Piracy in local software makers? It's the same with music and cinema... And as far as I know, those branch of industry don't have any kind of financal support in Indonesia. Dubbing music is killing music, a wise man said. I don't feel so bad when I see American artist, movies or softwares being copied, but when it's time to talk about local business, we all must be careful and teach as we can the people of the consequences of encouraging piracy... but of course, how to do it when noby cares?...
What's even more shocking is that Messrs. Kumar and Baby have the downright nerve to actually try to stretch the education budget so all children can have access to computers and become computer literate!
I can just see the RI educ. ministry officials, at their buka puasa gathering, having a real laugh at these guys' expense. "Hahaha, get a load of this fellas, there's these guys in India actually trying to use their budget money to educate kids.... ha ha ha," as the whole place erupts in laughter.
By AMELIA GENTLEMAN, International Herald Tribune Published: August 29, 2006
NEW DELHI, Aug.29 - In a new attack on multinational corporations, the Communist government in India’s southern state of Kerala is campaigning to eliminate Microsoft from use in public institutions, just weeks after it imposed a ban on Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
As part of a drive against “monopolistic” organizations, schools and public offices across the state are being encouraged to install free software systems instead of purchasing Microsoft’s Windows programs.
“It is well-known that Microsoft wants to have a monopoly in the field of computer technology. Naturally, being a democratic and progressive government, we want to encourage the spread of free software,” M. A. Baby, the state’s education minister, said by telephone.
Microsoft was not being banned, he said, but the government was actively encouraging Kerala’s 12,500 schools to switch to the Linux operating system, available around the world free of charge.
The news will further unsettle foreign investors in this state. Also this month, Kerala imposed a sweeping ban on the sale and production of Coke and Pepsi after an environmental watchdog based in Delhi said their soft drinks contained unhealthy levels of pesticides. Less comprehensive bans were introduced in six other states across India.
Mr. Baby said the announcement was not part of an ideological campaign against Western-made products. “We have great respect for the contribution made by the United States and its European allies in the fields of art and literature and culture,’’ he said. “At the same time we are not happy with the monopolistic and imperialistic moves, both in political and economic spheres, made by these nations.”
With its population of 32 million, Kerala is one of India’s smaller states, but Microsoft said it represented an important market. The state has a literacy rate of more than 90 percent, much higher than the national average of about 65 percent, and is known to be innovative in its promotion of computer literacy.
About 30,000 computers are already in use in schools across the state, and the Education Ministry said about 600,000 students opted to take free software training classes this year.
In a written statement, Microsoft’s public sector head in India, Rohit Kumar, said the company had tried to keep its prices low to make them accessible to schools, selling one version of Windows for between $25 and $30 per computer.
“Under the School Agreement program, Microsoft has successfully created a very competitive pricing-value model, keeping in mind the financial constraints that beleaguer most educational institutions,” Mr. Kumar said.
Financial, rather than ideological, reasons may be at the root of the state’s decision to promote free software.
The Education Ministry has an annual budget of 40 million rupees, or $1.86 million, to promote computer technology among the one million students, aged between 5 and 15, currently at school - a sum that will be stretched as Mr. Baby attempts to fulfill his ambition of making all the state’s “schoolchildren computer literate.”
$2?! that's a rip off, man! i know a place where they sell software by the kilo.
i for one am waiting for linux et al to get their act together and start presenting a real threat to microsoft. most people would change over in an instant if the linux applications were up to it. as it stands, they still have a way to go.
"Basically, piracy decapitates competition. Hence, nobody will profit from it," Irwan said.
interesting to hear somebody from Microsoft saying that piracy decapitates the competition! If that were true microsoft would support it! We know they like to cripple any competion to their empire.
Now im off to buy a copy of dreamweaver for $2 instead of $250 !!
Indonesia currently holds the dubious honor of having the world's third-most flourishing piracy industry. This seems to be a situation that is unlikely to change, until the true economic consequences of piracy are felt.
"Using pirated software means depriving emerging software entrepreneurs of their right to grow and develop their businesses," said Microsoft Indonesia director Irwan Tirtariyadi at a piracy discussion in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Irwan argued that purchasing pirated software instead of more expensive genuine programs only helped to decrease opportunities for other software companies to compete in the market, particularly Indonesian developers.
"Basically, piracy decapitates competition. Hence, nobody will profit from it," Irwan said.
A study released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) says software piracy in Indonesia costs the state up to US$80 million a year in potential losses due to unrealized taxes, while research conducted by the International Data Corporation shows that some 87 percent of all software used in the country is pirated.
According to BSA, the loss suffered by the software industry is estimated $280 million a year.
"In terms of losses, it is more than just money. Compared to India, for instance, they have close to a 1,000 independent software vendors or ISV, while Indonesia has only about a hundred," Irwan said.
"I have seen many local software developers, whether it be individuals or small companies, have their intellectual rights taken away from them. In Indonesia, creators do not receive much motivation," he said.
"That is why we see a missing link between the total of IT (Information Technology) graduates, which reaches a million, while we only have around 35,000 or 40,000 software developers in the country, according to IDC records," he added.
Rio Rianto, a senior programmer at a medium-sized IT company, Terakorp Indonesia, agreed that piracy posed a serious threat to emerging developers.
"We had a system once that we developed for a factory. We never thought about making a patent for it, not until the factory patented it under their name. It was a great loss, we were forced to start from scratch again," Rio said.
"In terms of competition, piracy can really mess things up. Take the Microsoft Office products. People are too attached to it by now, due to years of pirate usage. This situation makes developers like us refrain from creating similar software because that would be almost like suicide," Rio said.
"I mean, regardless of how cheap your genuine software is, there is no way of competing with a dollar compact disc with tons of pirated software on it," he added.
BSA Asia regional director Jeffrey Hardee said that the IT sector's health competition climate would improve if the country could improve its piracy problems.
"There are no shortcuts to fighting piracy. Apart from providing a strong legislation, such as the 2002 regulation on intellectual rights, more and more regular action and education need be carried out from time to time," he said.
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