Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Even so, it's better for software developers to have people pirate their software than to have people move to the open source side. Look at it this way:

If 50% of users paid for MS Office, and 50% pirate it, that's still 100% MS dependancy. Everyone wants it because they know it's the 'standard' that everyone else is using. Eventually, some of the 'pirates' may actually be able to pay for a newer version, and MS would make some more money. I know I'd rather own a legit key, but if I can't afford it, I can't afford it. (If it wasn't for severely discounted keys through my college, I might have considered a pirated version.)

Now, if 50% paid for MS Office and 50% used OpenOffice, there wouldn't be a standard anymore. Some of the MSoffice users might think "Hey, that's free and it works just as well. Maybe I should save some money." MS could lose control of the market, and lose money in the process. Even though MSoffice has a few extra features, it wouldn't justify the cost.

Face it, MS Office IS the de facto standard. If it wasn't for pirating, more people would be forced to use open solutions which would gain popularity. But when something is a standard, you can't deny it. I've read many articles on OpenOffice where the writer said that they love it, but still use MSoffice because there are some things that OpenOffice can't do.

And it's true, large developer software from Adobe, MicroSoft, and similar companies goes through a lot of development and usually has some more features than open source competitors.

And to them, it's better to have everyone on their page, regardless of if they've paid.