Economics and Software Piracy
It's safe to assume that shortly after the first personal computers left store shelves, someone was plotting* a way to get software for free. According to a report from Business Software Alliance (BSA), pirated software accounted for 41 percent of all software on PCs worldwide [source: BSA]. The BSA also reports that piracy costs software companies billions of dollars in revenue. Skeptics point out that software providers fund the BSA, making its findings suspect*. Whether you believe BSA's statistic or not, it's true that piracy remains a big concern for software companies.
If software were less expensive, would people pirate less? Perhaps if economic factors were the primary cause behind piracy, lowering prices would be an effective solution. Software providers could compensate for the lower profit margin by making it up in volume. But it turns out the situation isn't that simple.
Experts in disciplines ranging from economics to sociology to psychology have examined the motivations behind software piracy. There's no globally accepted explanation for software piracy. But experts in multiple disciplines have suggested a host of factors that contribute to a person's decision to steal software.
Let's get the money issue out of the way first. It's true that some people will steal software based on what it costs. If the price is higher than what the person is willing to pay, that person might pirate the software. A common justification for this kind of behavior goes something like this: The software company is enormous and makes billions of dollars. One stolen piece of software wouldn't be distinguishable for an organization that large and profitable. In other words, since the victims can't feel the loss, stealing from them isn't wrong.
Another common justification weighs cost against perceived value. The pirate might think that a piece of software is overpriced. This doesn't change the fact that the pirate wants access to that software. But rather than pay the asking price for the program, the pirate steals it. In the pirate's mind, the company is to blame for setting the price of the software far above its actual value. But would the pirate pay for the same piece of software if it were more reasonable?
Research into the matter suggests that many software pirates steal programs regardless of the software's price tag. The economic factor provides the pirate with a means to justify his or her actions but it isn't a real motivator. Studies suggest that people view digital property differently than physical property. They don't place as great a value on software as they would a physical object like a car. In addition, they think that stealing software isn't the same as taking a physical object because they're making a copy of a program rather than taking a physical object. Because they perceive software to have less value than physical objects, stealing software doesn't raise the same ethical concerns as grand* theft auto.
(http://computer.howstuffworks.com)
Notes on the Text
* to plot = to plan secretly
* suspect = not to be relied on or trusted; possibly false
* grand = large or impressive in size
Просмотрите текст и назовите слова, относящиеся к СПС Software piracy. Переведите слова, выделенные курсивом. С какими частями СПС соотносятся данные слова/словосочетания?
Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопрос,.
How many percent did pirated software worldwide account for, according to BSA?
According to the text, how much money do software companies loose in revenue? Do you believe these statistic data?
Is the economic factor the only factor that contributes to a person’s decision to steal software?
Do you agree that software is usually overpriced?
How can a person justify stealing a piece of software?
According to the text, why does stealing software not raise the same ethical concern as stealing physical objects?
Прочитайте второй абзац текста и скажите, в какой форме стоят глаголы в большинстве предложений, почему? Как бы вы ответили на поставленный вопрос?
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I believe
First/ second/ third/
On the one hand/ On the other hand
So/ consequently/ hence/ therefore/ thus/ as a result/ as a consequence
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Как специалисту в сфере программного обеспечения Вам предложили принять участие в дискуссии по вопросу использования различных типов ПО и борьбы с компьютерным пиратством.
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Open source software and public domain software as an alternative to software piracy.
Is software licensing necessary?
Can the rights of the software developer be really protected?
File sharing – fair use or software piracy?
I am voting for / against file-sharing blocking.
ADDITIONAL TEXTS FOR READING
HOW TO INSTALL PRPOGRAMS ON YOUR NETBOOK WITHOUT AN EXTERNAL DISKL DRIVE
(subtitles for the film)
In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to install programs in your netbook without the need for an external disk drive. All that you’re going to need is just a desktop computer or a laptop that already has a disk drive and is running Windows. So, let me show you what we are doing. Okay, I have a CD in my CD drive and what I’m going to do is make my netbook read the content of this CD from this computer by connecting to this computer and taking the information from it. The first step to make this work is to make sure that both the computer and that has the CD and the netbook are in the same network. If both of them are connected to the same router, they’re probably in the same network.
