Software Piracy Global Increase

Software Piracy Global Increase

by: Robert Palmer

Pirated software is on the increase and now accounts for over one third of the software installed on the worldกs computers and itกs cost the software industry a staggering, $28bn (£12bn) last year in lost revenues. Thatกs the startling claim of the UK based, Business Software Alliance. Their annual survey of global software piracy shows that some 36% of software applications were illegally installed and being used during 2003.
The study, conducted for the first time on behalf of the BSA by global technology research firm, International Data Corporation, incorporated major software market segments, including operating systems and consumer software and local market software. They discovered that while software costing $81bn (£38bn) was installed onto computers around the world, only $51bn (£23bn) was actually purchased and installed legally.
The USA and Canada who collectively are the most honest when it comes to purchasing software show a software piracy rate of 23% whilst the worst offenders are within the Eastern European countries, where piracy levels are an incredible 71%. Itกs difficult to draw any comparisons from previous years data as this is the first year the study has been outsourced to an independent company and takes in a wider spectrum of software than the previous studies conducted inhouse by the BSA. As well as counting the number of illegally produced software programs installed on systems, the study also includes software for where an insufficient number of site licenses have been purchased.
ขSoftware piracy continues to be a major challenge for economies worldwide,ข said Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of BSA. ขFrom Algeria to New Zealand, Canada to China, piracy deprives local governments of tax revenue, costs jobs throughout the technology supply chain and cripples the local, incountry software industry.ข
Mr Holleyman went on to say, that the IDC study reflects a logical evolution in BSA’s decadelong effort to measure piracy in the global economy. Its scope was expanded to account more accurately for trends such as the growth of local software markets worldwide and the acceleration of Internet piracy.
For its analysis, IDC drew upon its worldwide data for software and hardware shipments, conducted more than 5,600 interviews in 15 countries, and used its incountry analysts around the globe to evaluate local market conditions. IDC identified the piracy rate and dollar losses by utilizing proprietary IDC models for PC, software and license shipments by all industry vendors in 86 countries.
The study found that the size of a regional software market is the critical link between piracy rates and actual dollars lost. For instance, 91 percent of software installed in the Ukraine in 2003 was pirated, as compared to 30 percent in the U.K. But dollar losses in the U.K. ($1.6 bn) were about 17 times higher than those in the Ukraine ($92.1m). This difference is attributed to a much larger total PC software market in the U.K. than in the Ukraine.
ขA number of factors contribute to the regional differences in piracy, including localmarket size, the availability of pirated software, the strength of copyright laws, and cultural differences regarding intellectual property rights,ข said John Gantz, Chief Research Officer at IDC. ขUnfortunately, we found that high market growth regions also tend to be high piracy regions, such as China, India and Russia. If the piracy rate in emerging markets – where people are rapidly integrating computers into their lives and businesses – does not drop, the worldwide piracy rate will continue to increase.ข
ขThe fight for strong intellectual property protection and respect for copyrighted works spans the globe, and there is much work to be done,ข Mr Holleyman said. ขBSA will continue to work with governments to enact policies to protect software intellectual property as well as implement programs to raise business and consumer awareness about the importance of copyright protection for creative works. Lowering the piracy rate will stimulate local economic activity, generate government revenue, create job growth and cultivate future innovation.ข
Countries with Highest Piracy Rate:

Vietnam 92%
China 92%
Ukraine 91%
Indonesia 88%
Zimbabwe 87%
Russia 87%
Algeria 84%
Nigeria 84%
Pakistan 83%
Paraguay 83%

Countries with Lowest Piracy Rate

United States 22%
New Zealand 23%
Denmark 26%
Sweden 27%
Austria 27%
United Kingdom 29%
Japan 29%
Belgium 29%
Germany 30%
Switzerland 31%

Related links:
http://www.bsa.org/
http://www.idc.com/

About The Author

Robert Palmer is CEO of deskNET Communications (http://www.desknet.co.uk) providing webmasters and ecommerce with a more successful alternative to optin email marketing and email newsletters.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 10, 2004

by Robert Palmer

What to Do if You Fall in Love With More Than One

What to Do if You Fall in Love With More Than One Screensaver

by: Roman Kramar

If you don’t know where one screensaver goes when you install another one then this article is for you. Learn about the standard way of switching between installed screensavers and get prepared to a much more convenient one.

It was a great surprise for me to get dozens of emails complaining about what I myself would have never thought of. Many people installed my Rainy Screensaver ( http://www.elasticsystems.com/rainy/ ) and found it quite entertaining. But then they got upset because their previous screensaver was very fun too and now it wouldn’t come up anymore.

What has happened to their old screensaver after the installation of another one? Today we will deal with this question.

