Bogus Stats Again: BSA Puts Out Its Yearly Propaganda About Software Piracy
from the aren't-we-done-with-this-yet? dept
For the 9th year in a row, the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an organization that mainly represents Microsoft's interest, has put out its ridiculous "Global Software Piracy Study", which argues that tons and tons of software is being pirated, and if only people paid for it, there would be $63.4 billion more going to software companies. We've been criticizing the ridiculously laughable methodology of the report since it began, and even have seen the company that does the research, IDC, admit that the BSA exaggerates what the report actually says. We've done multiple detailed analyses of how the BSA's stats are misleading (or just flat out bogus). And yet, because there are magical numbers involved, the press just loves to parrot the claims without any skepticism.This year's report is no different. It's more of the same ridiculousness, with a clueless press reporting (totally inaccurately) that the study says that software piracy "costs" the economy $63.4 billion. That's simply not true. What the report did find was not actually surprising or even very interesting. It's that people in developing countries tend to infringe more often. You probably knew that already, but if you wanted evidence for that, you shouldn't look to the BSA and its bogus stats, but a thorough, comprehensive and independent review of the market, such as the one done by Joe Karaganis and SSRC last year. That report found the reason that there was increased piracy in developing markets was because clueless companies don't realize that people aren't going to pay a month's salary for a single digital good.
Of course, rather than recognize it's their own business model failings at issue, the BSA is once again using this report to call for "tougher penalties" for infringement. This despite the fact that no study has ever shown that such penalties actually drive more people to buy.
Thankfully, at least some people are calling the BSA out on its bogus report, such as by noting that it's political propaganda designed to get legislation like SOPA and PIPA passed. The reality, of course, is that it shows how out of touch the BSA is with the innovation economy today, instead working to lock up and protect the interests of its major funders: Microsoft, Symantec and Intuit. Those companies are threatened by upstarts with better business models, and the best they can do is to support legislation that will lock down the internet, causing more harm than good for true innovation.
The "Bogus Stats Again" report from the BSA isn't about dealing with piracy. It's a way of white washing an agenda of protectionism for some large software companies who don't want to compete or to adapt.
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Filed Under: bogus stats, bsa, pipa, software piracy, sopa
Companies: idc, intuit, microsoft, symantec
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Any thoughts on how to make it work?
You could argue the world is flat and the true global price is $0.01 but that's not necessarily the best revenue maximizing outcome for you as the producer.
So what's the answer?
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Re: Any thoughts on how to make it work?
Economics says that you have to sell at the marginal price of copying - which is below $0.01.
The answer is to follow the business models of companies like Red Hat et al.
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Re: Any thoughts on how to make it work?
As a trivial example, try comparing Google Docs' spreadsheets with Microsoft Office's Excel. They're both spreadsheet programs. Google gives their version away for free, at least for casual users. Microsoft sells Office for somewhere between $100 and $400, depending on the version that you want. Google doesn't get pirated at all -- there's nothing to pirate. Microsoft gets pirated constantly, because lots of people don't want to drop that much money just to open a spreadsheet. And, based on recent trends, Google is taking an ever-increasing amount of market share away from Microsoft, by releasing a free product.
Obviously, one of the major advantages of MS Office is that you can work offline with it. That being said, though...how many people actually produce and update spreadsheets purely for their own use? Most spreadsheets are intended to be shared with someone else. One of the main services Google provides is the ability to share the documents with other people, quickly and easily. Google figured out how to monetize the sharing process, rather than the creation process, and that's how Google makes money off a free product without having to worry about piracy.
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Re: Re: Any thoughts on how to make it work?
Quote:
http://www.csdassn.org/software_reports.cfm
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Re: Re: Re: Any thoughts on how to make it work?
I agree with Anonymous Coward, May 16th, 2012 @ 4:22pm but M$ still does a good job for the average user. I've tried Libre Office and Google docs. Libre pales in comparison with M$ stuff and while Google offers connectivity in a very easy way it lacks in user interface and functionalities. I should add that SPSS rapes Excel in so many ways it's hard for me to enumerate but we are talking about an $5k software... Too much.
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Re: Re: Any thoughts on how to make it work?
Many of the VOD titles do not let you fast forward or rewind, and they add commercials to something I am paying for.
I travel for work frequently - Hotel WIFI often blocks streaming or if not fast enough anyway. And when I travel out of the country, forget it.
If I could sync my tablet at home and cache stuff from my playlist, I would not be downloading it. Simply put, the content is available for free, and there is more content available than ever before. Every site they manage to block results in 10 new sites. If they would shift their attention to the actual delivery of the product, they could continue to make money. When I pay to subscribe to a service I should be able to use it when I want, wherever I am, on whatever device I have with me, or the service is worth nothing to me.
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Re: Any thoughts on how to make it work?
Bigger tip jar?
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Re: Any thoughts on how to make it work?
Take the time and money that would have gone into anti-piracy efforts, use it to improve your product and your relationships with users.
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Re: Any thoughts on how to make it work?
If I want your video game, it's reasonably price, easy to purchase, DRM-free and comes with a community of fans I can interact with then I'm not even going to care or bother to find out that it's only $0.10 for Columbians.
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Find A Sponsor
Princes are different from ordinary men-- princes love to give large gifts, as a proof of their own greatness. The same psychology applies to a certain type of official. You find some colonel somewhere in the Air Force Systems Command at Wright-Patterson AFB, who is turned on by your idea, and willing to push it for all it is worth. As for open-sourcing it afterwards, that simply adds to the grandeur.
Now, as applied to India, I would not be terribly surprised if the Government of India were willing to pay surprisingly large sums to have all kinds of software "localized" to a wide range of Indian languages.
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Re: Any thoughts on how to make it work?
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Phallated Numbers
Everybody knows the awesome Linux geeks in Antarctica aren't using paid-for software--and I'm pretty sure that qualifies as "theft" according to the BSA.
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Linux FTW
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I go it directly from disrowatch :)
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Go back to economcis...
Not to mention, you jokers can't force a laborer to waste what little wage they got to original and high quality but VERY expensive merchandise...
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Wouldn't you?
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That's not a lost sale, that's a delayed sale due to basic demand. This is how I build up my collection of games.
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We are no longer expected to question the rules and authority. We are expected to follow along blindly.
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BOYSCOUTS Of AMERICA
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There is evidence to refute these bogus stats
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draining the treasury
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