The second thing that you need to do is to enable “file sharing” in the computer that has the CD. To do that go to the start menu: “Control Panel”, click “Network and Internet”, “Network and Sharing Centre”, and enable the option that says, “File Sharing”. Click this thing and select, “Turn on file sharing” and than click “Apply”. It’s going to ask you if you want to continue. Click, “Continue”. Now, if your computer is not password protected, – that means – it doesn’t ask you for a password when you boot up the computer, then you need to disable this option over here. Otherwise the other computer won’t be able to open the CD. Because – what is going to happen is, when you try to access the computer is going to ask you for a password. And if you leave it blank, it’s just going to fail. So, just disable this. My computer doesn’t have a password, so I’m going to have to disable it to show it to you. Okay. Once that is done we can close this and go back to “Computer”. Right click on the drive that you want to use with your netbook, and select the “Share” option. Click, “Advanced Sharing”. Click, “Continue”. And check this box up here. The very top one that says, “Share this folder”. Then you are going to have the choice to give the name to the drive – I’m going to call it, “Disc Drive’. And before I click, “OK”, I’m going to check permissions and make sure that “read” is allowed. Okay – it is. So, I’m just going to click, “OK”. And going to click, “OK”, again. And close. Okay. So, that is all you need to do in the computer with the CD.
And now you need to go to the netbook. Okay. So, this is my netbook and what you need to do here is go to “Start” menu and open “Computer”. Okay. Right click anywhere and select the option, “Add a network location”. Okay. A wizard will pop up. Just click, “Next”. Select, “Choose a custom network location” and click, “Next”. Now, here, press “Browse”. And you will have to wait a few seconds for the computer in the network to appear here. Okay. The CD drive is in my desktop computer. So, I’m going to open that one up, select it, and press, “OK”. I’m going to click, “Next”. And here I can choose a name. I’m just going to call it, “Disc Drive”. And click, “Select”. And now we have finished.
Now, there are some disadvantages with this method that I just showed you. The first one is that when you put a CD or a DVD in your computer, it won’t auto-load here. You actually have to go inside the folder, and open the executable file. Another problem is that if you’re installing a game, the game will install, but when you’re trying to actually boot up the game, it’s going to ask you to insert a CD, and it won’t work because it just doesn’t recognize this as a CD unit. And when you’re playing DVDs, you cannot – some DVDs just won’t let you see them this way. But other than that, it works perfectly for everything else.
So, let’s see if this work. Let’s actually open the “exe” file and see what comes up. Just click, “Run”. And as you can see it takes a little bit. You have to keep in mind that the information is going through the network and it takes a little bit of time. And if you have a lot of traffic in your network, it’s going to take even longer. But… Here we go. We can install all these programs … Let’s see … Let’ just try anything. Okay – so … It works. I hope you found this tutorial useful.
(http://www.youtube.com/)
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE
There are, essentially, as many different types of public domain software as there are types of software itself, though the number of public domain programs has decreased in recent years. It is important to keep in mind that software that is freeware or shareware, or even open source, is not necessarily part of the public domain*. In general, however, there are numerous software programs including operating systems (OS), graphics editors, and word processing programs that are in the public domain. Most public domain software programs were created with the purpose of being public domain, rather than naturally moving into the public domain through copyright expiration*.
Public domain software is basically the same as any other type of software, except it is not protected by copyright ownership. A copyright is a form of intellectual property ownership granted to the creator of an original creative or artistic work, over the work that was made. Computer software is typically included in this category, usually as a form of literature or written expression, and is therefore protected under copyright laws in many countries. Public domain software is software that is not protected as the intellectual property of a person or company and can be used freely in any way desired.
Most public domain software is created for release without copyright, since expiration of a copyright usually takes several decades and most computer programs are fairly modern. These software programs can include operating systems or core codes for an OS, picture editing and illustration programs, and word processing software. Since there is no copyright ownership over that software, someone who owns a copy of the program can even sell copies of the program for commercial use. This aspect of public domain software separates such programs from other software that may be available as open source programs or freeware.
An open source program is a piece of software that others can use and modify under the guidelines of the open source license that accompanies that software. Unlike public domain software that can be used in any way desired, open source programs can have stipulations or conditions for use. Freeware refers to programs that can be downloaded and used free of charge, but may also include limitations on how such programs may be otherwise distributed or shared with others. Similarly, shareware can be shared among various users, but is still typically owned by the creator. While there are still public domain software programs available, many programmers have begun creating freeware and shareware to distribute free software and still retain copyright ownership of the program.
(http://www.wisegeek.com)
Notes on the Text
* in the public domain = able to be discussed and examined freely by the general public
* expiration = the finish of something; ending
WHAT IS OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE?
Open Source refers to at least two things. First, it is a trademark of the Open Source Initiative®, and a license that Open Source Initiative® grants to Open Source Software (OSS) that meets certain criteria, called the Open Source Definition. There are, however, other ideas about open source software that do not hold to the same standards and offer open source software under different types of licenses. One thing that all open source software has in common is the availability to the user of the source code, which means that the user can see exactly how the application or program was coded and often is allowed to modify it. Depending on the type of license it has, users may be able to modify and redistribute open source software.
