Stop Software piracy | Use Open-source Softwares

We regularly hear reports about the cost to the software industry of software piracy, but are the claim to be taken at face value? Information is disgracefully unfair towards what the author is trying to say.

There are three basic types of software, although these do have their own subsections, as will be discussed later:

1. Commercial software, purchased with a license for one or more computers. This generally is united with some form of support and regular updates to patch errors etc. occasionally a new version of the software is offered at a reduced rate as "update". This type of software is generally relatively costly and is often designed to cover specific industrial purposes. The big exclusion is the various sets of "office" software, which are designed for use in the commercial atmosphere, but can naturally be equally used for various responsibilities at home. The most common application in this category is, of course, text restriction. Most of the other classic "office" applications, such as calculations and data bases are only of limited use in the family environment, although they will be used in some cases, particularly now that the more computer-literate generation is rising.

2. Simplified or "lite" versions of the commercial software. These are planned principally for small businesses and enterprise that do not need the complete capabilities of, say, a 3-D modeling system, but must be able to view such documentation and prepare well-matched drawings. Again, the "office" environment was a long time not represented in this sector, but has recently started to be available. These will also come with a single or multiple, but limited license and now mostly be registered with the firm.

3. Free or "open source" software. This is designed for general distribution and has no particular restrictions as to use, except that it may not be changed in any way. Physically, such software has its limitations, but may serve very adequately for many purposes. Basically all types of software are to be found in this category. One notable application distributes the software to read its documents freely, but charges for the software to produce the documents. This policy is perhaps the motor behind its ride to a position as industry standard, since you can always be certain that he receiver can decipher whatever is sent, without long negotiations about compatibility and versions.

Clearly, there can be no piracy of products that fall into the third type, except for changing of the code or reuse of the code for other purpose, but this does not appear to be a major issue at the moment, so we will concentrate our attention on the first two categories.

Both of these categories contain software that is copied and distributed either free of charge or for a small fee. Naturally, the full versions of the software are chosen, but the simplified versions are also to be found, depending on what is on offer.