缪金华 - 2008-5-16 12:58:00
Software piracy
A free ride
May 14th 2008
From The Economist print edition
The $48 billion annual cost of software piracy
Many PC users have saved a bit of cash by running a pirated version of a must-have software program at some point. Such piracy cost technology firms $48 billion last year, up by $8 billion from 2006, according to an annual study published on Wednesday May 14th by the Business Software Alliance, a trade body. Users in rich countries have become a bit more honest (or more scared) in recent years, with rates falling slightly. But this is offset by a big rise in a few poor countries with weaker regulations. In Armenia, the worst offender of the 108 countries surveyed, 93% of software is reckoned to be illegal. America has the lowest piracy rate, at 20%.
free ride n. Slang Something acquired without the ordinary effort or cost.不需要努力或成本就能得到的东西,坐享其成
PC:personal computer 个人用计算机; 个人电脑.
Must- is added to verbs such as `see', `have', or `read' to form adjectives and nouns which describe things that you think people should see, have, or read. For example, a must-have is something which you think people should get, and a must-win game is one which a team needs to win. (INFORMAL or JOURNALISM)
...a list of must-see movies...
The Tugboat Saloon and Eatery is a must-visit.
the top ten must-have books for medical students
cost: result in the loss of (sth) 使付出(代价),使丧失（某事物）:
Drinking and driving costs lives.
His affairs cost him his marriage.
If one thing is offset by another, the effect of the first thing is reduced by the second, so that any advantage or disadvantage is cancelled out. 补偿/抵消
The increase in pay costs was more than offset by higher productivity.
The move is designed to help offset the shortfall in world oil supplies caused by the UN embargo.
You can refer to someone or something which you think is causing a problem as an offender.
The contraceptive pill is the worst offender, but it is not the only drug to deplete the body's vitamin levels.
A free ride
May 14th 2008
From The Economist print edition
The $48 billion annual cost of software piracy
Many PC users have saved a bit of cash by running a pirated version of a must-have software program at some point. Such piracy cost technology firms $48 billion last year, up by $8 billion from 2006, according to an annual study published on Wednesday May 14th by the Business Software Alliance, a trade body. Users in rich countries have become a bit more honest (or more scared) in recent years, with rates falling slightly. But this is offset by a big rise in a few poor countries with weaker regulations. In Armenia, the worst offender of the 108 countries surveyed, 93% of software is reckoned to be illegal. America has the lowest piracy rate, at 20%.
free ride n. Slang Something acquired without the ordinary effort or cost.不需要努力或成本就能得到的东西,坐享其成
PC:personal computer 个人用计算机; 个人电脑.
Must- is added to verbs such as `see', `have', or `read' to form adjectives and nouns which describe things that you think people should see, have, or read. For example, a must-have is something which you think people should get, and a must-win game is one which a team needs to win. (INFORMAL or JOURNALISM)
...a list of must-see movies...
The Tugboat Saloon and Eatery is a must-visit.
the top ten must-have books for medical students
cost: result in the loss of (sth) 使付出(代价),使丧失（某事物）:
Drinking and driving costs lives.
His affairs cost him his marriage.
If one thing is offset by another, the effect of the first thing is reduced by the second, so that any advantage or disadvantage is cancelled out. 补偿/抵消
The increase in pay costs was more than offset by higher productivity.
The move is designed to help offset the shortfall in world oil supplies caused by the UN embargo.
You can refer to someone or something which you think is causing a problem as an offender.
The contraceptive pill is the worst offender, but it is not the only drug to deplete the body's vitamin levels.