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BSA Software Piracy Fight Smacks of RIAA Crackdown
Ron Paul Dennis Kucinich writes "A Business Software Alliance raid on musical-instrument maker Ernie Ball Inc. cost the company $90,000 in a settlement. Soon after, Microsoft sent other businesses in the region around Ball's a flyer offering discounts on software licenses, along with a reminder not to wind up like Ernie Ball. Enraged, CEO Sterling Ball vowed never to use Microsoft software again, even if 'we have to buy 10,000 abacuses.' Similar BSA raids around the country have been provoking strong reactions from put-upon business owners, echoing similar reactions to music-lovers targeted by the RIAA."
Seriously, WTF, people? Is that what you say to the IRS when they come to audit you, that it's too much hassle to retain the appropriate documentation? Is that the line you take with regulatory agencies when they come to see your safety records? This is not rocket science; any halfway competent business can do that. I guess Ernie Ball and the rest of you don't meet that minimum bar.
I hope you guys don't keep track of your accounts payable and receivable the way you keep track of your software licences and purchase invoices.
So... you think 85% of the computer market which runs either XP or Vista... does so out of ignorance? You don't think the IT staffs of almost every major corporation hasn't already tested Teh Lunix, and found it seriously lacking? Or horribly expensive compared to Windows?
Sure, Lunix is free. That doesn't mean it's not expensive. Or even useful. You know what else you can get free? Your first shot of heroin or crack. So do people not use hardcore drugs out of ignorance? Most people are smart enough to already know NOT using drugs has benefits. So why bother seeking "alternatives"?
Seems there is an ignorant person on this issue, but it's not one of that 85%. They already know how to use Windows. Why switch? XP and Vista are the most stable, secure, and reliable operating systems on the market. They are also the most flexible: can you purchase Lunix software at Best Buy? Yeah, that's what I thought.
People want something which "just works". Lunix doesn't "just work", and if it is set up and stops working... who's going to fix it? You? Companies have to hire armadas of consultants to keep their crappy Lunix implementations they got suckered into buying up and running. I've worked at dozens of places where they literally have to keep their Lunix systems running 24/7 because they are terrified that if it ever needed to reboot... it wouldn't come back up. And from what I've seen about Teh Lunix, that's a very real consequence of turning off a Lunix boxen.
Not only is Teh Lunix not ready for prime time, it's not even ready for minor league. I feel really bad for all those idiots who got suckered into using Teh Lunix. Like the City of Munich, which has been virtually shut down since 2002 because they foolishly tried running all their stuff on Teh Lunix. Were that a business, Lunix would have put them OUT of business.