The Antivirus Phenomenon, Part I

Members of the university get a special deal on a certain antivirus. They can either a) Buy a disk with the antivirus for $5, or b) Download it for free from the university's website.


It's the same exact thing. Let me say that again: It's the same exact thing. (You've now been informed twice, just like a real customer!)



But time and time again, customers opt to pay the $5. As a penny-pinching college student, I usually ask them why they decided to spend an entire meal's worth of money on free antivirus. I expect to hear things like, "Oh, it's more convenient to have it on a disk." Or "Well, I don't have an internet connection right now."


Actual quotes:

• "Well, $5 is a hell of a deal!"
• "You can't beat $5 for antivirus these days."
• "Why go through the hassle of logging into a website when I can just pay money here?"
• "Well I don't know. I guess the disk would be safer."
• "You get what you pay for, right? I'll go with the $5 disk."

This is enough to get me giggling. But for extra kicks, I check their majors at the register. You guessed it -- every one of them BUSINESS MAJORS.