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geoschmo said:
Well, in a suposedly free-market economy like we have I wouldn't say charging too much for software would be an issue of ethics. It's not as if there aren't alternatives, and even if their weren't it's not a neccesary item, it's a luxury. It's not like I'm starving and they are gouging me cause they are the only source of food.
It just doesn't seem all that rational. Their pricing and other business practices are doing more towards strengthening their competitors then anything else. I guess when companies get on top they lose the long term view that allowed them to get where they are in the first place.
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Corporations are curious things.
They're legally required to make as much money as possible. If one of their investors finds out that a decision maker wasted money (whether that was by buying a company helicopter and hiring a pilot for his exclusive use so he can go island-hopping in the Bahamas or passing up a lucrative business opportunity) the investor can, no joke, sue the decision maker for the difference it was thought to have made in the investor's portfolio (there's some caveats, check with a lawyer if you're interested, but essentially, that's what can happen). Successfully, even, either collectively or individually.
This is part of the reason a lot of corporations are going private, nowadays.
So suppose we have a corporation - Macrohard, say - that has a very large portion of the market. Macrohard makes stuff - an operating system, call it Doors; and a document suite, call it Business. Macrohard has a huge market share. They dominate. Because they are so large and ingrained, they can do things nobody else can, that make them money faster.
Suppose, for instance, you're a business trying to avoid Macrohard's stuff. You've got a problem; most, if not all, of your suppliers and clients are using Business. You need to be able to successfully read the documents your suppliers and clients send you, and you need to be able to send your clients and suppliers documents that they can read. If all Business files are in a proprietary Macrohard format, you pretty much need something from Macrohard to read it. They distribute a free reader program to be in compliance with Fair Use, but it only runs on one of the last X versions of Doors, and it will not permit you to write documents in Business format to distribute. In order to communicate effectively with your suppliers and clients, you're kinda forced to get a version of Doors and Business; you're either in Business, or you're out of business in short order.
Now, suppose, a new version of Business comes out. It comes bundled with most new computers, and some of your suppliers and customers upgrade as they are getting new machines anyway. Macrohard has inserted some new features, though, and Business 2.0 files can't be read by Business 1.0 software (without your clients and suppliers going through a few hoops; Business 2.0 can write Business 1.0 files if you remember to tell it to do so, although it will goof the formatting every here and there, leading to miscommunications at times). Business 2.0 will usually read Business 1.0 files successfully... but it will get the formatting wrong every here and there, leading to miscommunications at times. As your suppliers and customers are now using Business 2.0 format, after a while, you find that in order to communicate effectively with your clients and suppliers, you need Business 2.0... or you're out of business. Macrohard has the capacity to very nearly force you to upgrade every so often, without breaking any laws at all. Every time you upgrade, you have to pay Macrohard a fee for the new licenses.
As Macrohard is a corporation, the decision-makers can be sued if they don't make as much money as they can. As most of the Macrohard decision-makers are also major investors, and making as much money as they can not only makes them money, but prevents them from being sued, what do you think they are going to do?