Well, Now that they have resold several versions of the same program with a superficial extra lick of paint and appearances, they are complaining that their 10-15 year old stuff is copied abroad.

Some are giving it away on the web.

"After all, both made fortunes from hype: ... and the other from the Y2K bug"

Speaking as a software engineer living in SV, I'm not sure what he's talking about. A few companies got there but I seriously doubt -- nay completely doubt -- the value of SV was determined by Y2K.

Shiveh,

I agree with you, but only partly.
Much of the software in use around the world is basic everyday functions and the rest of the world can live without further updates. The "office" packages of the past, for example, have not improved as most of added functions are hardly used by the average consumer that wants to type a letter, or do a brief calculation on a spreadsheet. Those that are heavily dependent on these things will buy the real deal.

Secondly, other corners of the software world offer this kind of stuff free of charge on an online basis, which means future upgrades are no longer marketable products.

As for movies and music, who cares? It has been the cheapest way to spread American culture to the rest of the world. Would some one in Pakistan or Kenya or Chile actually pay full clip of $15-20 for a copy of Rambo?

The last paragraph of Dr. Ettefagh's essay said it all. Software companies wanted the widespread use of their products to hook the consumer. Now that people are hooked, it is time to try to collect every last penny. Same system is used by drug dealers that move to new territories. It is considered cost of doing business.

Where money is to be made, technology will find a way. Days of software piracy are numbered.