Whatever type of license it comes with, open source software is a counterpart* to proprietary commercial software. Proprietary commercial software is predicated on one company developing and owning the source code. The product license allows the user to use the product as made by the commercial enterprise. In some cases, users are allowed and/or encouraged to create plug-ins or add-ons to enhance* proprietary commercial software, but there are limits on what they are allowed to do. This is to protect the software developer’s investment.
There are several goals behind the open source software movement. One thought is that the separation of software development from the profit motive will encourage* developers to do what is best for the software and the users, leading to products that have increased usefulness and fewer bugs. It is also believed that peer review* without constraints of a commercial release date, will contribute to software that continues to be upgraded constantly, rather than having carefully timed major releases that do not occur very often, leaving users with buggy software in between. Another consideration is that by opening up the code, a large number of developers, each of whom may have thoughts about improving the software will bring their particular skills and insights, as well as their time, to contribute to the process, speeding up the development and taking it in many directions, broadening the software’s scope.
(http://www.wisegeek.com)
Notes on the Text
* counterpart = a person acting opposite another in a play
* to enhance = to intensify or increase in quality, value, power, etc.; improve
* to encourage = to stimulate (something or someone to do something)
* peer review = the evaluation by fellow specialists
WHAT IS FILE SHARING?
File sharing, in Internet terminology, is a means of exchanging files between computers over the Internet. The term “file sharing” can also refer to disk sharing or server sharing between computers on a closed network. Since the advent of high-speed Internet, however, it typically refers to the practice of sharing files with a potentially limitless number of worldwide Internet users. File sharing is often criticized as a means of facilitating copyright infringement, as many of the files shared – particularly music and film files – are protected by copyrights in at least one country.
Ever since people have been using computers, they have been sharing files and moving data from one computer to the next. Early on, floppy disks were the only way to share data and files. Before long, however, computers were able to network with each other, and rudimentary chat programs, including Internet relay chat, became common ways of sharing material.
The birth of dial-up Internet brought with it instant messaging and e-mail capabilities. Instant messages and e-mail proved useful for conversation, but also provided a means of rudimentary file transfers. The first attachments were very limited in size, and in the beginning, little more than a single-page document could be exchanged.
As the capacity and speed of the Internet grew, so did the sharing capability of supported programs. In many ways, the rise of file sharing grew from user demand: computer users wanted to share certain files, and so engineered ways to make that sharing happen. The demand side of the technology is perhaps best seen with respect to digital music.
In the late 1990s, technology developed for digitizing music that allowed it to be transferred, or rewritten, from CDs to personal computer hard drives. The ability to save and effectively copy music from a purchased CD was, and remains, controversial. The practice persisted primarily on the argument that once a consumer purchases music, he should have the right to listen to and use that music however he chooses.
It was not long before music files began being shared between users. The first file sharing websites used a technology known as “peer-to-peer*,” or P2P, file sharing. P2P programs make each user’s entire music library available to other users for download. P2P users can search for and download music in vast quantities in an objectively short period of time.
A similar technology, BitTorrent, soon followed. BitTorrent is an open source file sharing application that allows users to isolate a desired file on a shared network, then download it in pieces from several different users. Whereas P2P software downloads a desired file from a single user, BitTorrent software downloads a piece of the file from many users, then assembles all of those pieces into the desired whole on the user’s computer. Both platforms work best with a wide swath of users.
Copyright owners, particularly those situated in the United States, have long opposed music file sharing, calling it a means of facilitating mass copyright infringement. While a person who purchases a CD may have a right to make a copy for personal use, the right does not extend to making that copy freely available for others to download online. Copyright owners and their representatives have launched many lawsuits seeking to shut down websites that use P2P and other similar methods of file sharing. Rights owners have also sued individual downloaders for copyright infringement, particularly on U.S. college campuses.
Recognizing that the demand for easily downloadable, free music is unlikely to disappear, copyright owners and music industry representatives have tried to create music download services that strike a happy medium between user demands and owner rights. Many of these services mimic the file sharing experience, but incorporate either nominal fees or some sort of rights protection mechanisms to prevent infringement. Some of these services have proved popular. As of 2010, however, music file sharing websites still persist, though most are based outside of the United States.
(http://www.wisegeek.com)
Notes on the Text
* peer-to-peer, P2P [,piәtә`piә] = (of a computer network) designed so that computers can send information directly to one another without passing through a centralized server
WHAT IS BitTorrent?
BitTorrent is an open source peer-to-peer protocol for downloading files on the internet. Open source means the code is available for anyone to modify and redistribute at will. Consequently there are several free BitTorrent programs available to the public, each with differing features. The original source code was written by Bram Cohen.
