Windows 7: User Content Updates

Where will it end with software piracy?

by Graeme
(Melbourne, Australia)

As a software developer, I'd like to make enough money to pay utilities and feed my family.

If I need to make enough money to do that, and expect that half the copies of my product will be pirated copies, then I have to double the cost of the software to make ends meet.

Every time someone rips off a copy of Windows or some other software, the price just goes up for everyone else.

Clearly this security 'arms race' is getting us nowhere.

Software license fees keep climbing, online stores like Amazon and iTunes are doing a great job of selling content while making it nearly impossible for legitimate paying customers to use it, and license conditions become so long and technical that not even lawyers can read or understand it all.

There MUST be a better way for our industry to function than effectively punishing the honest end users for the actions of the criminal few.

Can hackers somehow be encouraged to CREATE software instead of stealing it?

Can Microsoft and others hire hackers to develop better security models - models that don't make the acquisition and use of software painful?

I'm not an economist and don't have the answer, but has anyone heard of a business model that works in this environment?