Probably, many of you will find this information rather obvious. I am really sorry for not being very helpful to this part of my readers this time. But I receive too many emails of described nature. This leaves me with the hope that some people will learn something new in their quests for becoming Screensaver Gurus.

Here we go. The root of the problem is that screensaver installation hides many steps happening behind the scene. This is very convenient but itกs what makes the answer to our question not so obvious for many people.

I hope you were following my articles. In Windows Screensavers Explained I told you about the place where screensavers live in your system. But don’t worry if you missed that article. Hereกs the information you need.

Your operating system (and we are talking about Microsoft Windows here) expects to find available screensavers in two folders on your hard drive. These folders are C:\Windows and C:\Windows\System if you use Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me. If you have Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP then these folders are C:\WINNT and C:\WINNT\System32. Note that I suppose you system is installed on your hard drive C. If your system is on drive D, you should look into D:\Windows. The same goes for other drives.

When you install a screensaver it gets into one of these folders. The screensaver simply copies itself over there. Some screensavers have more than one file. Usually they copy other files into a separate folder under your Program Files. But it makes no difference for the purpose of our discussion.

The main idea behind all this is that your previous screensaver doesn’t disappear. A new screensaver copies itself into one of the mentioned folders. But copying is not removing. The previous screensaver is not removed unless you uninstall it manually. That is, if you install two or more screensavers, you can still enjoy all of them.

What exactly should you do to admire all screensavers installed on your system? The answer is simple and you could easily find it yourself by an accident. Try the following. Right click anywhere on the empty desktop and choose Properties. You will see Display Properties dialog. This dialog has many pages but you need the one named Screen Saver. Activate it by clicking on its title. You should see a preview window with the last installed screensaver. Now look below that window. Thereกs a drop down list with the name of that screensaver. This drop down list is the answer to our question. You can select any screensaver installed on your system by clicking on the list. After that Windows will launch only the screensaver you have selected.

The described solution is perfect if you have two or three favorite screensavers and would like to change between them once in a week. But what if you have five or ten favorite screensavers and want to see them on a daybyday basis? We will beat this problem next time by introducing a few quite useful tools. They can make switching between screensavers a lot easier and more entertaining. Stay tuned…

About The Author

About the author: Roman Kramar is a software developer who enjoys writing screensavers as his time permits. Visit his site at http://www.elasticsystems.com/ to find out more about screensavers and his work.

[email protected]

This article was posted on May 17, 2003

by Roman Kramar

A Basic Introduction To Spyware

A Basic Introduction To Spyware

by: Philippa Smith

Spyware is the most troublesome software to appear on the Internet in recent times. When spyware infects a computer system, it may be relatively harmless or it may be devastating.

Spyware like coolwebsearch and new.net are capable of paralyzing a computer system. Laws to regulate spyware are pending in many states and may take years to enforce.

What Is Spyware?

Spyware is any software that collects information about computer usage and/or the computer user. It is installed on one computer and sends information to another computer. Some spywares like the Weather Bug, Bear Share and Kazaa are knowingly downloaded and installed by users. Other spyware is installed without the knowledge or permission of the user.

How Does Spyware Affect A Computer?

Symptoms of spyware infection includes:

Very slow system performance while browsing the Internet.

Your homepage changing mysteriously on its own.

Excessive appearance of popups, on sites likes Google, Yahoo and MSN, which don’t use them.

You can only get your browser to visit sites, which are trying to dupe you into buying spy ware removal software.

Many spyware detection and elimination programs are easily available for free on the Internet.

How Does One Deal With Spyware?

There are many tools and catalogues available to deal with spyware. One of these tools is Spybot Search and Destroy. It scans computers for spyware and harmful programs. It shows a list of problem areas to the user and allows him to delete any or all of them.

A user can leave legitimate programs installed by him. These may include peertopeer file sharing software or software installed to monitor the online activities of children.

A Comprehensive Solution

It may be a good idea for most computer owners to get a comprehensive PC security solution as a bundle. Norton and McAfee, now offer a complete security suite consisting of antivirus, personal firewall, antispam and privacy offerings, and antispy ware.

They are quite easy to install and allow parents to monitor children who use the computer. There are many threats on the Internet, from which these suites can protect your computer.

Click to find a daily updated blog of articles and news about spyware ! Get advice and information about how to protect your computer from attack, and disinfect it.. Click http://www.spyware101.com/

About The Author

Philippa Smith runs a home business in Los Angeles. The constant attacks on here computer caused her to learn all about spyware & viruses, and how to deal with them.

