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Have/Would you use pirated software?

Have/Would you use pirated software

  • Yes, all the time

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Yes, only if necessary (No money, unsure of program)

    Votes: 29 41.4%

  • No, I'm a good samaritan 0:)

    Votes: 15 21.4%
  • Total voters
    70
Vinsanity93

Vinsanity93

Android Enthusiast
^Topic

I'm not going to lie, I do sometimes. Mostly just to try a program/game out like Starcraft 2. If I like it and I have enough money, I will most likely buy it to support the devs for a great game :D

Clean thread, no flaming (Let he who is without sin cast the first stone :P)
Let's get this thread going!
 
I think we all have at one time or another. I really wanted to cast the first stone. Lol.
 
Have I? Yes, when an app was not available in the market I reverted to nefarious methods of acquiring it that I'm not proud of.

Would I? No, I'm a firm believer that if you support the devs the end user experience will be that much better.
 
I pirate stuff pretty much on a regular basis because it is easier then going to the store to find some stuff. If it is a game or software that I put more then a certain amount of time into, or an album that I listen to often, I do eventually buy it.
 
VegasOnAcid said:
I pirate stuff pretty much on a regular basis because it is easier then going to the store to find some stuff. If it is a game or software that I put more then a certain amount of time into, or an album that I listen to often, I do eventually buy it.
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+1
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I find it dumb that some really expensive software does not even have trial versions too.. Companies are almost asking for their stuff to be stolen.
 
I think everyone has at one time or another. Especially if you're a student and don't have the money but need the software. As for music, if it is a band I really like, I will definitely buy it to show my support, otherwise I'll just get it from my friends.
 
I had my iPhone jailbroken, and I would use the cracked apps a lot if they didn't have a free version. I wasn't going to pay for something without seeing if it was what I wanted in the first place, especially when there was no return policy! And if I liked the cracked free version, I actually did sometimes go back and buy the legit version. On my home computer, I don't really use much pirated stuff, as there are lots of free programs out there that do what I want anyways. But I have used a pirated version of photoshop, since I can't afford to pay for a legit version of it just so I can tweak a pic a little for fun. I know that doesn't make it right, but asking $500 or whatever for the program is rediculous. No pirated stuff on my Droid X, I actually WANT to support Android devs! Didn't feel that way most of the time with the iPhone devs.
 
Just a friendly reminder from your friendly neighbourhood moderator! Please debate/discuss the topic and do not link to anything that is illegal or even hint on how to download them as this will get you in trouble. :)

Cheers,
-Roze-
Your friendly neighbourhood moderator
 
I don't go out of my way to find pirated software, but if someone happens to drop one off at my feet I won't turn it down =)
 
I have W7 Ultimate just for the encryption (which is actually awful), XP Pro as W7 XP mode wasn't available with Home Premium, Office 2010 (MS is my excuse :p)
I also have MW1 just for testing, can't play it

I am considering getting apps for Android that I already payed for on Symbain

I wish carrier billing was available :(


That's it as far as I know, I generally stick to trial, free and lite versions
 
If you were in a store, would you steal something you wanted if it were hard to get? Or if you didn't have enough money to buy it?

If your best friend was a developer, and you saw how hard (s)he worked on projects and how little money he earned, would you pay for his/her software or buy a pirated copy (for the same reason you buy others' pirated stuff)?

If your job was writing music, books, software, or anything else that requires creativity and pays only when you sell it, would you understand the "reasons" given above for why someone wouldn't pay a fair price for what you've produced?

I don't believe any of you who buy pirated stuff are horrible people.
I do believe that you aren't thinking through your decision to buy pirated apps or software, and that you don't equate it with stealing or with cheating the person/company who developed it.

Sorry to go Dr. Laura on you, but it occurred to me as I read these posts that maybe you haven't really thought about this.

LG
 
Actually in the past two years I have basically stopped pirating anything. I used to use the occasional pirated software on my PC but it was pretty rare. There are so many options for Open Source software out there that it is usually pretty easy to find a free alternative.

I think the only app on Android that I have wanted to pirate was the SlingBox one just because it seemed so pricey. That and I didn't actually own a Slingbox and would only have occasional access to the one I was going to use the App for. DISH Anywhere saved me the trouble though.

Pirating an android app under $10 that you are actually going to use and not just test out seems kind of shady to me though. I know people are poor and all but not paying $10 for something that is well developed and that you find really useful seems like a slap in the face to most devs out there.

I even started buying music a lot more now. The music industry is so oversaturated with crap that artists take a big chance trying to make a living making music. Why shouldn't I spend $5 maybe $10 to support their efforts.

Most of the time when you are pirating something you are directly stealing from someone just trying to make a living. Keep that in mind.
 
About 10 years ago when pirating software was king and internet monitoring was non-existent, I downloaded about 3,000 songs for free on Napster.

Now I pay for my songs because I have a job and I can.

But I sure got my moneys worth back in the day :)
 
I understand that pirating is not legal and is essentially stealing. But for software, just because we have OTA and online update capability now, does not mean it should be the norm to release unfinished games/software under the pretense that "Well I can just fix it later with an update depending on the reception I get."

As for music, if I listen to an album more then three times I will buy it, usually on vinyl if I can find it. And in general the music industry took complete advantage of customers a while back.. they really deserve what they are getting at this point.

