RR> What I'm saying is that time is limited and there are only so
RR> many hours in a day.  If you spend your time searching for
RR> pirates, you have no time left over to write programs.
  
This is abject inaccuracy Rodney. There was never any inference that
I spend all of my time chasing pirates; you're being completely
obtuse. If *some* chasing is not done however, theft will escalate.
I suggest you not be so 'flip' about this matter - it is likely that
you will be the victim of theft someday . . . and you will probably
not dismiss that activity so lightly. Spending weeks and months of
investment - development, packaging, distribution, advertising -
only to see a significant percentage of the product stolen, illegaly
copied, and illegaly distributed, is an experience that causes
anger, rage, frustration and (in some cases even) bankruptcy. Some
people have suggested that any smart businessman will build the cost
of theft into the retail price of a product. It is a worthy
suggestion . . . but who in that Atari market will pay such prices?
Not you, certainly!
  
RR> You seem to be saying that there is no market for the software
RR> so there is no sense in updating it.  If so, then perhaps
RR> doing detective work is a productive use of your day.  So be
RR> it.
  
I don't 'seem to be saying' anything of the kind. My thoughts were
perfectly clear, and there is no need to read between the lines - I
was not hinting at anything. I stated clearly that there were only a
few software developers who had products which could generate an
acceptable level of income, via updating/updates. The vast majority
of TOS/GEM developers however, have no such products. And when the
market participation falls below a certain level, often developers
do not see a single order from one month to the next. You're closing
your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge.
  
The TOS/GEM market on this continent, is rapidly turning into an
arena wherein no developer, programmer or retailer can devote
themselves to TOS/GEM more than 20% of the time. Those people *must*
have an abiding interest in TOS/GEM, and (most importantly)
extensive interests in other areas of programming and development.
Anything else is suicide.
  
RR> If you are saying that there is more money to be made busting
RR> copiers than in hawking program updates or new programs, then
RR> yes, it is the correct course of action.
  
There is no money at all to be made 'busting' thieves, in the short
run. An opportunity arose (purely by chance) to nail a thief. I took
advantage of the opportunity, and achieved some measure of success.
If people are stupid enough to not only steal, but also drop
evidence of their theft into my lap, I'll nail them every time. As I
suggested before: you and others may ignore sharks in the water only
up to the point where they swim up a bite you on the ass. I can
assure you that if the situation where reversed, and you were the
victim, the merits of pursuing thieves who presented themselves to
you would be obvious.

___ Mountain Reader II - #00000006
--- FiFo V2.1o [IOSmail 0.89]

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