Candidate FAQ CCNA FAQQ. What exams do I have to take to get my CCNA?A. Virtual Memory - What is It? I recently got an e-mail asking about virtual memory. The person who sent me the question was getting an error on random occasions from their Windows operating system stating "Your computer is low on virtual memory". This Page Cannot Be Displayed - What to Do When Your Internet Breaks The DNS (Domain Name System) servers are what your computer uses to figure out where to go on the internet. www. 5 Steps to Removing PC Clutter It's hard enough as it is these days to get organized and then remain that way for weeks and months down the road. We are all very busy people, some of us with 9-5 jobs and one hour commutes, and others of us busy making our lives at home work for us, with children at tow and a variety of chores to do as well as errands to run. Portable DVD Players - Things To Know In my humble opinion nothing makes a long trip easier (especially if you have kids). A portable DVD player is the ideal solution for those long plane rides or endless drives in a car to keep everyone entertained, especially when you have new hit DVD to play. Why Get a Microsoft MCSE Certification? In the years of the dot com boom and bust, the Microsoft MCSE Certification has gotten its eye blackened over an over. Paper Microsoft MCSE's who were excellent at finding brain dumps and passing exams gave the Microsoft MCSE Certification a bad name. A Beginners Guide to Avoiding Viruses "Aaaaaahhhhhh! I've been invaded by a virus!" Getting a virus means getting sick and no one in their right mind wants to be ill. Well, now that computers have become our close friends, it's a shock to learn that foreign bodies too can invade them with malicious intent. USB Drives - What to Look For in a USB Device Those small USB drives have so many names, pocket drives, thumb drives, USB Pen, Jump drives, and several other names, but when it comes down to it, we are all talking about a small portable, reusable storage media that fits in the palm of your hand!There are a couple major factors you should consider when you select a USB drive. The size of the storage media you require, and the size and shape of the device itself. SmartCar Memory Stick for LapTop Transfer Data With the new technology used to transfer information to from your digital camera to your laptop or PC using memory sticks which hold significant amounts of data it appears such technology will be perfect for net-centric cars. Where all the data is stored in a black box situation as many cars now have these features already. Bluetooth Technology: Tips for Buying Headsets or Headphones The technological horizon has always got something new to offer, and among the most recent of these offerings is Bluetooth enhanced hardware. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this latest-and-greatest technology, headsets and headphones in the Bluetooth line offer the ability to use your cell phone without the need for hands or dangling wires. iPod - Learn How It Can Solve Everyday Problems All over the world, people carry with them walkmans and other music devices so that they can play their favorite music as they move around from place to place. The latest thing in the portable music devices field is the iPod, which offers a higher quality of the music being played and one of the most compact design out there. The Advantages of Portable MP3 Players With their solid-state technology, compact size, and abundant memory, portable mp3 players are the state of the art in portable music systems.Most portable mp3 players feature storage systems that have no moving parts. iPod users get the picture iPod users start to get the picture and it's turning out to be colorful fun!!The latest generation of hi tech gadget users are watching the different media they use start to converge as Apple launches its latest grab for the market with iPod Photo. Not only can you listen to all your music on the go, or organize your business and social life, but now your entire photo collection can be viewed at hand too. Internet Explorer Shortcuts for Mouse-o-phobes If you're like me, you occasionally find the ubiquitous mouse inconvenient. Here are keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft's Internet Explorer (I. Registry Tools Demystified Not sure what Windows registry is or how it works? Don't worry - there are tools that can take care of all registry related tasks for you, even if you are a seventy six year old who never used computer before. These are the tools that optimize your registry and make your PC run faster. Repairing A Corrupt .RAR/.ZIP Archive Step 1:Open WinRAR and browse to the folder with your .rar/. Buying a Personal Computer (PC) For many people the computer industry is a seeming unsolvable jungle filled with mysterious words. Here is a guide to help you understand the personal computer and to give you the information needed to make a shopping decision you can live with so you can enjoy your PC for years to come. Cisco Certification: Building Your Own Home Lab, Part I CCNAs and CCNA candidates hear it all the time: â??Get some hands-on experienceâ??. From my personal experience climbing the Cisco certification ladder, I can tell you firsthand that there is no learning like hands-on learning. Favorite Things To Do With Home Technology Save money. Save 10-15% on utility bills per month.
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Home | Site Map Copy Right 2006 Mahavir.com |
| NISL | Herbal Acne Solutions | Promotion Factory | Web Design | Online University Degree | College & University | GtpInfo | VPayU |