For the record I am not saying that this is an excuse to steal, but after convenience, this is my reasoning for doing so.
 
VegasOnAcid said:
I understand that pirating is not legal and is essentially stealing. But for software, just because we have OTA and online update capability now, does not mean it should be the norm to release unfinished games/software under the pretense that "Well I can just fix it later with an update depending on the reception I get."

As for music, if I listen to an album more then three times I will buy it, usually on vinyl if I can find it. And in general the music industry took complete advantage of customers a while back.. they really deserve what they are getting at this point.

For the record I am not saying that this is an excuse to steal, but after convenience, this is my reasoning for doing so.
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It's just that we can change the product to cars, medicine, art works or anything and the stealing aspect of it becomes more real to us.

I used to install cable for a small subsidiary company in Omaha. We'd go into homes to install HBO or whatever and find the place cabled for six outlets/rooms when all they were paying for was one outlet. They'd brag about them, show us each one and grin.

None of us have great affection for cable companies, but thievery is thievery.
 
i pay for every android app i have, but i've pirated some ridiculously expensive software, like photoshop.. thats about it really
 
tommy_ed said:
i pay for every android app i have, but i've pirated some ridiculously expensive software, like photoshop.. thats about it really
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I didn't even know people pirated android apps.. especially with the old refund policy....
 
lesliegodwin said:
If you were in a store, would you steal something you wanted if it were hard to get? Or if you didn't have enough money to buy it?

If your best friend was a developer, and you saw how hard (s)he worked on projects and how little money he earned, would you pay for his/her software or buy a pirated copy (for the same reason you buy others' pirated stuff)?

If your job was writing music, books, software, or anything else that requires creativity and pays only when you sell it, would you understand the "reasons" given above for why someone wouldn't pay a fair price for what you've produced?

What if this happened:
1. Spread unknown program/etc on internet through torrents and such
2. People try out this program/etc because it is free (like a demo)
3. Best friend becomes well-known because people like the program/etc
4. Improve program/write a new book/make new music/etc and sell for reasonable price
5. ????
6. Profit

I don't believe any of you who buy pirated stuff are horrible people.
I do believe that you aren't thinking through your decision to buy pirated apps or software, and that you don't equate it with stealing or with cheating the person/company who developed it.

You don't really "buy" pirated apps :P

Sorry to go Dr. Laura on you, but it occurred to me as I read these posts that maybe you haven't really thought about this.

LG
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Would you pay $5,000 for a program (AutoCAD) if you never tried it for yourself?
If you listen to music on youtube or watch episodes of shows there, that's kinda pirated too...
 
Vinsanity93 said:
Would you pay $5,000 for a program (AutoCAD) if you never tried it for yourself?
If you listen to music on youtube or watch episodes of shows there, that's kinda pirated too...
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AutoCAD Free Download - Download AutoCAD Free Trial - Autodesk

Directly from the website on their homepage.

The 6 steps you wrote in bold is incredibly optimistic and idealistic. How often does it actually occur in the real world?

Bottom line... piracy contributes to job losses, billions of dollars lost every year, hurts the economy, and is just plain wrong. I used to pirate music and movies when I was a young, ignorant teen with old Napster and Kazaa. I'm now grown up, have my own money, and purchase. Pirating is a selfish act. It's so easy to because of the anonymity and secrecy. One can get away with it without anyone scolding him/her. Also... if you don't know anyone who contributed to making that software, music, movie, etc... there's no human connection. It's kind of the same way people view corporations (an entity) versus a small family business (mom and pop) on the corner of Main Street. Stealing from an entity is ok because it's just an entity while stealing from a family owned business is WRONG because you actually had a friendly chat with the owner and got to know him/her and the hours and work they put into their company.

The only reason why I believe people pirate is to get free stuff... and who doesn't like getting free stuff at the expense of others?

Added: Piracy is a big slap in the face to capitalism.
 
lesliegodwin said:
If you were in a store, would you steal something you wanted if it were hard to get? Or if you didn't have enough money to buy it?

If your best friend was a developer, and you saw how hard (s)he worked on projects and how little money he earned, would you pay for his/her software or buy a pirated copy (for the same reason you buy others' pirated stuff)?

If your job was writing music, books, software, or anything else that requires creativity and pays only when you sell it, would you understand the "reasons" given above for why someone wouldn't pay a fair price for what you've produced?

I don't believe any of you who buy pirated stuff are horrible people.
I do believe that you aren't thinking through your decision to buy pirated apps or software, and that you don't equate it with stealing or with cheating the person/company who developed it.

Sorry to go Dr. Laura on you, but it occurred to me as I read these posts that maybe you haven't really thought about this.

LG
Click to expand...

Actually, I have thought this through, and that's why I don't really pirate stuff anymore. Now, more often then not, if I can't afford something or don't want to pay the current price, I either save up the money or wait for a sale.
 
SammyAcclaim said:
Pirating an android app under $10 that you are actually going to use and not just test out seems kind of shady to me though. I know people are poor and all but not paying $10 for something that is well developed and that you find really useful seems like a slap in the face to most devs out there.
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I have no choice, as paid Android apps and games are NOT available because of where I live. Although having said that, I've only actually pirated one app I use regularly...Tapatalk, which is a forum browser. I would like to pay for, and can afford to pay for Android apps and games as I think the authors should be paid for their work, but I can't.
 
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