This section addresses the validity of concepts such as piracy as well as questioning the core beliefs of copyright. We discuss especially the information paradox of a copy:
If you have a car and I take it from you - then you don't have a car anymore, and I have car. But if you have an information, and I take that information from you, now I have it, and you still have it, too.
Can information be stolen if it can be reproduced without any cost? As software is nothing more than the sum of information, can there even be such a thing as software theft or software piracy? This difficult aspect of information makes it a very specific good - much more different than any other good mankind had to deal with before.
One of our strongest topics in this section is piracy:
Bill Gates’ idea for a new software market came like a bombshell for computer hackers. After all, the hacker scene was of the opinion that every programmer could only have gained his competence through knowledge sharing.
However, Bill Gates neither wanted to share his knowledge with other hackers, nor he would agree that his software should be copied or modified by others without compensation.
Angered by opposition to this philosophy, Gates finally wrote an open letter to the Homebrew Computer Club, the first hacker club in the world. In this letter he accused those who used and copied his software without payment of being thieves. This new notion of an “illegal copy” caused confusion among those first youthful hackers, and this was the beginning of Bill Gates becoming unpopular amongst their ranks.
The economic success of Microsoft software soon surpassed even the development of the industrial computers such as IBM. The software provided by Microsoft was made more successful by Gates’ business acumen than anyone could have imagined. In the following years Microsoft conquered the software operating system market, initially with its product MS-DOS, and later with Microsoft Windows.
The prophecy of Bill Gates, that the computer market would once be dominated by software instead of hardware, became true. As hard as geeks had fought against the commercialization of software and information, Gates had defined an important term the first time: “software piracy”.
This volume covers the history of those turbulent early years, addressing the validity of concepts such as piracy as well as questioning the core beliefs of copyright.
Top VPN Tools | Updated: November 2024
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The once-in-a-lifetime VPN software CyberGhost is one of the most well-known and fastest on the market. It is also known as the VPN software with the best connectivity to streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO and many more.
NordVPN is the unbeatable #1 VPN software on the market. The company from Panama uses their local legal situation that no data has to be stored by law. They are so confident in the quality of their software that they even offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
ExpressVPN is officially government-proof: A recent incident lead to the fact that some of the ExpressVPN servers were seized by the government, and the investigation had to come to hard stop, after intelligence officers realized that there was no data on the servers.
Among a sea of VPN provider, RUSVPN emerged offering a reliable, unlimited, and incredibly cheap VPN service that is totally secure. Compatible with most devices and with a network that covers 5 continents, is RUSVPN the best choice for you? We took a closer look.
Started in Canada in 2011, TunnelBear stands out amid a sea of serious VPNs with a fun & easy to use interface, free tiered options, and the ability to pay with Bitcoin.
The Swiss company Proton Technologies was already famous for its software ProtonMail. The more reason to have a closer look to to their new flagship ProtonVPN that suddenly began to win over lots of new fans in 2024.
IPVanish VPN is one of the rare VPN tools that are in fact made in the U.S.A. It's owned by an IT company located in Seattle which makes this software one of the most advanced and reliable in the industry.
Surfshark VPN is one of the most affordable VPN tools in 2024. At the same time, the VPN tool offers one of the most diverse technologies in the VPN market. We have tested one of the best VPN tool newcomers in November, 2024.
What few people know: Hide My Ass is one of the best VPN providers on the market from the company AVG - the largest manufacturer of antivirus software. No wonder their VPN software is of such high quality.
Vypr VPN is one of the companies based in Switzerland, where users have high expectations in terms of data protection and privacy. In addition, Vypr VPN was initially created for one purpose only: To outsmart the NSA's surveillance program called Room 641A. Curious, yet?
SecureLine VPN from the renowned manufacturer Avast is one of the oldest manufacturers of security software and one of the largest security companies in the world. They've been around since 1988, so it's no surprise they offer one of the best VPN's on the market.
The German manufacturer Avira knows how to best meet user demand for data protection and anonymity. It's hardly surprising since Avira is one of the oldest software companies for data security on the market.
Since launching in 2013, there are now over 47 million people worldwide that use ZenMate VPN, and their Google Chrome extension is the #1 VPN extension in the Chrome Web Store.
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Hong Kong, PureVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) provider owned and operated by GZ Systems Ltd., a company that develops Android apps.
Among the longest-standing VPNs on the market, Hotspot Shield was created in 2005 by a privacy and security company called Anchorfree until 2019 when the company became part of Pango, a new privacy and security company that also owns 1Password and other privacy-focused apps.
VPN Unlimited may not be a household name, but this affordable VPN service might be a good fit for you — if you can overlook the company’s questionable privacy policy.
hide.me has been helping users mask their internet activity since 2011 and is a speedy & secure VPN provider that ticks all the boxes for most power users.
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