Lots of security and anti-malware/antivirus software is made in Romania. Windows Defender, embedded in current Windows versions was built on Bit Defender, a Romanian antivirus (somewhat ironic in this context, isn’t it?). However, most of the Romanian companies write software components for large foreign companies, a pretty anonymous job.

@GregA, regarding piracy in Romania: almost 100% of the pirated software comprises of Windows and MS Office copies and games for home use. Romanian companies ALWAYS pay for the software they use.

Although game piracy is decreasing, it is still high. Nevertheless, gaming appetite in eastern european countries fueled an interesting gaming industry. Nowadays, the most complex games, like for instance simulations, are written in these countries, because the high development costs made them too risky for western companies. For example Silent Hunter III was made in Romania, Il-2 Sturmovik in Russia, LOMAC in Ukraine.

Romania had some benefits in these circumstances but also lost a lot. There are more Romanian IT specialists and Computer Science researchers working outside Romania than in Romania. All of these highly trained specialists received free education up to graduate level (recently the situation might have changed a bit, but not significantly). Romania invested a lot of money in their training but it will receive nothing in response.

1. Basescu is a former marineer. He was ship captain, so its somehow logical to be so friendly towards… pirates.

2. Basescu is crazy. C-R-A-Z-Y. That’s why some politicians have started impeachement procedure against him a few days ago.

3. I wouldn’t be so mad about piracy in Romania. 3.1 because it is going down year after year , that’s a fact, and we pirated simply because we had no access to international markets (should I remember that Paypal still doesn’t accept payments from Romania?). When I first bought CoffeeCup Software 4 years ago I had to buy it via a cousin from Canada, because they have told me frankly: “We don’t sell in Romania.” My cousin bought it then I got it. 3.2 From an economic point of view, it’s not so bad. There are currently thousands of Romanian IT technicians working in USA. Romania paid through the years for their education ~500.000 USD for each, and now it has no benefits. Assuming that there are only 1000 Romanian IT’s in America, results that Romania spent 500.000.000 USD with no benefits. We paid a lot of money in order to sent to America thousands of IT’s. Who is more prejudiced? Romania or corporations?

That’s a good point. But it applies a lot more to India and China than Romania. American tech workers are not losing a lot of jobs to Romania. If tech workers in India and China are indeed using pirated software, that is extremely unfair to American workers and small American tech companies

I was thinking of a cross somewhere between Alfred E. Neuman and a James Bond villain.

Unfair competition within my own country, I cry fowl. My clients don’t want to deal with huge time lags and language barriers. So Canadian IT’s have it good with US customers, and vice-versa.

Having been audited some four years ago (and passed!) by the RCMP – when they did a blanket audit of all businesses – when MS realized they weren’t making any more exponential profits. Of course other non-MS were backing this move.

So I consider my company as fair competition, that I can charge less than Toronto-based or New York-based IT’s, because cost of living & operations are cheaper in Quebec.

Now in India / Asia, they have people with MS certifications that work for a few dollars a day, instead of per hour, is that unfair?
It is if they use all pirated software, and I don’t like it.

However, do they affect me directly? No.
We’ve been seeing a backlash effect, more outsourcing companies working with US or Canada only, because we can be held accountable (and sued) and speak the same English.

Premium pricing for software in the past, was mostly because everything was so new, demand was high, and very little competition.
Plus, it was the common practice to over-charge the licenses.

An accounting software package at 40K$ makes sense if you pay a license flat rage, a Per-User flat rate, then a yearly update plan, and it can be customized (language, reports).

Then you have to buy Win2k3 Enterprise, and MS-SQL Enterprise or Oracle, separately.
In the 70K$ the database license was most likely included. Hidden licensing costs that the end-user company has to pay.

Database engine costs have plummeted in the last 5 years, due to competition.