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Piracy made Microsoft Windows the dominant force that it is today, and that happened to many more. Last century shareware authors recognized the force of freely
by ASalazarMX 5y ago
Piracy made Microsoft Windows the dominant force that it is today, and that happened to many more. Last century shareware authors recognized the force of freely sharing to build up momentum, and it's not a coincidence that the most pirated content is from companies that stubbornly try to exert even more control over their markets.
- drewcoo 5y agoPiracy made Windows effectively free to home users so that put it on par with anything else that was free. On the other hand, Microsoft pushed IP ownership to sue competition. From Bill's "friendly letter" to the Homebrew Computer Club though that little spat with the US gov't, the company was constantly pushing the limits of how companies could profit from IP well beyond social norms of the time. "Piracy" is always, at best, a distraction from the real robbery happening. Cries of "piracy!" today are always a mask for corporate looting of the commons.