[ Thanks to Kelly
McNeill for this link. ]
“Software piracy has image problems. On one side there are those
who claim they do it because it’s quick and easy, and cheap, and…
there are many other reasons they give, many of which you can fill
in for yourself. On the other side, there are those who claim that
piracy is parasitic on the honest programmers who write the
software, and who depend on people paying for it, to make a
living.”
“I come down on the side of the honest programmers. They come up
with the algorithms, they put the hard work into making them work,
they put up with their managers – who may not be very technical
themselves – playing politics, they have mortgages, they have
children to put through school, they deserve compensation for their
skills.”
“But, what is ‘software piracy’? To understand it, you need
to understand licensing terms. And retail channels. And things like
parallel import restrictions.“