"F.B.I. and Chinese Seize $500 Million of Counterfeit Software" is the headline at the top of the NYT business section this morning. Wow. $500 million: that's a lot of money. How much software is that?

The F.B.I. said Tuesday that a joint effort with the Chinese authorities had led to the arrest of 25 people and the seizing of more than $500 million worth of counterfeit Microsoft and Symantec software that was being made in China and distributed worldwide...
In the last couple of weeks, the operation led to the seizing by the Chinese government of 290,000 counterfeit discs and certificates of authenticity.

Ahem. 290,000 discs, with pirated Microsoft and Symantec software on them, are supposedly worth half a billion dollars? That works out at $1,724 per disc. At Amazon.com, the most popular version of Microsoft Office is $121.99; the full version is $399.99. The most popular version of Vista is $149.99; the full versio is $359.99. The most popular piece of Symantec software is $62.99, and that allows three users.