I propose the idea that giving free premium software to those who could never afford a purchase can only help the owners of that software. Some say that if a sale was never going to happen it can't be a lost sale. I agree. If people can get started learning to use programs they could never buy, they may develop skills and abilities that would enable future revenue and loyalty. At the same, time a third world nation can have more development as skilled and trained professionals grow.

Another important issue would be addressed as well. Piracy. By lifting the copyrights and making the software free in certain nations we could eliminate the need and spread of this problem. Like the ban on alcohol in America, lifting the restrictive law would eliminate much of the criminal element behind mass piracy in those nations. It is sad that so many people in the eastern block have been made criminals just so they could have a chance to learn a trade and improve the nation. The president of Romania once said that software piracy was a big reason her nation was improving in the IT sector. Does Adobe need to charge these kinds of people? They are posting record earnings and profits far beyond anything they posted before.

In summary, I think we can build better international and individual relationships, improve third world living standards, eliminate an entire region of organized crime with a few simple phone calls. I hope the powers that be will see the good that can come and the potential revenue for all that is possible. Perhaps it will happen on a large scale. I would be happy if it did.

 

 

 

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It is NOT good that companies should just go "Open-Source" because there would be no competition and the people working on the projects would simply become volunteers...

That is the REASON why some companies that develop more "expensive" products have a "Personal", "Commercial", AND a "Educational" range... All have their terms, Education edition is normally the cheapest, but you have to be a licensed school or something to buy it...

That is the ENTIRE reason why there are "Educational" releases of a more "expensive" program (i.e. Gamebryo)

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Although a wonderful idea it is difficult to implement. There have been charity fundraisers who want a piece of donations just because they feel they are entitled to it.

Piracy - hard to ban if software makers do not get their software patented or their brands trademarked. And often, piracy has to be dealt with by using IRON-FIST LAW and law enforcers. The other way is for software-makers to have time-limited sofware that self-destructs at a deadline, or NOT TO PROVIDE SUPPORT EXCEPT FOR THOSE WHO PAY FOR IT.

3rd world can be improved if people in it get a solid foundation in education FIRST. Providing premium software to them FOC may be a good start but it does not solve the many problems that come with poverty or lack of information. Perhaps it's easier to adopt a child!

What do the powers think of? What can they do to HELP 3rd world? I'd be very interested to know. More likely that some private corporation start doing this kind of "initiative" than any government.

P.S. Open source may be good for many collaborations/software projects but it also can hurt like a double-edged sword. The danger is when a developer finds that some open source he used actually has some 'not so open-source stuff'. This opens up a whole new can of worms possible for legal suits without devs even knowing until they're in hot soup and that may be too late.

 

 

 

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It is a nice idea, but I fail to see how it would help the people of third world nations. In principle free premium software could create jobs and help educate people, but you have to remember that even now 90% of their software is pirated. Even in my country it rounds to the same figure. So they already have the software, the only difference is that it is not legit.
The problem with the software is not the costs itself, rather the fact that the cost isn't proportioned with the income. For an American 30$ isn't more then spare change, but for someone who's monthly income is 50$ (or in most cases even much less) 30$ is a fortune. It isn't fare to label it as free for someone and 30$ for someone else. You could say ... the price of the software is x% of the national medium income. That way software would be much more affordable, developers will still get some money for their work and people can say they own the software. As for the benefits - I am pessimistic. They already have the software, the fact that it is legit will not make much of a difference I'm afraid!

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as adriantc says I also see little advantage in using non-pirated software, at least for 'general purpose' software, office etc. Surely it'd help more if specific and usually VERY expensive pieces of software ere available to selected businesses in third world areas who could take advantage of them.

I am thinking about applications for scientific research or professional design which are often unique in their fields and can really represent an added value to an organization that uses them, it is also an opportunity for the software house to expand their business in those areas... I believe this mechanism is already in place, the software firm sponsoring the usage of their proprietary software, I wonder if it is widely happening in so called third world countries

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Is Romania a third world country?
As far as I knew, third world ment Africa and part of South America.


And about free software for countries where people can't afford it... It is being done somehow. I mean, yes, not premium software, but a person who wants to learn programming can use the Express editions of Visual Studio, for example, which are free.
Or there are of course a lot of free alternatives for most things.

The real problem with the piracy is that it's so simple to download cracked programs from torrents.
But if a person really wants to, he/she can do very well with free software. It's just a bit trickier than just get some easier-to-use cracked programs.

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Why the need to give away proprietary software though? Why can't you just distribute free (gratis and libre) software to those who cannot afford the ridiculously expensive proprietary software? That still allows people to develop the skills needed to work as professionals with these pieces of software, but without being locked into a proprietary system.



"I know how we can drastically reduce crime!"
"How?"
"Legalise everything!"

Revoking laws on copyright and piracy would have no effect. Those who are bothered are already pirating software, and there is no need if free alternatives are available anyway.



They didn't need to be criminals. No-one forced them to use Microsoft or Adobe software or whatever. Open-source, free alternatives are available, so there is no need for them to be software pirates.

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Well, I would like to point one very important thing people usually aren't talking about is why would someone develop free or open software and how would they earn money. Well the point is that open source software must be distinguished from the free software since sometimes yes it is true sometimes people provide software as open source but demand in fact payment for its usage. And especially for the support.

Support is the main thing with which people are earning in the world of free and open source software therefore from the beginnning it is not free, it just looks free. And application without support and prolonged developer support is in fact a lot more expensive then some proprietary software or even tailor made software. So with initial starting costs of the free and open source software lower then proprietary and tailor made software. Which with guaranteed developer and company support can in the final checkout become cheaper.

Depends what certain company wants and needs and how strong is their IT office. Also I did not discussed pirated software which is in fact the other side of these groups and making also good and bad things depending from the position of view.

Best Regards from
Hitman

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