Microsoft has a unique place in the history of Computers. The Windows
operating system was singularly responsible for the spread of Computer
usage amongst those who were otherwise not computer literate. But for the
ease of operation of Windows, many of the corporate executives in the
current generation would not have ventured into using Computers. Without
their participation Computerization would not have grown at the pace it
has.
Windows and Internet in Graphic mode were primarily
responsible for the IT revolution which has transformed the life in this
era.
However, Microsoft appears to be slowly losing all the
goodwill that it had earned because of the commercial policies it has
pursued which were aimed at maximizing its hold on the Computer world.
After losing the anti trust battle in USA in an attempt to integrate
Internet and Computer operating system, Microsoft has now started
pursuing an aggressive "Anti- Piracy" policy to protect its earnings.
India has been the fulcrum of Global software activity
and Microsoft is concerned about the growth of Open source software in
India. Recently Microsoft has been trying to influence the Government so
that Microsoft products are used as a standard in E-Governance projects.
At present use of unlicensed software particularly the
operating software has been wide spread in the country not only in the
Home segment, but also in the Corporate, Government and Educational
segment. Naturally Microsoft is concerned about the situation and has been
using all its commercial might to ensure that anti piracy measures are
strictly implemented.
However, considering the general law abiding nature of
Indians, the growth in the use of unlicensed software is an aberration. If
an attempt is made to control use of unlicensed software through
regulatory force, there is a possibility of scaring the public and slowing
down the computerization process in the country.
We need to therefore identify and recognize the real
reasons behind this apparent illogical behaviour of the Indian society. We
cannot forget that the root cause for growth of unlicensed software usage
in India could be the "Unrealistic Pricing", " Illogical Licensing Terms"
and the artificial curbs on the "Sharing of Software".
Pricing:
In a country like India where the per capita income is
low, the market has been slow to accept the concept of "Software Licensing
Fee" that too at prices that are not easy on the average Indian pocket.
During this transition time when Computerization grew in the country,
consumers often bought PC systems for their functionality without
distinguishing the hardware and software part of it. They opted for
assembled PCs loaded with pirated versions of Windows software and MS
office software at a cost of around Rs 30,000/-. The branded PCs with
similar configuration were priced atleast twice this amount.
Further it was strange for the Indian psyche that the prices of Computer
system moved in such a manner that one who bought early always paid the
highest price and before he could recover its cost from its usage, new
versions hit the market with better functionality and lower prices. This
made the early mover look like a fool in the eyes of his peers.
The computer industry failed in not pursuing a policy
of providing a "Fair Value" for the investments made by the consumers and
expected to depreciate the computers fully within 12 to 18 months. A fair
pricing policy would have been one which could have helped a consumer to
maintain his assets at the relative market position at an annual
upgradation cost of around 25 %. For example, if a consumer has bought a
premium brand of a Computer say RS 1 lakh when others have bought
assembled sets at RS 30,000, he should have been capable of maintaining
his premium presence in the market each year with an investment of around
Rs 25000/-. The industry however was mad after selling new Computers and
the consumer saw that within one year, he was no longer holding a premium
computer. If he wanted to own one, he had to buy the next generation
computer for another Rs 1 lakh disposing his old computer at say Rs
25000/-.
For Indians, the investments of even Rs 30,000 or more
was not small enough to be depreciated every year. A car with similar
pricing is often used for decades with periodical maintenance expenses.
The need to replace the software and hardware with new versions every year
did not go well with the public. The computer industry failed to evolve a
pricing system which provided for recovery of a fair replacement value
for the earlier purchases. Had there been a good second hand market for
Computers, perhaps upgradations would perhaps been more and more through
licensed purchases. Lack of such replacement value forced even the first
time licensed buyers to opt for unlicensed upgrades.
The ill effects arising out of the fall in the hardware
prices was attributed by the public as a loss in the total investment made
in the system and their wrath fell more on the invisible software within
the Computer. Their tolerance for price increases of software as well as
frequent upgradation requirements was therefore low and hence the pricing
became a barrier for software purchase.
Most of the resistance to software licensing was
because software was never bought in the real sense and was only licensed
to be used for a limited period and on a limited number of computers.
It was like telling a buyer of a Car that he cannot use
it after two years since the required fuel will no longer be available
and he cannot carry more than 5 passengers at any time.
In this context the prices of software even today are
considered unrealistic and exploitative.
For example today, a Windows XP professional version
costs around US $ 299/- while Office XP professional costs US $579/-. The
Home version of Windows XP costs US $199/- while Office XP Standard costs
US$ 479/-. Even Windows ME the extinct version costs around US $209/-.
