Software Piracy in 1985

[ducttapeBigSexy]

I stumbled across an episode of The Computer Chronicles from 1985 about software piracy, the ways developers are trying to prevent it, and why it occurs. It's pretty interesting to see how things haven't really changed. It's kind of long (it's the full episode), but it makes pretty valid points (both for and against it).

28 MB RAM - http://www.commodore.ca/download/misc/Software_Piracy_cc_Jan_1985.rm
7 MB WMV - http://www.commodore.ca/download/misc/Software_Piracy_sm_cc_Jan_1985.wmv
40 MB WMV - http://www.commodore.ca/download/misc/Software_Piracy_cc_Jan_1985.wmv

(All links are to the same file)

Source: http://www.commodore.ca/gallery/video/video.htm

[begoodbebad]

DON'T COPY THAT FLOPPY!

That's all I know about the prehistoric era.

[cwboy220]

I wasn't even born in 1985...

[rebirth]

nor was I...what a sad, sad existence it must have been

[begoodbebad]

I wasn't even born in 1985...Do you know how old that makes me feel!!!!?
By 1985 I had left school a couple of years, I'd been to the last maaaassive free festival at Stonehenge in 1984 where I consumed more and better drugs than I had previously thought possible, heard more music in a few days than in the whole year b4 and got sunburnt too. oh and spent every penny I had and had to hitchhike home 180 miles with 2 other equally dirty stoned looking layabouts...it took days...possibly because when there are 100000 people all trying to go home it is hard to get a ride.
I had my first job in a local government print room...number of computers: zero. I also did some time in the filing department....yes a whole department of index cards and box files and millions of bits of paper.... it's hard to believe it now. Also spent some time in the accounts department: I think they had a computer but I never actually saw it....everything was done the hard way. The big advantage of the non computerised age was you had a typing pool where all the women could be found in one place and you had to go and admire their t**s...I mean deliver important docs for typing, many times each day. And everything was slower....less pressure. none of this instant communication crap that is fun for leisure but ruins your life at work. OK time to stop rambling on like an old fart.

@ducttape: thanks for the links:santa

[shawners]

The video games had piracy books, the software has random questions and things.. and you had to look through the book and put the answer in it.. and they had circle with holes around it.. it tell you where to point it.. and the holes would reveal a word and you put it in.. Really intresting.

[Redneck4sure]

nor was I...what a sad, sad existence it must have been

It really wasn't so bad. Especially if you grew up in the 60's.