Please forward these to everyone you know so it may reach ALL internet cafe owners that still use pirated Microsoft software in their shops:
As you know, the deadline set by the Pilipinas Anti Piracy Team (BSA, Optical Media Board, and NBI) lapsed last friday. Although the authorities deny that they’ve started raiding internet cafes, they might start doing so anytime soon.
I advocate against piracy, but I believe that leaving Internet Cafe owners out in the cold will further discourage small entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in general in this country. So we must do everything we can to help them legitimize their operations.
We all know it’s expensive to obtain Microsoft licenses (you have to spend between 7,000 to 20,000 pesos per computer to legitimize your software), but I think that if there is a way to pool together the voices of internet cafe owners (of which there are a loooot) we might even be able to convince these MS license distributors to offer discounts for volume licensing of Microsoft products.
We only have to ask them! Write them! Call them! Email them! It’d be a lot of business for these people, a lot more than what they’ve had the past few years, and it’s only fitting that they reciprocate the development as a sign of good will.
The following are the contact details of authorized Microsoft Distributors in the country:
ACA Pacific (Phils.) Inc.
24th Flr. Trident Tower
312 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Makati City
Tel 8926582 Fax 7355020
Pam Cardenas - Contact Person
sunshine@acapacific.com.ph
Wordtext Systems Inc.
7/F Sedeo 1 Bldg.
Rada St., cor Legaspi St., Makati City
Tel 810-9301/812-7666
Fax 816-2956
Noemi Palo/Cecille Anicete - Contact Persons
Millennium Computer Technology Corporation
#53 Tangali St., San Jose, Quezon City
Tel 363-7777 Fax 330-7219
Letlet Aruta Gallego - Contact Person
email: letlet@millennium.com.ph
Lamco International
Suite 1805 18/East Tower
Philippine Stock Exchange Center Bldg.
Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Tel: 634-7999 loc 2115 Fax 687-2396
email: tere_cruz@lamco.com.ph
Forward this to everyone you know who might know people who own internet cafes.
We don’t want to add these small business owners to the pool of unemployed in our country!
4 responses so far ↓
1 bugsybee // Sep 22, 2005 at 7:34 pm
Thanks for taking the pains to forward this to me. I agree with your stand. But I can’t help asking this question - why did they act only now? They could have lobbied for support a long long time ago - at least long before the deadline.
2 Jon Limjap // Sep 22, 2005 at 7:44 pm
Thing is the deadline was set by the Optical Media Board and the Business Software Alliance only a month ago. Also, the proliferation of pirated software has yet to be curbed by the NBI.
Business owners have for so long stated that Microsoft prices its software too high (which I agree with) and thus they’ve resorted to piracy which is more practical (which, while I don’t condone, can’t blame them entirely for since there’s no enforcement being done).
Now that strict enforcement looms, that’s only the time that the shop owners scamper to get legal copies.
It’s so bad several computer retail shops have run out of stock of Windows XP CDs!
It’s simply been more practical for so long for cafe owners to use pirated software… and software piracy was a common practice looooooong before internet cafes became a popular business.
3 Anonymous // Sep 27, 2005 at 10:54 pm
I knew of a cafe which used linux in all its system a few years ago. It looks like it’s doable, so maybe cafes could go that route if they don’t want to spend money on licenses.
Anyway, ningas cogon lang ang katapat nyan. I think this is one instance where I would advocate ningas cogon among the police. Fuck Microsoft. Fuck the DMCA. Don’t buy into the “using pirated software is stealing” propaganda. What can we do we’re a poor nation? What? All of us are suddenly gonna stop using computers?
Also, the copyrights act is obsolete and inapplicable in this digital age. They want us to pay? Then make their software cheaper!
The police and Edu Manzano are traitors to us Filipinos.
4 Jon Limjap // Sep 28, 2005 at 11:08 am
Linux is doable, yes. The problem is it can’t run most games because games are usually programmed for the PC. There are PC emulator platforms that will allow you to play these games, but playability and performance are compromised so it’s not as good as sticking to the PC. And games make up a huge chunk of Internet Cafe profits today.
As for the piracy, I don’t want to be an apologist for Microsoft, but I don’t want to condone it either. Sure you can say fuck them all. But the fact of the matter is using pirated software still is stealing, because even if we think that the price at which we buy pirated MS OSes (100 pesos per CD?) is more just than the 5000~9000 peso pricetag of the original, not one cent of that 100 pesos reaches Microsoft.
What can we do we’re a poor nation? Let’s see… you mentioned Linux. Linux has a plethora of software that are open source and are comparable in quality to expensive software products, except for games. Why not stick to that? Why not discourage our schools from teaching the use of products that come from Microsoft, Adobe and other corporations that sell *expensive* software?
Ang problema kasi, kaya lang naman tayo dependent sa Windows at sa Microsoft ay dahil eto ang itinuturo sa ating gamitin sa skwela. Eh paano nating pagaaralan sa bahay at gagawin yung mga assignment natin kung di naman natin maafford yung software, at kung di naman sapat yung bilang ng computer sa skwela para ma-accomodate lahat ng estudyante diba?
I think doon talaga nagsisimula yun. If our educational system blindly promotes Microsoft software, it inadvertently encourages software piracy.
Saying that copyrights and intellectual property are “inapplicable” in this digital age isn’t just. We still need to recognize the authors of both artworks and software as the proprietors of their Overpricing and unchecked capitalism, profiteering and monopolization is what is unjust. Even the US justice department has run after Microsoft several times for allegations of monopoly. Thank God there are still programmers that offer their software for free.
I don’t think Edu Manzano and the police are traitors. They’re just doing their jobs. Unfortunately however, their jobs are being pawns of capitalism. The latter is the true enemy, not Edu nor the PNP.
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