Is Software Piracy Really Theft

Is Software Piracy Really Theft 3 Visiting Romania for the launch of the new Windows Vista PC operating system and the opening of a Microsoft ‘global technical center' in Bucharest, Microsoft Chairman and soon-to-be full-time philanthropist Bill Gates (William Henry the 3rd to his friends) was surprised with a staggering uppercut punch from Romanian President Traian BÄÆ'sescu. Figuratively speaking, of course. The harm caused was much worse than if President BÄÆ'sescu had actually one-off punched a smiling, bespectacled Gates. Assuming that the Romanian President's words were properly understood (translation gaffes are all the rage, especially when the truth slips out) as he spoke from a hollow Microsoft-logo-adorned lectern, he reportedly said that “piracy helped the young generation discover computers. It set off the development of the IT industry in Romania”, and that “it was an investment in Romania's friendship with Microsoft and with Bill Gates”. Yes, and Palestinian car thieves are making an investment in their friendship with Ford, Mercedes and Toyota, enabling the chop shop/spare parts industry to become a flower of the Palestinian Authority's economy :p The irresponsibility behind such statements is astounding yet not surprising. After all, many people don't see software piracy as crime, or something that they should go to jail for.eval IT IS. Software piracy is usually defined as ‘the illegal distribution and/or reproduction of software for business or personal use'. As Adobe explainsâ€" unlike most any other purchase, people don't buy software, they buy a license to use software. This subtle, often-misunderstood difference is part of the problem and one of the reasons why I distinguish between two kinds of software piracy, intentional and inadvertent: Intentional Software Piracy â€" This is the well-known kind that prospered blank CD makers and caused countries like France to tax recordable media because it was easier than fighting the pirates. In this case, copies of commercial software are spread freely or sold with a ridiculously low price tag. Before the Internet tremendously simplified global distribution, many of these copies were the fruits of trips to Hong Kong's Golden Shopping Arcade where you could have pretty much any software you wanted â€" tens of thousands of dollars worth â€" for the price of the blank disc onto which it would all be burned. Needless to say, today you can find whatever you want with only a few mouse clicks while hunched over your keyboard.eval The Rub: the pirates/dealers know that they are criminals and almost no one debates that side of the coin. My concern here is for the users of illegal copies; it's safe to say that many if not most are aware that what they're doing is wrong yet because pirated software is so cheap and easy to find, it doesn't feel like a crime is being committed and even if there is one, it's not such that anyone suffers since software companies are perceived universally as faceless corporations. The fact is that Microsoft and the other large software producers lose hundreds of millions of dollars due to piracy and must spend equivalent sums in anti-piracy campaigns. Smaller, ‘less faceless' (faceful?) companies simply die out because they can't recoup on their development investment as people are sharing their software for free. Inadvertent Software Piracy â€" In this case, people may have even paid for the software but their usage of it doesn't conform with the acquired software license. For example, buying one copy of Microsoft Word but installing it on multiple computers in the home. Or â€" for a long time, many people considered shareware to be free (many still do) because you aren't asked to pay for it before downloading â€" but no, that's freeware â€" and so they continue using it even after getting annoyed with popups saying ‘your trial period is over. Please register this program now'. Another example â€" as someone who works from home, I need to be careful about using software that's ‘free for personal/non-commercial use only' when I'm clearly using my computer for personal and commercial use. The Rub: most people simply aren't aware of this issue and don't understand what a software license is. How often do people actually read EULAs (End User License Agreements) when they install a downloaded program? Of those who have attempted to read them, how many people actually understood what they read? The legalese is often somewhere between atrocious to hallucination-inducing and each EULA is different. The very few people who tried to read them likely gave up in frustration or perhaps now rely on software like Eulalyzer, which is better than nothing. In addition, the major operating systems don't have built-in, easy-to-use tools (that I'm aware of) for helping users navigate through these company-imposed constraints, which leaves each company to fend for itself. The bigger companies will be able to do so and that is why today we have Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage program. Smaller companies may not be able to afford the extra development and customer support involved, an d so the consequences of this type of piracy is proportionally greater to them. Israel has the lowest piracy rate in the Middle East Why You Should Not Use Pirated Software It is a crime. Laws are made to be enforced but many people take comfort in the fact that the police can't arrest everyone (which the police would almost have to do when it comes to users, based on statistics). However â€" many, many people pay fines when they're caught speeding so in the future it could become the norm. Even if you can get away with it, you should still be bothered by the fear you would feel when the police came knocking at your office or home. Pirated software often contains viruses or malware that could e.g. turn your computer into part of a botnet, and thus usable remotely by hackers for other nefarious purposes, possibly even for organized crime. Software companies are all impacted but the little guy is hit hardest â€" it's not just faceless mega-corporations as many people justify to themselves; although as I point out above, they are the most capable of surviving to fight piracy with their deep pockets. The small and medium-size companies are a different story â€" with possibly only one software product to sell in limited distribution, they will usually need to charge a high price for their specialized software in order to recoup their investment. Illegal copies would cut off their only source of limited revenue and possibly force them to go bankrupt, as almost happened to Montreal-based SoftImage before it was purchased by Microsoft in the '90s. Ironically, Microsoft then went on to pirate someone else's software in an attempt to add value to the SoftImage product. Criminals use pirated software to finance their activities e.g. Palestinian terrorists use it to finance their attacks on Israelis. Better think twice before buying some cheap CD on the 6th floor of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv. What Can You Do? Buy software legally or use freeware. Don't buy pirated software, don't borrow it from a friend and then install it on your computer, don't download it. How many people can say that all the software on their computer was paid for? Odds are that you aren't one of those people and if so, uninstall any unpaid software. Educate others on the perils of pirated software. Tell software companies that you need their help in understanding their EULA so that the software industry better comprehends how it can do more to reduce inadvertent piracy; they need your help even more. Support anti-piracy organizations like the Business Software Alliance. Even if they are somewhat hysterical to the point of exaggeration and thus just as easy to dislike as the RIAA when it fought Napster, their intentions are good and they have proven capable in rallying at least parts of the software industry.

