4 ms·
The internet has changed the piracy game completely Eh, were you actually around then? Copying floppy disks was generally just as easy as anything else, and th
by trotsky 16y ago
The internet has changed the piracy game completely
Eh, were you actually around then? Copying floppy disks was generally just as easy as anything else, and the skill level of the average computer user was much, much higher. Based on my experience I'd say piracy per capita was nearly 100% in the 80's. These days there are large swaths of computer users who simply don't install anything that isn't pushed at them, let alone browse through TPB. Before the Internet became popular in the mid 90's a large number of BBS's were dedicated to piracy.
Keep in mind ASP on software is a fraction of what it once was. In 1983, Lotus 1-2-3 sold for $495. Duplicating the functionality of the $150 Office Home and Student would have been over $1000.
- jacquesm 16y agoI actually made pretty good money in the early 80's from programming games and later selling licensed software on the net. Yes, large numbers of BBS's were dedicated to piracy but large numbers of meters of shelf space in retail stores were dedicated to 'boxed' software too.
- chc 16y agoI think trotsky is referring to sneakernet piracy, not the odd BBS. I was very young in the '80s, but I remember all the computer users I knew were extremely liberal in their sharing of programs, the same way that people were with music cassettes. "Oh, I bought this cool game. I think you'll like it. Here, let me make you a copy."