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Would You Install Pirated Software at Work?
An anonymous reader asks: "I am an IT professional, and due to budget constraints, I have been told to install multiple copies of MS Office, despite offering to install OpenOffice, and other OpenSource Office products. Even though most of the uses are for people using Excel like a database, or formatting of text in cells, other programs are not tolerated. I have been over ruled by our controller, to my disagreement. I would never turn them in, but I am in tough place by knowing doing something illegal. I want to keep my job, but disagree with some of the decision making on this issue. Other than drafting a letter to the owners of the company on how I disagree with the policy, what else can I do?"
Considering that I work for the US Government, no. Beyond that, I agree with your reply.
The world is my oyster. That's why it's always in a stew.
How ELSE would I get anything done?!
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
Especially when they don't share the grog
Which country?
Western Europe, USA, Japan - decision is indeed clear cut as they will blame you for it anyway. It is solely a question of who does it first.
Eastern Europe, Russia, China - you have a WHOLE ONE LEGAL COPY OF OFFICE? Who is the out of his mind person to buy it.
So it is all relative... Same as Microsoft policy to enforcing piracy. I have seen them turn a blind eye too many once you get far enough east. After all, as with all crack dealers - the first dose of is free.
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
You're the IT guy. Find an employee who is disgruntled (or maybe just use the guy that keeps eating your lunch out of the fridge even though it's CLEARLY marked with BIG BLACK MARKER with your name). Send an email ratting the company out to the BSA from that person's account. Put a BSA bumper sticker on his car. Sneak into his house and put a thank you card ("The Business Software Alliance thanks you for reporting 500 scofflaw software stealing terrorists in 2006! Wishing you more success bringing down more scum in 2007!") on his mantle.
Meanwhile, forge emails from your boss to you threatening to fire you if you don't immediately and without question install as much illegal software as possible. Include some BSA baiting ("And if the BSA comes around, I've got a few shotgun shells with their names on it! Yeehaw!") For extra points, forge an entire email thread wherein he continues to threaten you and the BSA and anyone else you can think of despite your continued objections. Throw in some sentences where you attempt to convince him of his wrongs through Bible verses.
When the BSA comes to the office, throw a Molotov cocktail from your boss's window toward their car. Leave the building and wait across the street for the SWAT team to arrive. If your boss tries to come out, as soon as you can see him coming out the door yell as loud as you can "He's got a gun!"
This should take care of your problem.
I think it's a lot more wrong to expose others than to expose just myself.
Err, I probalby could phrase that a bit better... I think it's bad to expose others to risk than to just expose myself to risk.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
He forgot a few :
I will not be a camper or AWP-whore.
I will not spawn-kill.
I will not kill-steal or ninja-loot or intentionally train-to-zone.
I will immediately delete any porn I find that involves obviously underage participants, and then go wash my eyes out with soap.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
$ delete boss delete: cannot remove 'boss': Permission denied $ sudo delete boss boss removed
We use nothing but pirated software. Because our financial analysts found out that by doing so, we are actually attacking our competitions and also saving spendings on softwares. It's a total win-win strategy.
The force in this case is that you're the IT guy. Can anyone think of the best thing about being the IT guy?
Anyone? anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
You can talk over people's heads and just make stuff up! Seriously. I ask myself this as the IT guy all the time: "Hmmm... do I really want to explain this or do I just want to make something up to get rid of this person?".
Many times, it's make something up. Besides pointing out the obvious illegality, you can just mention that everytime Office is opened the serial number is reported back to Redmond. If two people have it open at the same time then "BAM!" Microsoft sees a possible piracy issue.
Remember as the IT Guy that you possess specialized knowledge not unlike a doctor or a lawyer: professions where making stuff up is a time honored tradition.
CC it, not blindly, to yourself, your boss, your boss's boss, all the way up the chain... and MS, too, just for the hell of it.
That ought to make it hard to 'lose'.
If you're that worried about your job, HR too.
ok sheridan
Worked for Oliver North.
Oh, horseshit -- under this administration, the other word for "whistleblower" is "fuckee". They just finished weakening legal protection for said fuckees.
"That which does not kill us makes us stranger." -Trevor Goodchild
Well, it for sure wasn't me!
urd