Ari in Ithaca asks whether the gap between sales of computer hardware and software in China is really evidence of widespread software piracy:
An alternative explanation is that they are using free software like Linux, FreeBSD, and variants. Without any data on what software they use any accusations of piracy are pure speculation.
Matt Reid of the Business Software Alliance in Washington replies, by e-mail:
Free software does not explain the disparity. Every country is utilizing a mix of free, open and proprietary software, yet nowhere else are we seeing a greater disparity between legal hardware purchases and legal software purchases. BSA and our research partner IDC have examined this question from all angles. Our annual Piracy Rate Study factors in the legal use of free and open source software, and it calculates China’s piracy rate to be 79 percent – with a commercial value of $7.6 billion.