Cnet features Microsoft executive Michala Alexander talking about piracy and why people do it. Alexander states that, "it's just because people want what they can get for the cheapest price." While I understand this view and agree with the observation of human nature, I think the deeper issue is that software companies still cause a lot of piracy, because they haven't figured out what customers need. I know many people who bought a computer, then one day, inexplicably, their computer crashes. What do they do? They find the nearest guru, and ask for help. He gives them a copy of the operating system (that they didn't get when they bought the computer) to fix their computer. It may not be right, but is it fair to NOT give customers a copy of THEIR operating system THEY bought pre-installed? This is near-sighted and stingy of software companies. Most people in this situation would be fine if they could just get their computer back, yet no provision is made for them when the system crashes.  I know this isn't all of the piracy going on, but this is the portion that I have witnessed. In this way, software companies are pirating their own software.