11 didnt change me overnight, even though I wish it had

9/11 didnt change me overnight, even though I wish it had The slowest moment in my whole life was the time between when the World Trade Center fell next to me, and when someone broke a window and I climbed in to get air. In my memory this time span is about fifteen minutes. But from the historical record, I know it was about one minute. I have been writing for seven years about how the World Trade Center changed me. And I have been writing, too, about how much I want to change. Sometimes its about productivity, sometimes its about compassion, sometimes its managing my own money. I always want to change something. I always thought that my success is due to my fast pace. My quick thinking, quick delivery, quick judgment, quick shift. I tell myself that I can get what I want if I try hard enough. And then I translate that to a faster pace. Dont tell me about meditation, and yoga, and being present. Ive done all that. The problem is that a fast-paced overachiever can undermine even those being-present techniques. For example, I am sure that Im better at Ashtanga yoga than you are: See. Thats how the mind of the fast-paced works. There is the step you take where you change what your body is doing, and then there is the second step, where you change what you believe. So I have had a hard time believing that Id be okay with a slower pace. But this year, I tried going slower. I tried to trust that Id change the most by changing my pace. Changing my pace has been about trusting that good things will come from being slow, just as they do from being fast. Its hard to trust in that, because if youve been fast your whole life, you dont know what youll get from slow. Instead, you only see what you cut out of the fast life to make room for the slow life. You know what you lose but not what youll gain. Some of you know what I mean. Others of you are sitting in your chair, smugly thinking that you are great at slow. But those of you who hate a fast pace, you still have a pace problem, its just the opposite: Speed makes you anxious. You might miss something. You might do something wrong. You might get lost. These are the worries of slow people that are foreign to the fast. Pace matters. It opens doors if you use it well. I am not sure if I would be able to change my pace if I had not had an inescapable, defining moment that forced me to try slow. So today I am taking a moment to have gratitude to all the lessons I learned, during my slowest moment.. First-hand Account of 9/11 Two Months After 9/11: Trying to Make Work Normal Again Wall Street After 9/11: The Support Group Starts at 5pm Sharp 9/11: Two Years Later Lessons Learned from New Orleans Digging Myself out of the Debris My 9/11 Day, My Husband, and the Meaning of My To Do List

