Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Maybe they are running Linux?

ppbbbbft!

Make that argument (`other software is way better`) to the 75% of the world`s population using Windows, MS Office, etc.

Nikole, you chose to go to Cornell. Expensive school. Is that, therefore, a social problem for us to solve? Something wrong with UCLA? San Jose State?

Your sister also chose to be a barista. She makes twice the poverty level in this country, and she also chooses to live in one of the most expensive places in this country. Is that also our societal responsibility?

You know, I`ve been thinking about this. I`ve always wanted to become an airline captain, but those planes and simulators are so expensive. I mean, my school doesn`t have one in the lab!

Should I run out and steal a Boeing 747? I mean, I`d just borrowing it to `learn the expensive software`. How could that be wrong? I would promise, of course, to only use a licensed jet when I get hired by American Airlines. OK?

Oh you`re such a PITA.

I went to Cornell because they have SERIOUS tuition discounts for the poor kids with good grades. You can`t find those at SJSU or UCLA. If you need help attending, they have some incredible loans and grant programs.

That`s the problem with poverty ... when you are poor, you can`t afford to leave. Hell, we`re middle class and having enough trouble trying to leave too. You`re so busy paying into your expenses to save and get out of them. But that is a conversation for another day ...

Really, is it so wrong to just discuss a program that would wrap up software purchases into low-interest loan programs for students? Or places where people can learn these things who can`t afford them?

What`s a PITA? PETA, yes; I love animals. Steak also, which is a bit of a conflict.

You just proved my point about Cornell: you don`t need discounts @ UCLA, etc. It`s cheaper than a private school to begin with. I`ll bet you also went there because of the hope of a great job due to coming from an Ivy League School. That`s called Return on Investment, which is a financial payback for graduating.

I just don`t see pulling oneself up by one`s bootstraps by stealing stuff. I grew up lower-middle class. Never stole a piece of software in my life. MP3`s, same deal.

Places where people can go learn software are called libraries, computer labs, other programs for the poor. In your neck of the woods, San Francisco has tons of things like that.

Nothing prevents, or prevented you, from using student loans to buy legitimate software. Many undergraduate schools now require and  include laptops and software in the cost of tuition. Problem solved.

Now, where can I find a 747 with the keys in the throttle-ignition thingy?

That is great if that is how they have it set up now - however, when I was a student, my loans didn`t have much overage. They were not written over to cover things like technology. The Apple Loan paid for my computer, but not all the software.

I won`t get into the discussion of going to an expensive school that pays for 100% vs a cheaper one that pays for 60% ... it`s sort of like a lot of bad financial decisions, it`s what you do right now because it`s what you can afford right now.

Anyway, this whole thing is silly - not like either of us are going to convince the other. I`m gonna agree to disagree, and drop your keys to the 747 in the mail.

Nikole,

Sweet! Could you make it a Gulfstream V instead? I`ve always wanted one of those.

Anyway, yes, this is a problem - software is expensive. Part of the problem, at least before offshoring to India, is that the payoff from an IT-related degree is pretty large. So, software and other IT expenses are kind of expected. The cost of hardware, of course, has come down dramatically, but the cost of software has more than made up for the savings.

Student versions of software are one way, but it`s still going to cost something to get to the table and play. Barriers to entry are in every field; IT is no exception. I`d love to see universal healthcare and universal education through college; it would make the U.S. an actual great country again.

But cruise missles against imaginary Al Qaeda fighters and people with no actual weapons of mass destruction seem to take center stage these days. Too bad. This was really once a nice place. Does MS Office have a Spanish version?

The amount of restitution was greater than his salary - that does not make it tough or impossible to pay?  $265,000 is a lot for anybody - especially when you bring home $4,000 per month, which is what the opinion said.

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

James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

While I agree that it is a lot of money for someone with that salary ... he shouldn`t have been selling illegal copies of software!

agreed.  the point is not that the amount of restitution was too much but that he most likely will go to prison because he can`t pay it back - and that going to prison virtually guarantees he won`t be able to pay it back.  the real life choice is often either prison or money.  no money?  the choice gets easy.  it`s that way in many criminal cases.

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

James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

This, however, just proves the point ... the software company didn`t want the money / need the money, or they would have come up with ways to make it easier for him to pay back the amount.

They were OK with jail time to set an example.

So what does that say about the price of software and the software company?