Software Robin

A survey has found that over half of Canada’s university students are pirating software. This should not come as a surprise. As the price of hardware has declined steeply in the last few years, the price of software has increased. One software suite can easily cost as much as the computer on which it runs these day. For a university student, computers are indispensable. And as computer networking has been integrated into lessons and assignments, certain programmes have become essential to participate in learning as pen once was. Microsoft Office Student Edition is selling for C$200 and the Professional Edition $650 right now. I bought my last computer for C$300 and the Windows OS cost C$250. If I were a student taking out loans to pay bills, I would pay for the computer but I would not be able to pay for the software. Computer companies, like Microsoft, always say that their high prices are the cost of development. The reality is that development is the excuse for high prices. Think about it, how many of us can use the MS Office 2000 to do everything we need and still not use 70% of its functionalities? These suites and OS have become so bloated that if they were organic they would be diagnosed with cancer. As you cannot blame starving people for stealing from profiteers, you cannot blame students for stealing software. If software companies want to stop privacy of their wares, price them reasonably.