Personal Branding Interview Malcolm Munro - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Malcolm Munro - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Malcolm Munro, who is an experienced speaker, consultant, coach, and author of The New Rules of Engagement: How to Keep Your Superstars Loyal to You. In this interview, Malcolm talks about soft skills versus hard skills, what you should do if you have a poor manager, and more. Whats more important, having soft or hard skills at work? You need both. If you’re technically savvy and yet can’t get along with anyone, you’re fair game for layoff. If you’ve got a great personality and people like you but you can’t add value to the bottom line, you’re also fair game for a layoff! What should you do if you have a poor manager? Do you quit or stick it out for a year? Quit. If your manager doesn’t have the will or the pressure from their boss to change, they won’t. I work full time coaching and training managers and nothing I do works unless the person realizes they need to change and makes that commitment. It’s very rare unfortunately for a manager to change behaviors, particularly if those behaviors got them their current job. Are HR people really on the side of employees or the company? Should you ever complain about your boss to them? That all depends on the company. I’ve seen HR people who perform in the role as an advocate for the employees and the keeper of the policies. I’ve also seen them barricade themselves in their department and do nothing more than defend their policies. Unfortunately, HR departments, if dysfunctional, create a huge rift between employees and managers. Is company loyalty dead? Why or why not? Yes. Companies will be loyal so long as an employee is adding value. Employees are only loyal to the point that their needs are satisfied. Sad reality but true. How have you built your personal brand? What life lessons have you learned? I’ve built my brand as a management development expert because of my trying experiences working with bad managers in the military and in my early corporate years before starting my business. My passion is to create the next great generation of managers. The brand is built on that and my focus in blogging, coaching, speaking, training, and writing is dedicated to that. Life lessons are learned on a daily basis but the ones that stand out are the power of networking and the benefit of consistent reading and studying on the subject. - Malcolm Munro is an experienced speaker, consultant, and coach who has worked with hundreds of executives, managers, employees, and students in various levels and stages of career development. He is the author of The New Rules of Engagement: How to Keep Your Superstars Loyal to You. Malcolm is an adjunct Professor of Business Administration at Strayer University in Newington, VA and has held similar positions at Vincennes University in Bremerton, WA and Crichton College in Memphis, TN. He is also a United States Navy veteran who served 15 years on active duty before retiring in 1999 as part of the Temporary Early Retirement Authority.Malcolm’s clients include Pratt Whitney, Pitney Bowes,   The American Management Association, The Smithsonian Institution., The Robert H. Smith School of Business at University of Maryland, and all 4 branches of the United States Military. He has been featured as a career expert on WFRE Radio, The Washington Post, and wrote a monthly column in Men’s Fitness Magazine.

Daydream at Work 8 Little Known Ways to Boost Creativity

Daydream at Work 8 Little Known Ways to Boost Creativity When I was young, I  thought I wasnt creative. I dreaded going to art class where my projects never turned out as good as my classmates.  While in business school, I attended a seminar by  Dr. Epstein,  a longtime psychology researcher. He said that  many of us feel like we need permission to be creative possibly due to a teacher who shut us down when we were young.   He actually recommended that we close our eyes and daydream to help us boost our creative output at work. If you are anything like me, you are constantly thinking about ways that processes can be improved at work.   I ask myself, “Why are we doing it like this  when we could do it much better this other way?   Why do I have to  use this old database when  new technology can do this for me in 5 minutes?”  (One of the main reasons I started my own business so I could do it my own way). Unfortunately, new processes and ways of thinking are not always welcomed  by companies  which makes  employees  scared to  voice their ideas.   According to a recent article by Inc.com, often the most cost-effective source of ideas is right in front of managers.   So how can managers make employees less reluctant to come forward with their good ideas? Here are 8 ways to boost creativity at work: 1. Generate as many ideas as possible.   During brainstorming sessions, there are no bad ideas.    Criticism and evaluation of the ideas will come later. 2. Your personality type does not make you creative.   No matter what your personality type,  you can  learn skills that can boost their creativity. 3. Shifting works.    We did an exercise where half the class came up with ideas together as a group.   The other half spent some time brainstorming together and some time brainstorming by themselves.   Even with all the moving around, the shifting teams produce twice as many ideas as the non-shifting ones.   During brainstorming sessions, teams should shift at least once so that groups don’t inhibit creative expression. [RELATED: Creative Careers: What is Out There and Is It For You?] 4. Groups must be diverse.   If members are diverse, a greater variety of  ideas will be generated. 5. Treat ideas with a tiny little nod.   Always provide positive feedback  and  encourage additional  ideas with  â€œThat is great, give me more.” 6. To make a decision, rank individually and then rank as a team.   This  allows the entire team to be happy with the winning option, not just the  few  with the loudest voices. 7. Keep an idea journal.   I quickly forget ideas that pop into my mind if I don’t write them down ASAP. 8. Take frequent breaks.    Down time allows  us to think about current issues and processes in new ways.   My best ideas come while driving home from work or during a long run. Did you know that employees at Google are  encouraged to spend 20% of their time working on projects they are passionate about?   They can use one full day a week to daydream, fantasize, experiment or rest.   Google is tapping into the creativity of its people and utilizing it for the benefit of the company.   How many more great  ideas would today’s companies find if  employees were  allowed more time  to invent and explore ideas? What tips do you use to boost creativity?

