Ron Bongo here once more to give you more insights on business and how you could learn more about open source concepts.

Learn more about open source software with Ron Bongo and how pirated or cracked software can affect people – particularly the younger generation.

Microsoft’s “Attitudes to Piracy” survey showed that one third of British computer users at home or at the office believe that using pirated software is acceptable, and in fact it was revealed that 12 percent of computer users at work use pirated software. Incidentally, 62 percent of these users of pirated software admitted that their PCs were eventually infected with a virus, 38 percent experienced a computer crash, while a third lost valuable personal data.

But those are not the only threats pirated or cracked software can bring. Their impacts have other repercussions that go beyond damage to hardware or loss of data.

* Use of Pirated Software Threatens Entry Level Jobs – The use of pirated software has resulted in loss or reduction of entry level jobs. A 10-point increase in usage would be equivalent to 1.5 million jobs. This would create a $400 billion impact on the world’s economy.

* Engaging in Illegal Acts can Result to Dire Consequences – Online infringement of copyrighted music can cause an individual 3 years in jail, not to mention over $250,000 in fines. The consequences go higher for repeat offenders.

* Cost of Legitimate Software Increase – To offset their loss due to reductions in sales resulting from piracy, manufacturer’s have no recourse but to increase the price tags of legal copies. The prices will even go higher as the demand for legal software decreases due to the proliferation of pirated copies.

* Pirated Software Reduces Opportunities for Developers – The proliferation of pirated copies of software applications reduces the chance for upcoming and innovative developers to have successful projects due to higher financial risks. These talents would be stifled and their contribution to the world will be shortlived.

Open source is the better alternative for these users instead of relying on pirated software. Even though most of these applications are given free, it doesn’t mean that they are of poor quality and not much different from these pirated applications. These applications have the same or even better functionality than their proprietary software counterparts – without the risks and dangers that pirated software can bring.   

Come back here to learn more about the open source concept and learn how its benefits can help your business or profession as brought to you by Ron Bongo.