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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
Tempusfugit said:
oh, and earlymon.. .avoid windows?? come on...
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I've lived for years without it, years with it - it's just an OS, so it makes little difference.

When I got into the soup with their Genuine Advantage crap, I called the 800 number and insisted that my conversation be recorded and that I speak with a supervisor. Had to do that three times. After that, when I had a problem, I'd call the 800 number, give my name, they'd cut me off and tell me that they knew me - and would vector me to someone apologetic who would help.

There are plenty of free alternatives to Windows though - unless you absolutely must buy an app exclusive only to Windows - such as those made by my firm.

It's just an OS, not the end of the word on how to do things.

In my opinion.
 
EarlyMon said:
I've lived for years without it, years with it - it's just an OS, so it makes little difference.

When I got into the soup with their Genuine Advantage crap, I called the 800 number and insisted that my conversation be recorded and that I speak with a supervisor. Had to do that three times. After that, when I had a problem, I'd call the 800 number, give my name, they'd cut me off and tell me that they knew me - and would vector me to someone apologetic who would help.

There are plenty of free alternatives to Windows though - unless you absolutely must buy an app exclusive only to Windows - such as those made by my firm.

It's just an OS, not the end of the word on how to do things.

In my opinion.
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I agree somewhat, but microsoft has basically removed the word monopoly from the english language. Linux and Apple are getting much better, but from 97ish to early 2000s I could name about a thousand games that were microsoft only.
 
EarlyMon said:
So, in essence, you're stealing stuff to prove them that their ideas about people stealing stuff is wrong - and because you feel treated like a potential criminal, you act like one.

Doesn't occur to you to simply avoid their products and not even give them mindshare?
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You have to admit though, companies hamfisted attempts at DRM is just making piracy worse. I just had to manually crack a legit copy of windows xp pro because a computer just bit the dust, and it needed a new motherboard as well. This copy was 110% paid for, legit, and only being used on this one machine, yet it wouldn't activate. I just bypassed Windows Activation althogether and did a few registry tweaks to fix Microsoft's problem. I shouldn't have to call anyone to 'activate' something I bought.
 
Tempusfugit - perhaps, but I'm not a gamer where machines are concerned. Except for the occasional foray into chess to see what they've been up to.

IOWA - Now we've come full circle on our first discussions together where I had less than spectacular things to say about Windows.

Although I believe in morality of copyrights, as I stated earlier - that's not at odds with a system of laws messed by special interests. We have now the DCMA - digital millennium copyright act - that's squarely at odds with prior law and fair use, all thanks to the legal teams of special interests.

DRM is an epic fail. I love the expression - DRM manages your digital rights in much the same way that prison manages your freedom.

DefectiveByDesign.org | The Campaign to Eliminate DRM

And the solution to the Microsoft trough mindset was all spelled out years ago in a little paperback called In The Beginning Was The Command Line by Neil Stephenson, now a freely available PDF.

If you don't like what someone does to you thru DRM, don't validate their product and think anything's accomplished by bypassing their DRM - avoid their product.

The idea that we must feed at Apple's or Microsoft's troughs while complaining about the slop they feed us pigs is not the solution.

Boycott is the solution - I practice it with the RIAA. The rest of the stuff - I pay my money and I take what they feed me.

Options always exist - stooping to someone else's level of insanity - be a game, movie, piece of software - no. I will not live my life that way. Nothing they make is sufficiently important to me to make me compromise my principles. If I can't afford to play their game - I do without or I find an alternative.

It's not piracy that will make DRM stop. It's enough people saying, if that's what it takes, forget you - my life is greater than your consumer definition of me.

And when in business I can't escape it - I pay the fee, just like I do on all consumables that I don't really need, but have convinced myself that I should.

There's a reason I like Android.
 
EarlyMon said:
So, in essence, you're stealing stuff to prove them that their ideas about people stealing stuff is wrong - and because you feel treated like a potential criminal, you act like one.

Doesn't occur to you to simply avoid their products and not even give them mindshare?
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Nope. As you can see by my Steam account, I'll buy things when I don't feel treated like a criminal. When a DVD has 20 minutes of unskippable previews followed by 5 screens of FBI warnings and terrible analogies equating piracy to stealing cars, I'd rather get the pirated version that has all the bullshit cut out, and it's all packed into one easy to manage file. It being free and easy to obtain is just a bonus to me.

Like I said, no shame. Judge me if you must.

As an added note, I have spent hundreds of dollars on games that I had originally pirated. Generally what would happen was I'd pirate a game, then it would be released on Steam with only Steamworks DRM (very reasonable, amazing customer service), and then I would buy the game. I tried to go legit with Windows, but it was Microsoft that drove me back to where I came from with that endeavor.
 
Rota said:
Nope. As you can see by my Steam account, I'll buy things when I don't feel treated like a criminal. When a DVD has 20 minutes of unskippable previews followed by 5 screens of FBI warnings and terrible analogies equating piracy to stealing cars, I'd rather get the pirated version that has all the bullshit cut out. It being free and easy to obtain is just a bonus to me.

Like I said, no shame. Judge me if you must.

As an added note, I have spent hundreds of dollars on games that I had originally pirated, then they were released on Steam and put on sale, so I bought legitimate copies. I even tried to go legit with Windows, but it was them that drove me back to where I came.
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I agree. Even when I do buy a DVD (getting rarer now, netflix FTW) first thing I do is burn an HD copy to bypass all advertisements. I didn't buy the DVD for unskippable ads.
 