Why hiring Professional Security Officer Resume Writing Examples?

Why hiring Professional Security Officer Resume Writing Examples?Insecurity, power, and the control of resources are the main reasons why many people resort to employing a professional security officer resume writing examples. The need for employee security in today's world is very clear, and it is imperative that you make sure that the most important person in your business is kept secure.You would not want to hire a single employee if you knew that he or she was capable of stealing things from your facility, and this would be even more true if you were a small business. It is almost impossible to assume the worst case scenario for a business with so many people working for you. As a result, it is paramount that you find someone who is capable of providing the level of security that your company needs.The best part about employing the services of a professional security officer resume writing examples is that you can be assured that they are up to date on the latest trends and techn iques in this field. If your current employees are not up to par, it is essential that you hire someone who can provide the needed expertise. This means that you will have to pass over less qualified applicants in favor of an employee who is more skilled in the field.Hiring real security officers is a job that can become extremely dangerous when you do not hire professionals. The level of competency that these individuals bring to the table is very high. All it takes is a few questionable decisions that can cause your employees to lose their lives in order to realize just how important it is to have security on your premises.Because of the different circumstances that can affect the workplace today, hiring the right security personnel is critical. The security of your assets is paramount to the safety of your employees, and it is imperative that you maintain the security of your people. If you have ever worked in the security industry, you know that these are important issues that s hould not be taken lightly.When it comes to security officer resume writing examples, you have many options. You can choose a person who is at the top of his or her game and familiar with the latest trends in the industry. However, you can also choose a person who is very competent in this area, but who is new to your business.When choosing a professional security officer resume writing examples, it is important to research their credentials. The best candidates are those who are knowledgeable about the latest technology and the most effective methods of providing security.Employing the services of a professional security officer resume writing examples is a vital step that should never be overlooked when you are trying to protect your interests. If you allow someone who is inexperienced to take care of the responsibility of providing the level of security that your company needs, you are wasting the money of your security personnel.

Should You Go It Alone In Business

Should You Go It Alone In Business There are a lot of businesses out there in the world. Some of these are run by partners, friends and even former colleagues who collaborate together to do something good in the world. We are, by nature, sociable humans. We like to have company when we are going through big phases in life, and when we enter the working world, we get to know people, build contacts and eventually decide whether we want to strike out on our own and start our own businesses. The question is whether or not you choose to go it solo or whether you want to join forces with someone else. Whether it’s a good idea to go solo is really going to depend on whether or not you have the right drive for it. You also should decide what you would need to outsource, considering you are only one person and can’t do it all. Hiring someone else to do certain tasks that you’re unable to do is a smart move for your business should you choose to run it on your own. There are pros and cons to going solo, of course. You’d need to be able to be okay with working alone because it can be dreadfully lonely, which can be enough to push you into partnership! You’d have to look into your options with places like umbrellacompany.net to know that your company finances are well-managed. Going solo has some benefits to it, and we’ve listed these for you below: Pros: Going it alone has the simplest structure for an organisation. You get to make all the decisions without butting heads with anyone else about them. Every failure and success are down to you and the choices that you make. The profit and growth of a company is solely your success. Cons: It’s a lonely venture. You don’t have anyone close to bounce ideas off; sometimes two heads are better than one. You have to shut down every time you want a break. As with going solo, partnering up with a like-minded individual, friend or former colleague also has its merits. It’s important to understand the pros and cons of partnering up as much as it is important to understand the pros and cons of going it alone. Pros: Your success can be double with someone else by your side helping you to make the decisions. The extra help with the start up cash can be a weight off your shoulders as you’re not financing it alone. Extra people on board means more talent that you won’t have to pay out for. Cons: Conflicted opinions can raise issues that you weren’t sure were even there. You need to decide how you will structure yourselves as a partnership. It could be far more complicated to have an exit strategy if you want to be able to get out of the contract you draw up early. No matter what you do, make this decision carefully. There’s no use in bringing on a partner if it would be detrimental to your business.

