Discussion questions for March 24, 2009

piracy.pdf
"Long John Software and the Digital Jolly Roger",
Computer, March 2008, pp. 7-9


1.  Do you think the analogy between today's piracy of software
and the old Caribbean is an accurate one?  What are some important
differences the article points out?


2.  What risk is there that piracy grows unchecked?


3.  In what way can addressing the piracy issue make software better?

--

global piracy.pdf
"The Effect of National Culture and Economic Wealth on Global
 Software Piracy Rates"
Communications of the ACM, Sept. 2003, pp. 207-215


4.  How much money does the software industry lose each year
to piracy?  Is it getting worse?  How are figures determined?


5.  What factors cause people to pirate software?


6.  Describe Hofstede's 4 Cultural Dimensions in your own words.
What does it mean to score high/low on these scales?


7.  What conclusions can be drawn from the data in Table 1 and 2?
According to the article, what are some problems with the data?


8.  Do you agree with the author's commentary in the Discussion section,
concerning trends of wealth and individualism?  What does the author
suggest about the international nature of the Internet?