Name that Context...

Referring to Intuit, the company that makes TurboTax tax preparation software:
"They really want to make it clear that they're going to be a little more customer-friendly than they were last year."
--RBC Capital Markets analyst Cameron Steele

What was so customer-unfriendly about TurboTax 2002?
a) It crashed Windows XP when you entered your IRA contributions
b) You couldn't get a live customer service agent on the phone in under 20 minutes.
c) Intuit had installed precautionary measures to prevent unauthorized copying and sharing.

Correct Answer: C

Yup. Intuit issued a formal apology to consumers for making it harder for them to pirate software. For the full Reuters article, including apology, click here,

I used the 2002 TurboTax software in question to prepare my returns last year. The software did not bar users from preparing multiple returns using the same disk. It did limit installation to one computer, and would only allow one tax return to be filed electronically. There were no limits on the number of returns that could be prepared on that computer, as long as the additional returns were printed and mailed to the IRS in hard-copy. The only inconvenience to people wishing to share software was that the additional tax filers had to come spend an hour or two at someone else's house entering the data, then print out a copy and mail it. Acquaintances of mine routinely have done just that in the past to "go halves" on the $30 or so cost of the software with other family members.

First, record companies became "the bad guy" for cracking down on illegal file swapping that infringed on their copyrights. Now a software company has apologized for making it harder for people to pirate their program.

Apparently, the electronic age has rendered copyrights meaningless.