🚀 go-pugleaf

tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu writes:

>The BSA, founded in 1988, is a coalitionion of eight high-revenue
>software companies:  1) Apple Computer 2) Autodesk 3) Central Point
>Software
>
>Like the
>Software Publishers Association, the group aims to eradicate software
>piracy

Did this strike any ex-Apple II users as being more than a little bit
strange?  It should be noted that Central Point Software was built off
of piracy.  The earliest product of theirs I remember is CopyII+ for
the Apple II.  While it had some PC Tools like functionality, it's most well
known function (and the reason most people purchased it) was
it could copy just about any copyprotected piece of software.  They
kidded themselves in their documentation saying it should be used for only
making legal backups, but they had to know that the main use of the program
was to pirate software.  If it wasn't for pirated Apple II software, my
belief is that Central Point Software would no longer be in business.
It disgusts me to see a company use pirated software to their advantage
and then change their tune when it is no longer to their advantage to
promote piracy.  I think the BSA might be best served by looking at the
early practices of Central Point Software to make sure that they did not
violate copyright law (I have no idea if they did or not, but it is definitely
a question in my mind).  For example, did they own legal copies of all the
software that CopyII+ had copy parameter files for?  (They had to test it
somehow.)

Billy Barron
billy@unt.edu