Thank you, Kerry. For a moment I thought I was all alone. You definitely said some things I thought I meant much better than I said them. Yes, I am a programmer by profession. But bootlegging is not a problem I have to contend with. I specialize in embedded systems, currently slot machines. My programs are worthless without a very expensive piece of hardware. But yes, as a programmer, I know how much work goes into creating good software. Unfortunately, some people don't. Far too many people think that because something is on the internet it is automatically in the public domain free for the taking, or because it is easy to copy, there is no harm in copying it. Police officers who see the deadly results of driving while intoxicated would seek to educate us, to save our lives. We must not scoff at their advice because, "oh he's a police officer. His profession must cloud his perspective."

As a consumer of software, I understand the cost of bootlegging. I don't have to be an insurance agent to understand that insurance fraud raises my rates. I don't have to be a clerk at Penneys to understand that shoplifting raises the cost of jeans. Bootlegging hurts the small, entrepenaurial software house the worst. Without them we have less quality software, less innovation, less creativity. Some of the very best software is created by an individual with an idea, who slaves at bringing that idea to fruition for months or years while also working a "real job," or living off savings. If he can't make a living, he's not apt to create that next great program. When you steal from him, you hurt him, me, and yourself. Does anybody understand yet why we will NEVER see an electronic TCR?

But what I find most offensive is not the "innocent" bootlegging, but the weak justifications. As for your admonition about friends, I suppose I should appologize for the tone of some of my comments. If I have offended the "innocent bystanders" I am sorry. But I sure wish someone else would also point out to Paul the difference between knowing something because you read it and then sharing that knowledge with others, and plagarizing someone's book by copying it verbatim.

No I am not a model of perfection or a paragon of virtue. But I do know right from wrong. When I do something wrong, I don't try to cover it up with flimsy justicications.

And by the way, no, I do NOT have a single roulette chip in my collection that was stolen from a casino. It's a personal choice and doesn't mean I judge harverters harshly. I have several that were given to me or I was allowed to purchase, because I asked the pit boss or casino manager. And the word of one casino manager that he also feels there is NO comparison betweeen roulette harvesting and bootlegging.