4 ms·

I've heard this before, but I disagree with it. I used to run my own application company and sold windows apps. I could directly correlate piracy with sales.

I've heard this before, but I disagree with it. I used to run my own application company and sold windows apps. I could directly correlate piracy with sales. If my latest version had a key generator+crack on the various torrent sites, my sales would go down by as much as 30%. This was mostly because the torrent sites can easily get good keywords on Google and even get results above my own. I essentially had to complete with myself. It would also waste my time with customer service. A user would have a cracked version installed, get malware, and then expect me to come to the rescue (and of course blame my software for their poor choices). The nerve of some people!! Large companies like Adobe and Microsoft can take the hit, small shops can't. But, these days are over now. I created a SaaS out of all of my apps and now have more sales than ever (and guaranteed monthly income). I can see more companies doing this to combat the environment that piracy has created. It's why Stallman is getting so ornery about it lately.

mdaniel 12y ago
I can see more companies doing this to combat the environment that piracy has created. It's why Stallman is getting so ornery about it lately. Just for clarity, I doubt very seriously that Mr. Stallman disagrees with SaaS because it combats piracy. It is my understanding that his disagreement comes from the lack of options that are available to the consumer of those services: the freedom to take your data elsewhere, the freedom to audit [and possibly modify] the source code and probably 50 others that I don't even know. On a separate note, I cannot even fathom a user who would call customer support for a cracked version. The only plausible situation I can imagine is that their child installed the app, cracked it and the parent wasn't savvy or strict enough about knowing where the child got the program and just assumed it was legit and therefore subject to support.
- Kalium 12y ago
  I've seen casual piracy in business environments before. Some people simply don't care.
- RobertKerans 12y ago
  Re your last paragraph, you're massively underestimating how stupid people can be/how much they don't care.
- SixSigma 12y ago
  Open source software doesn't need protection from piracy.
- paulhauggis 12y ago
  "On a separate note, I cannot even fathom a user who would call customer support for a cracked version. The only plausible situation I can imagine is that their child installed the app, cracked it and the parent wasn't savvy or strict enough about knowing where the child got the program and just assumed it was legit and therefore subject to support." I sold B2B apps. These were small business owners emailing and calling us about cracked applications. Some installed them unknowingly because they searched for our app on Google and thought that a site that offered a crack+download combined was our actual site. Others just didn't see a problem with it. 15 years ago, A friend of mine wrote an app for managing state forms for law firms. He eventually went out of business because lawyers not only would not pay for his software (they would just share it with all of their lawyer friends), but would laugh in his face when he tried to go after them for any kind of money. My point is that with this sort of unethical behavior that seems like is getting more and more prevalent and accepted, businesses have no choice but to change their tactics to survive. Which means creating a service.

mdaniel 12y ago

I can see more companies doing this to combat the environment that piracy has created. It's why Stallman is getting so ornery about it lately. Just for clarity, I doubt very seriously that Mr. Stallman disagrees with SaaS because it combats piracy. It is my understanding that his disagreement comes from the lack of options that are available to the consumer of those services: the freedom to take your data elsewhere, the freedom to audit [and possibly modify] the source code and probably 50 others that I don't even know. On a separate note, I cannot even fathom a user who would call customer support for a cracked version. The only plausible situation I can imagine is that their child installed the app, cracked it and the parent wasn't savvy or strict enough about knowing where the child got the program and just assumed it was legit and therefore subject to support.

Kalium 12y ago
I've seen casual piracy in business environments before. Some people simply don't care.
RobertKerans 12y ago
Re your last paragraph, you're massively underestimating how stupid people can be/how much they don't care.
SixSigma 12y ago
Open source software doesn't need protection from piracy.
paulhauggis 12y ago
"On a separate note, I cannot even fathom a user who would call customer support for a cracked version. The only plausible situation I can imagine is that their child installed the app, cracked it and the parent wasn't savvy or strict enough about knowing where the child got the program and just assumed it was legit and therefore subject to support." I sold B2B apps. These were small business owners emailing and calling us about cracked applications. Some installed them unknowingly because they searched for our app on Google and thought that a site that offered a crack+download combined was our actual site. Others just didn't see a problem with it. 15 years ago, A friend of mine wrote an app for managing state forms for law firms. He eventually went out of business because lawyers not only would not pay for his software (they would just share it with all of their lawyer friends), but would laugh in his face when he tried to go after them for any kind of money. My point is that with this sort of unethical behavior that seems like is getting more and more prevalent and accepted, businesses have no choice but to change their tactics to survive. Which means creating a service.