The Internet is become a growing haven for consumer deadbeats.
In a survey released Thursday, a corporate software trade group found that more than 81 percent of those computer users who download commercial software from the Internet fail to pay for all the copies of the programs they receive.
Last week, an Internet research company found that about half a million copies of free illegal copies of movies illegally posted on the Internet have been pass about.
And Jupiter Media Metrix, a company that tracks Internet usage, has found that more than two-thirds of US consumers will not pay for any services online, be it e-mail, instant messaging or other benefits.
"There's nothing online right now that is compelling enough for people to pay for right now," said Jupiter senior analyst David Card. "People have grown accustomed to getting things for free online."
The surveys show consumers are increasing their resistance to pay for services and content on the Internet, even though many companies are trying to end the "free ride."
During the Internet boon of the mid-1990s, heavily funded companies, the so-called dot-coms, decided to forego profits in exchange for snaring market share. That created a banquet of free e-mail services, online storage services and free data services such as rich financial databases found on Yahoo and other Web sites.
Then, of course, there was Napster, the ill-fated company that let some 70 million people freely swap copyrighted rock and roll and other music titles over the Internet. Napster was shutdown by the record industry litigation last summer.
Two years ago, the dot-com industry began to implode, along with their freebie offerings. But consumers, now accustomed to equating the word "free" with "online" have failed to listen to the remaining dot-com companies pleas for revenues.
"People believe that when they pay their monthly Internet fee, they're then entitled," said Card.
The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a group representing the software publishing industry, proclaimed a "disturbing trend in what it labeled" online theft after finding that 81 percent of those who downloaded software never paid for all the copies used. The survey also found that 51 percent of downloaders never paid anything for the software. The survey, conducted for the BSA by the Ipsos Public Affairs company, tallied 1,025 Internet users to come to its conclusions.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College