Date: Tue, 08 Dec 92 14:35:36 -0600
From: Neil W Rickert <rickert@CS.NIU.EDU>
Subject: File 2--Re: Taking a Look at the SPA (CuD 4.63)

In article <1992Dec06.234359.16097@chinacat.unicom.com>
TK0JUT2%NIU.bitnet@UICVM.UIC.EDU writes:

> Our goal is to encourage debate and
>we welcome readers' thoughts on the subject (of the SPA).

Let me illustrate the problem by describing how the SPA would expect
you to go about purchasing a spread sheet program.

Assumption:  You need a spread sheet.  You are unsure whether to
purchase Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, Quattro-Pro, or SuperCalc 5.  Assume they
each cost approx $300 dollars at typical retail stores.

Case I: You represent a financial business.  The $300 cost of the
package is trivial compared to the value it has for the members of
your staff.

Procedure:  You call each of the companies.  They provide you a copy
of their software for evaluation.  You may share this copy with
several members of your staff, provided you agree to delete all copies
in one month at the end of the evaluation period.

At the end of the evaluation period you negotiate a site license with
the company selling the preferred version of the software.  This will
allow you to obtain the software for substantial discount.

Net cost:  $100 per copy.


Case II: You are the treasurer of a small not-for-profit organization.
You would like the software to aid you in preparing monthly reports.
But it will take you many years to recoup benefits equal to the retail
price of a package.

Procedure:  You visit the nearest software retail store.  You purchase
a shrink-wrapped copy of each of the packages, and after deciding
which one you want, you throw away the other three.

Net cost: $1200 per copy.

+++++++++++

I put it to you that if there is a question of ethics involved, it is
the SPA whose practices are unethical.  They attempt to prevent
libraries from having borrowable copies of software.  They insist on
shrink wrapping, with no right of return if the product is unsuitable.
They charge outrageous prices.  In book publishing, the retail price
of a popular book is not much more than the cost of printing, storing,
packaging and distributing, with a small markup for profit; with
software publishing the profit margins are far higher.  They use these
high profits to pay for lobbying so that they can persuade government
agencies to support them as they charge unrealistic prices for their
software.  And they try to prevent the development of a free market by
filing "look and feel" and patent lawsuits against their potential
competitors.

If you happen to find a problem with their product (a software bug),
and report it to them, their first reaction is to not believe there is
such a bug, and to suggest that how could a mere professor of computer
science know the difference between a bug and a user error.  If you
spend enough hours of work to fully document the bug they will
eventually accept your report, but they will not offer you a
replacement of your current software with a bug free one, unless you
are willing to pay the full upgrade price to the next version.  [This
paragraph based on personal experience with reporting bugs to software
vendors, including Microsoft.]

------------------------------

From: bei@DOGFACE.AUSTIN.TX.US(Bob Izenberg)
Subject: File 3--Reaction to SPA statements in CuD 4.63

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