I dont know of a single nurse who isnt afraid of being fired. - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

I dont know of a single nurse who isnt afraid of being fired. - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Here is a really scary email I got from a nurse in a US hospital. She was kind enough to give me?permission to reprint the email here and you can see my reply below. I would love to hear your ideas on the healthcare industry.? As you may know, hospitals reimbursement for Medicare are in part determined by patient satisfaction.? Management, in turn, has adopted the customer is always right in order to secure positive feedback. As you can imagine, this has not worked. At the same time, nurses are quitting by the truckloads.? Employee morale is at a ridiculously low point and it has been so ongoing that the phrases you hear from nurses are, Well, its better here than anywhere else.? This is particularly concerning since it is seemingly so bad here.? Let me say that the nurses I work with absolutely love taking care of people.? It is the hurdles that are placed in front of us that make the job frustrating. We work at critical staffing levels routinely, are floated to areas we have not been adequately trained, and are given unreasonable patient loads. It is unsafe. A patient died recently and was not on the monitor at the time.? The organizations answer was to have staff sign a book at during the shift stating that the monitor was checked and all patients were on them the reason the patient was off the monitor was because the nurse didnt have time to do it. We were critically staffed and even the charge nurse had a full team with 2/3 other nurses floated from a lower level of care and not trained to take care of this type of patient.? When the house charge nurse informed management that the reason was related to staffing, she was written up. I dont know of a single nurse who isnt afraid of being fired.? Nurses routinely lie about this because to voice it would cost them their job. It would be nice to be able to quit and move to another facility, however, it isnt any different at other facilities.? This problem is prevalent, endemic, and critical. Here is?an example of the culture The hospital policy is for every nurse to take a 30 minute lunch break (its actually the law) If you dont take a lunch you can be written up There is nobody here to relieve you for your lunch Not enough staff on the floor to safely leave for lunch so we all eat at the desk while we work We are not supposed to lift patients.?There are 3 lifts in the entire hospital so we have to lift patients When I informed the wound nurse that the increase in pressure ulcers were from staff being given too many patients to take care of properly and no lifts, I was told that we had plenty of lifts and to use proper body mechanics. I dont know if you have any ideas.but Im hoping that you do. And heres my reply: Thank you so much for your email. I have worked with some Danish hospitals and I see many of the same issues you point to, primarily that budget cuts lead to permanent understaffing. Its terrible. If theres one industry where jobs should be fulfilling and meaningful its healthcare, because there you get to work directly on making patients lives better. But of course, this is impossible when youre not given the resources to do the job well. What happens in that case is that jobs become incredibly stressful and frustrating because employees see that the system is hurting patients instead. Heres what I think hospitals need: A rebellion. Nurses, doctors and other employees need to stand up and protest conditions in some way that management can not overlook. I gave a talk about being a workplace rebel you can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU8l4fhcxk0 This will not be easy but neither is the current situation. The obvious question is: What can a group of employees possibly do against a huge entrenched and uncaring system? And the answer is We dont know. Nobody knows what we can do until we do it. I wish I had something more specific to offer but I dont think there are any easy solutions to this situation. What are your thoughts on this? Do you see this going on? What are some ways to solve it? Have you ever encountered a really happy hospital? What did they do differently? Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related