SECTIONS

arts & leisure

finance

politics

reactions

reality check

BACKGROUND

home page

about us

contact us

press clippings

predictions

	Don't Copy That Floppy By Declan McCullagh January 27, 1999 Nowadays it seems that everyone's got something to say about Y2K. Down in South Australia, it's software piracy. We got email -- those less charitable than us might call it spam -- from Rob Harmer, who runs a software consulting business there that sells PC Profile Y2K diagnostic software. Splashed across his web site in a font so large it's painful is a particularly urgent warning: If you don't REMOVE ILLEGAL SOFTWARE BEFORE the Year 2000 then you increase several RISKS! (Okay, thanks. We get the picture.) The gist of the message is this: Ditch those warez you've got squirreled away in that obscure subdirectory. Sure, a pirated version of Quake may not bring down your company, but if your spreadsheet is buggy and you can't get legal support for it, watch out. These guys are so rabidly anti-piracy that they herald Microsoft's Orwellian anti-copying campaign as a model of virtue the world should mimic. You'll remember it was Microsoft that successfully lobbied for the No Electronic Theft Act -- a particularly pernicious piece of US legislation that makes it a federal crime to share copies of Microsoft Word with your dad. Unapproved copying shouldn't affect larger US firms much when 1-1-00 rolls around -- their institutional anti-piracy policies are well-established thanks to repeat campaigns by the Software Publishers Association. But smaller firms and overseas readers, beware. Foaming-at-the-mouth zealotry notwithstanding, Harmer has a point: If you have illicit copies of software and it crashes, don't expect a sympathetic ear on the other end of the line when you call for help.		FEATURES Book Reviews Y2K already has spawned its own genre. We tell you what books are worth buying. Chip 'n Little Cartoons Chip 'n Little goes on TV Chip 'n Little visits John Koskinen Chip 'n Little saves the world Warning: This cartoon has been called "foolish and tasteless." Y2K from A to Z Y2K Haiku Traditionalists may be shocked. Mad Cow Culture What does Y2K have in common with today's Mad Cow Culture? Answer: Everything. Declan McCullagh's Y2K articles Psychology of Y2K LATEST NEWS As of December 31, 1999 Get Your T-Shirt Quick Bill Gates Does Y2K Reader Feedback A Sarcastic Calendar Cooking After the Apocalypse A Real Y2K Disaster Hitchhiker's Guide Meets Y2K