🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1122@shrike.com> flash@austin.lockheed.com (James W. Melton) writes:
> 
[James outlines steps that were taken at his company to assure legitimacy of  
software installation, while pointing out that an attempt at mechanistic  
enforcement was not in itself sufficient]

What your company has done is to take measures strong enough to leave no doubt as  
to the company's intentions, and as a result, the "software legitimacy crunch" (a  
phrase that has waited to long to be invented, thanks!) at your site has been  
minimized.

This points out that a lot can be done by people even though there will never be a  
strictly mechanical solution, if there is an incentive.

> it is IMPOSSIBLE to create an
> environment that precludes illegal copying of software and still
> lets people do their work.

Impossible to preclude, very possible to maximize or minimize depending on the  
determination of the company. Companies cannot preclude theft or hardware, either,  
but they all succeed in minimizing it for economic reasons.

> 
> Actually, the one thing that eased the software legitimacy crunch
> more than anything was a corporate licensing agreement with
> Microsoft, which basically licensed EVERY Mac Lockheed owns to run
> certain applications (Word, etc.)

That's another solution which helps (although it tends to favor the "big guys" like  
MicroSoft and make it more difficult for smaller companies to find a niche).

That adds another possibility of the "embedded upgrade coupon" concept. Suppose a  
vendor sold software licenses only in lots of, say, 10 seats. Then if an employee  
copied the software and thereby stole the upgrade coupon, the company would lose  
ten licenses at once. That would be an even greater incentive to guard against  
copying.

Thanks!

--
*********   MY OPINIONS, not those of my employer!   **************
+================================+================================+
|         Rob Weinberg           |  Workstation publications tech |
|   Email : robertw@informix.com |        Graphic designer        |
|   Voice : 415-926-6754         |     <imagine your ad here>     |
+================================+================================+