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 07

by Philippa Smith

Linux for Home Users

Linux for Home Users

by: Pawan Bangar

Hey Guys! Don’t raise your eyebrows or fear by hearing the word Linux. It is as user friendly as windows. Just take a look at the articles below and all myths about Linux in your mind will disappear.
Introduction to Linux:
It’s a free operating system available to download but you have to pay a tiny bit to mail order it or buy it from a company. Linux came into being about 11 years ago it was developed by Linux Tornados of Finland along with a group of programmers from the open source software movement.
Linux is growing steadily year after year. With a passionate community backing it, with big companies Like IBM and HP pledging their support for it, it’s no wonder Linux the wonder operating system for servers of the past, has also made it to the desktops of today.
Linux is based on the commercial OS, UNIX. All the operating systems try to pack in command line management of systems. System administrators of companies use command lines all the times as their lifeline, but it’s not really meant for regulars users.
Tips for Home Users:

If you want to get comfortable with Linux, you don’t have to let go of windows. Get Linux installed on a separate partition and you can switch between Windows and Linux. For new users who don’t have any computer background learning windows or Linux both takes same time and sitting.
It is suggested that new PC buyers should get both operating systems installed and should use them equally. If you’re getting Linux for more than 23 PCs, you can also get training and support at a small free, if you choose to have it. Else it’s the Linux community on the Net to your rescue.
You don’t have to be a great computer user to work with Linux. There are Desktop environments that let you work in Linux as you work in Windows. As you work with windows, same is the case with Linux.

Linux hands in decreasing PC prices.
PC prices are already on their way down. And you get more choice with operating systems and applications. From being an OS only computer professionals had heard about, Linux, in a short time, has made a transition into the lucrative and high profile home PC segment.
The PCs bundle the operating system. Linux being a free open source operating system means that the code that runs is open for everyone to see, work with, modify and develop their own innovative applications for it. But this is nothing compared to the money people spend on Operating Systems like windows. And a company bundles Linux and applications based on it with a computer, quite a bit of the PC cost comes down. Presently some branded PC’s coming with Linux are available for Rs: 25000/ onwards.
Linux is better than other OS
Linux users won’t even bat an eyelid before they say an emphasis comes from a deep dislike of Microsoft’s practice of changing the earth for software. But a lot of it comes from the fact they are ready to swear uponthat Linux is more stable. According to a latest survey Web Hosts are using Linux Based Servers for hosting purposes.
One note here though: the free in Linux stands for freedom of choice, to redistribute, to install a feature, freedom to modify the source code. That’s the spirit of Linux being free.
Security:
Linux has a better security support for multiusers, lets you set up a stable server, internet gateways etc, and still lets itself to be used as a desktop workstation. There are no blue screens and no viruses to speak of. It is rarely attacked by any viruses and there are very less number of viruses written for Linux. It can be given 10+ points on a 10 point scale for security.
Myths about Linux
Installation:
Linux is hard to install, isn’t it? Not really. Most people haven’t ever installed Windows on their computers eithersince it comes preloaded. Linux is as easysome say easierto install compared to Windows. You can install it through a graphical user interface like Windows. These days Linux Versions are easier to install than Windows. But what really stumps most people in installing Linux on a second partition on their hard disk, when they want to be able to use both operating systems.
A partition is a way of organizing space on your hard disk by creating virtual sections that are separate from each other. Most computers that are running Windows or MS DOS have one large chunk of space holding the OS. This space is the C drive. If you have a large hard disk, it’s likely that it has been divided up into smaller bits called partitions to help you organize your data better. These partitions are usually called D:\, E:\ etc. you could have Linux on any of these.
Windows 98 creates a file system called FAT32 on the entire hard disk, DOS and Win95 use FAT16. Linux has many file systemson the most popular is ext3. But you could have Linux installed on Fat32 partitions also.
Linux is very difficult and based on text command
Linux has come a long way from being the system of brilliant computer users. It has extremely advanced X Windows systems that have a complete graphical user interfaceyou know, like Windows. It also has a large number of window manager that let you work with different levels of customization of your desktop.
Linux has a robust charactercell interface where commands need to be typed in. x Windows is a free program that runs with Linux to provide a GUI where the mouse and keyboard can be used extensively. But the X system itself is quite primitive and needs a window manager, or a desktop environment like GNOME or KDE to be really usable. Window managers are programs that let you interact with the underlying X system and Linux OS by relaying commands. The popular window managers are Sawfish, Enlightenment, Black box, after step and Window maker.
As for desktop managers, they have their own window manager and other tools that make you feel that you are working in Window! GNOME and KDE are the most popular of these. GNOME stands for GNU Network Model Environment and KDE for K desktop Environment. They have tools that allow drag and drop, have panels and taskbar almost like clones of windows.
Hardware compatibility problem and few applications that run on Linux
Well, most new distributions will detect and configure your hardware in a jiffy, unless you have some really old or exotic piece of hardware. All hardware are properly detected and their drivers installed. Only Win modems (internal modems driven by Window drivers) face problems.
As for software, there’s plenty. And most of it comes freefree for you to use, modify and configure according to your needs. Almost all excellent software for Linux is free and you don’t lose anything by giving it a try. You get free support on the Net quickly on any query you may have. And you don’t even have to wipe out your Windows. Just get Linux on a different hard disk partition and free to switch between them as you please.
Other packages are commercial and you have to buy the softwarebut this is mostly for the software and training you need, and not for the software itself. Sometimes, if you have the Windows version (as a doom) you can download a small program that will allow you to play the game in Linux. The games in Linux are of very high quality and features. You’ll enjoy them. Here what’s available?
Office suites: Star Office, Open Office, Applixware, Corel WordPerfect
Graphics: GIMP, Corel Photo paint
Music: XMMS, Free amp, Real Player
Video: MTV, Xine
Games: FreeCiv, Tux racer, Doom, Quake, Heretic, Unreal And the list is growing.
Linux varieties for Home Users:
If there are so many people working on it. There’s likely to be many Linux versions too. Many companies working on Linux have come up with what are called Linux distributions. There are Linux versions that are compiled and packaged and released with additional software.
RedHat: Probably the most popular and in many ways the leading version. It’s currently in version 9. The installation and configuration is easy. A blue curve file manager and the default GNOME desktop make it look simply stunning. It comes with a host of tools that allow usage as a server and as a workstation. The Red Hat Package Manger(RPM) format developed by Red Hat has almost become the defector for software distribution in Linux world. Installing new software is a breeze. It also has an advanced and easy font management system that makes fonts in X Windows look cool.
Mandrake: Mandrake Linux is now in its 10 version. It can be installed on a native Windows Partition using the Lin4Win tool, but this may slow the machine down. It also lets you do a traditional Linux install into its own dedicated partition. Mandrake’s configuration and software installation is painless. It follows a slightly modified RPM architecture called mdk.rpm but most Red Hat software can also be used for Mandrake. The outstanding feature in this version is the collection of window managerseyecandy freaks will have a great time.
SUSE: From Germany comes the Chameleon, SUSE. Now in its 8.x avatar, it has one of the most extensive software packages compiled, and getting them installed is easy with yast (Yet another Software Tool) which gives a centralized interface from where you can pick and choose the software to be installed. Among other things, SUSE comes with some stunning 3D games that showcase Linux gamming prowess
Corel/Xandross: Corel entered the Linux market with Corel Linux a few years ago. Now it has merged into Xandross OS, which is based on Corel Linux. This is a Debiantype version, and can be installed without much fuss after resizing the Windows partition. Xandross contains Crossover office, which is a refined retail version of WINE that lets you install and run many Microsoft apps.
Windows applications in Linux
Some applications have been ported over to Linux, other run with a program called WINE (Wine is Not an Emulator). Crossover, commercially available software also lets you use your Windows programs on Linux. VMWare is another program that lets you run Windows under Linux. Now many software companies have started developing high end software for Linux.
Bottom Line:

The cool thing about Linux is that most software is free, and you can legitimately use them without worrying about piracy. If you’re worried that Linux won‘t look as pretty as windows can, all you have to do is check out some of the cool Linux interfaces and Window managers. But you don’t find a lot of multimedia titles for Linux. And if you’re into a lot of these, Windows is in the way to go. So if you have a PC that runs both, you can easily switch between the two, and get the best of both worlds.

About The Author

Presently working in the capacity of the Technical Director of Birbals, an econsulting firm based in India dedicated in providing innovative and effective web, Hospitality and consultancy services to public, private and nonprofit organizations. Successfully founded Birbals and other IT companies like Ebirbals and SeoBirbals. Responsible for strategy, positioning and branding, designing, planning, organizing and executing various business plans. Have set up various systems and procedures for the smooth functioning of Birbals.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 04, 2004

by Pawan Bangar

Bios Term

Bios Term

by: John Gibb

BIOS Basic Input Output System
The central processing unit of a computer needs to communicate with the many hardware devices installed in your computer.
The BIOS of a computer contains a piece of software that enables the CPU to communicate with the many devices a computer has installed. The BIOS is normally installed in a ROM and is normally stored on a chip located on the motherboard of a computer.
When you turn on your computer, the bios is the firs thing to load up, you can enter this program by pressing a certain key on your computer keyboard. The BIOS uses the CMOS memory to store all set configuration for your computer. You can change and alter settings in the BIOS and then save it to the CMOS memory.
There is now the flash bios, which enables you to update the bios information with updates etc. Many manufactures provide bios updates on their websites. This can help your computer stay updated and keep performance running smoothly.
Http://www.computerandprinterreviews.com helps new users come to their own decesions.

About The Author

John Gibb is the webmaster of several guide and review websites. http://www.computerandprinterreviews.com is his latest addition.

This article was posted on July 29, 2004

by John Gibb