The idea behind BitTorrent is to allow massive distribution of popular files without penalizing the source by soaring bandwidth costs and possible crashes due to demand that exceeds the capability of the server. In this way, anyone who creates a popular program, music file or other product can make it available to the public regardless of assets, even if the file becomes highly popular.
To understand how BitTorrent functions, first consider how normal downloading works. Personal computers connected to the Internet are known as clients while the websites visited reside on Internet servers. Servers "serve up information" to clients. If you surf to a site and click on a link to download a program, you create a one-on-one connection to that server that uses whatever bandwidth* is necessary to serve you the file. When you have received the entire file, the connection is released so the server can utilize that stream of bandwidth for handling other connections.
The problem arises when unusually high numbers of clients visit a site simultaneously. This can cause the server to effectively run out of available bandwidth and "crash." When this happens, clients are refused a connection. "The site is down."
To avoid this, BitTorrent creates a different networking scheme. It uses the other clients who are also downloading the file to effectively act as servers to one another, simultaneously uploading the parts of the file received to others requesting the file. Hence, when you click on a file to download, several connections will be made to receive "slices" of the file that combine to create the entire file. Meanwhile, as you are downloading these "slices" you are also uploading them to anyone else that needs the parts you are receiving. Once the entire file is received it is considered polite to keep your client connected to act as a seed. A seed refers to a source that has the entire file available.
In this way BitTorrent relieves the burden of the servers but more significantly it makes it possible for anyone to disseminate a file quickly and easily without requiring expensive servers or an infrastructure of distribution. If the demand is there, the file will spread.
BitTorrent differs from other peer-to-peer (P2P) programs like Kazaa or Morpheus in that you do not make a library of files available for sharing. You only share the file you are actively receiving (or have just finished receiving).
Aside from the many legitimate uses of BitTorrent, some sites hosting BitTorrent downloads were targeted by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in December 2004 for distributing digitized movies in violation of copyright. One intellectual property monitoring system called FirstSource, by BayTSP, reportedly identifies initial clients to upload copyright content to BitTorrent and other P2P networks. In turn all subsequent clients that download or share that file can be traced by IP address.
Some flavors of BitTorrent contain spyware*, while others simply have enhanced features. For the original Bram Cohen BitTorrent, more information and a FAQ, you can visit his site.
(http://www.wisegeek.com)
* to penalize = to declare (an act) legally punishable; to impose a penalty on (someone), as for breaking a law or rule
* bandwidth = the range of frequencies used in a specific telecommunications signal
* spyware = software installed via the internet on a computer without the user's knowledge and used to send information about the user to another computer
FILE-SHARING BLOCKING U-TURN MET WITH DISMAY BY PIRACY FIGHTERS
Simon Quicke
August 4, 2011
The decision by the government to abandon* plans to block web sites sharing illegal software, games, video and music has been met with dismay* from those trying to fight piracy.
Yesterday the government unveiled its response to the Hargreaves Review on intellectual property and also updated its progress on implementing the Digital Economy Act, which had recommended blocking file-sharing web sites. But the government said that it believed blocking sites was unworkable* and other ways to fight piracy would be investigated.
Julian Heathcote Hobbins, general counsel at the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) said that the decision to back down on blocking sites would be a retrograde step. Hobbins described the u-turn* as a "damaging limitation on the arsenal available to tackle piracy". "The pirates just reposition these sites utilizing the internet's global structure in a game of cat and mouse," he added. "FAST has been consistent in stating that the priority needs to be on enforcement of IP laws and enabling both civil and criminal law to deter* infringers and criminals by protecting the rights holder. Without this, future investment will not be so forthcoming and the UK's position as a global leader in innovation will be challenged," he concluded.
In the response to Hargreaves unveiled by Vince Cable, the business secretary, the reasoning for making the climb down on site blocking was spelt out.
"Following advice from Ofcom...site blocking will not be brought forward at this time. However, the Government is keen to explore the issues raised by Ofcom's report and will do more work on what other measures can be pursued to tackle online copyright infringement," it stated.
But the government pledged* to carry on finding other ways to combat piracy.
"The issue of online infringement of both copyright and (through sale of fake goods) trade marks is a pressing one for many firms. The Government will continue to devote effort to deterring IP infringement online (including through implementation of the Digital Economy Act) and offline, as its partners do," it added.
(http://www.microscope.co.uk/news/reseller-news)
Notes on the Text
* to abandon = to give up
* dismay = fear, concern
* unworkable = not able to function or be carried out successfully; impractical
* u-turn = a change of plan
* to deter = to prevent
* to pledge = to declare or promise that something is or will be the case
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