IOWA said:
I agree. Even when I do buy a DVD (getting rarer now, netflix FTW) first thing I do is burn an HD copy to bypass all advertisements. I didn't buy the DVD for unskippable ads.
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That's legal per the precedent laws to DCMA.

No different than the legality of ripping a CD to a personal music player.
 
EarlyMon said:
That's legal per the precedent laws to DCMA.

No different than the legality of ripping a CD to a personal music player.
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After Sony's Rootkit fiasco, why the heck would you put a CD in your computer in the first place?

For those CD's that someone buys me? I pirate all of the songs off of it, because I don't trust the music companies ONE bit.

The CD sits in a plastic case with it's Receipt taped to it in case I need it.

More often than not, I buy my songs from Amazon.
 
byteware said:
After Sony's Rootkit fiasco, why the heck would you put a CD in your computer in the first place?
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Because music exists that never passed through the hands of the RIAA or the big labels.

There's a nearly endless supply of great musicians that you hear in a lot of cities if you travel at all, and they'll sell their homemade CDs after the show/performance. They're relatively inexpensive and they support local artists without a lot of middlemen.
 
EarlyMon said:
Because music exists that never passed through the hands of the RIAA or the big labels.

There's a nearly endless supply of great musicians that you hear in a lot of cities if you travel at all, and they'll sell their homemade CDs after the show/performance. They're relatively inexpensive and they support local artists without a lot of middlemen.
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These are the only CD's I'll purchase anymore.
 
The one thing I'd add is the futility of DRM.

When statistics show that a piece of software is being illegally copied at a high rate, they add DRM.

When the DRM is defeated and illegal copying increases, the makers do NOT say to themselves - hey, DRM doesn't work.

Instead, they say - wow, our game/whatevs is so good people will even steal it to have it. It's _this_ DRM that doesn't work. So - let's add more and more DRM until we succeed. Because this illegal copying proves DRM is the way to go - we shouldn't drop DRM, we should improve DRM.

In my opinion, illegal copying in attempt to teach makers providing DRM a lesson is a lot like trying to build a perpetual motion machine.

The more you put into the system, the more you need to put in, and the outcome will not turn around.

From public statements made - the above is how makers with DRM think. It takes two to tango - them and the copiers. This is why DRM is a failure - not because it can be circumvented, but because it's an exercise in unintended consequences on both sides of the fence.
 
DRM.png
 
Question that I have never found an answer too.

If I legally own a vinyl album, can I download the CD version on a torrent site/website?
 
Jammy said:
You can, not legally.

Though most people would see it as morally justified...
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Well ya I know I CAN. Sucks it is not legal tho..

What is nice tho with vinyl many are now coming with free download links for the album as well.. Now if we could just get better then a crappy vrb version.
 
VegasOnAcid said:
Question that I have never found an answer too.

If I legally own a vinyl album, can I download the CD version on a torrent site/website?
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Yes you can, and legally. You have licensed the copyright to that music. If you can make a digital recording from a piece that you own, then you can download it legally too.
 
byteware said:
Yes you can, and legally. You have licensed the copyright to that music. If you can make a digital recording from a piece that you own, then you can download it legally too.
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From what I can gather, you can make a copy of it yourself - ie, record it, but you can not download someone else's copy...
 
^This has been a subject of litigation since the days of the compact cassette tape.

The RIAA first said it's media ownership dependent - ending up meaning you can copy what you own, so they hated that. Then they get it right - you've paid for a license on the copyrighted material - meaning that you can now obtain copies in any medium for anything you have already purchased single license for. And now they hate that.

That part works - and whether the RIAA likes it or not - it is correct. The consequence is that the download source - person - is now engaged in illegal distribution.

Fast forward ... add in the MPAA.

It has now held up in court that you can own copies of your media.

It is illegal to distribute the software to make those copies.

If you can get a copy of that illegal-to-distribute software, you can legally use it to make copies - under the law.

It's that screwed up right now - with thanks to the RIAA and MPAA.
 
I would like to see the RIAA take me to court for getting copies of songs I legally have a copyright license for. I would like to see them make a case in court why I should be forced to use their CD after the whole SonyBMG rootkit disaster.
 
Jammy said:
Internet Piracy Boosts Anime Sales, Study Concludes | TorrentFreak
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Oh very interesting read but I can see that with Anime. I know quite a number of (English speaking) anime entusiasts and those that follow their anime series (religiously) They want to OWN the DVD copy of the show for their collection. They pirate the most recent episodes since it's only out in Japan but once it's out in their Country, they buy the OVA/DVD. For anime, most of the pirated anime (released) are done by fans. That is they do the subtitles translations and it may not look 'professional.
 
Roze said:
Oh very interesting read but I can see that with Anime. I know quite a number of (English speaking) anime entusiasts and those that follow their anime series (religiously) They want to OWN the DVD copy of the show for their collection. They pirate the most recent episodes since it's only out in Japan but once it's out in their Country, they buy the OVA/DVD. For anime, most of the pirated anime (released) are done by fans. That is they do the subtitles translations and it may not look 'professional.
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And my understanding is that most Japanese anime companies support their fan subbers. They may try to release the Subtitled version quicker and faster, but they aren't taking any legal action against their subbers.
 
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