It is the prerogative of Microsoft to price its
products according to its need and also to use the IPR law to enforce anti
piracy measures. Hence there should be no objection to the pricing as such
as long as the service is not built on a monopolistic basis.
It is therefore the responsibility of the Indian public
to either buy the licensed versions of the software at whatever prices and
terms that are offered or else avoid using the software. So far Microsoft
was soft on individuals in enforcing its license terms and it even looked
at the use of unlicensed operating software as an indirect market benefit
because it prevented other operating systems to gain ground.
Individuals Being Targeted:
It now appears that Microsoft is turning its attention
towards individuals for enforcement of its IPR. In a bid to reduce use of
unlicensed software by individuals, Microsoft has been making random
telephone checks on individuals alleging use of unlicensed Microsoft
products. It may therefore be expected that soon there may be action on
individual system owners, particularly those who have bought assembled
versions of PCs and let the vendor load some free software.
It is therefore time that public should start thinking
of alternatives to Microsoft products if they cannot afford to obtain
licenses. Simultaneously they have to learn to live without Microsoft.
Alternatives
The first alternative that the public should consider
is to switch over to "Star Office" for their word processing and
presentation purposes. Star office suite appears to be sufficient for most
of the users even in the corporate sector. What is most refreshing is that
the latest version of the software comes at a price of US $ 60/- only.
The second alternative that consumers should consider
is to try LINDOWS operating software available at around US $129/-.
The third alternative which common Computer users may
require is the substitute for Front Page which comes along with Office XP.
Presently the Netscape Composer which comes with Netscape 7.0 is a good
substitute for Front page and comes free with the browser down load. For
most of the simple web page creations this is more than sufficient.
Thus at the cost of one Windows XP or less than US $
200, consumers can have Lindows, Star office and Composer as a replacement
for Windows XP and Office XP which together may cost around US $ 800/-
Similarly, the cost or running an enterprise network on
Linux is estimated to cost only 40 % of the comparable Windows cost.
It is therefore possible for Common Computer users to
avoid the use of unlicensed Microsoft software and carry on their day to
day activity.
The UNIX/LINUX community should ensure that Lindows is
easily available in India along with the necessary initial support so that
public can confidently shift to Lindows. Lindows should also be the an OS
option that hardware vendors should consider providing to their clients.
E-Governance Projects
If Cost is the major consideration for common computer
users to find alternatives to Microsoft products, at the Government level
it is also the "Security" concern that should make them prefer open source
Linux products to Microsoft.
Even though the recent action of Microsoft in Chennai
on individual Computer owners is either a random survey or a blind call,
it cannot be ruled out that Microsoft is trying to extract system
information of the user through Windows update feature or otherwise.
Since a long time Indian technologists believe that Microsoft products are
designed to report certain information on the user system surreptitiously
to the Company. Unless the source code of Windows is analyzed by
experts, it is difficult to establish the truth in the matter.
However, in E-Governance usage, it would not be wise
to take the risk of using a proprietary software without access to the
source code.
If therefore there is a lobby in the Government
supporting Linux, there appears to be also a logical reason for the same.
Even though "Mandating" use of "Open Source" software could be considered
as an "Extreme Step", in respect of E-Governance projects, it may be a
security requirement to be enforced.
Legal Issues
In the prevailing legal environment, Microsoft has
every right to enforce its IPR on the Indian public whether or not they
are corporates or individuals, whether they are Government agencies or
Educational Institutions, whether the contractual terms in fine print are
deceptive or not.
However it is the duty of the Indian Government to
ensure that "Unconscionable Contracts " are not hoisted on the Indian
public using monopolistic powers and enforced to the detriment of the
industry in general.
Some of the policies of Microsoft are similar to the
"Ambush Marketing" which ICC is holding out against Indian cricketers and
just as BCCI made the mistake of signing an illegal contract, Indian
Government should not provide a backing for pursuance of similar policies
in the software sector.
It must also be pointed out that if Microsoft is
found to be gathering data from the Computer users without their express
permission, they may be liable to be charged under Section 66 of the
ITA-2000 for "Hacking" and for payment of compensation under Section 43
of ITA-2000 for introducing a Computer Contaminant.
It would even be appropriate if the Government makes
its own study of the matter and takes suitable preventive action on all
software/hardware companies who indulge in such practices of collecting
information from the user's computer without appropriate permission.
Naavi
January, 8,
2003
