Piracy, warez and You.

[w8tvi]

Originally Posted by answerman

... which is what it's all about. The incentive to create new apps and improve existing ones comes from getting paid for them, no matter how pure the developer's heart is. How many of you would stay at your job if you weren't going to get paid for it?

And, food for thought regarding a warez-like similar situation. Show of hands... most folks here have some combination of WinZip, WinRAR, and/or WS_FTP. You know the ones... the "nonexpiring" trial versions. How many of you have anted up for the commercial versions once you decided you liked the trials?

Wow, pretty quiet.

Actualy, I use 7-Zip, It is free, open source software. And for FTP sites I use WinSCP. Yet another free, open source program.
So really, anyone that uses pirated versions of WinZip, WinRAR, or WS_FTP aren't looking hard enough.

(WinSCP can be found at winscp.net, and 7-Zip can be found at 7-zip.org)

[Ya Boi D]

Originally Posted by w8tvi

Actualy, I use 7-Zip, It is free, open source software. And for FTP sites I use WinSCP. Yet another free, open source program.
So really, anyone that uses pirated versions of WinZip, WinRAR, or WS_FTP aren't looking hard enough.

(WinSCP can be found at winscp.net, and 7-Zip can be found at 7-zip.org)

Or you can just use PocketRAR.....

[canospinach]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

Why has a movie ticket gone up to almost $13.00? They're not making enough money? They got greedy and now you see commercials before the movies and in the movie you paid to see, product placement everywhere. They're making tonz of money and yet they still raise the price. So what happens? Pirates take revenge.

If they cut back on their prices, a lot more people would come out to see a movie. I remember when we were kids, we'd see a movie 25 times and pay each time. Now days, kids can't afford that because everybody is too friggin greedy.

I remember being a kid and actualy purchasing a music cassette/dvd, instead of recording it off the radio because the quality was better and it wasn't so expensive. I have no clue how much a music CD costs because I'd rather pirate then pay an outrageous price for a fancy cover sheet.

Kudos Fat Tony! your post about warez software is IMO right dead on.

But a movie theater although the piracy perspective might be part of it has a fairly costly infrastructure to maintain as many retail models do. It a little unfair to say "lower the prices, its all greed". Business are in place to make a profit and depending on the model may need to adjust pricing. I am supposed to make as much profit as possible as long as my clients see the value in our product/service.

As a small technology house even with our 300k in servers i still have less functioning overhead (Rent, HR, etc) when compared to a similiar revenue business which is retail.

Your msg is sound, i feel a retail comparison is just not apples to oranges.

(Please no concrete boots, grey has never been my color)

Originally Posted by Ya Boi D

Or you can just use PocketRAR.....

I believe he is referring to at the PC level.

7zip rocks, is free and its x64 compatible!

[PlainShane]

I believe in options. Pirate some software then purchase those which I am earnestly appreciative for.

Most consumers do not pirate software/music/video. Only a small portion of people actually pirate. A fraction of users out there are knowledgeable enough to understand what bittorrent is, where to go, how to get invited into invite only (the only trackers wroth a dime) trackers, and let alone which clients are even allowed on said trackers. The journey for a simple SBSH program is extremely long unless you have the resources at your fingertips. Again, most consumers just know that to download music they must goto best buy to purchase an itunes card. Yesterday whilst at best buy, I overheard a sales rep talking to a couple about the ipod touch. The couple asked him if it worked on vista. The sales rep turned to the neighboring sales rep and stuttered for a second asking "vista is that program by... by... by..." sales rep #2: "uh, microsoft?" sales rep #1: "yea, this mp3 player works with vista."

Pathetic in our eyes, normal in everyone else's. No, this does not make piracy right, it just makes the perception realistic.

My motto is to support those titles and devs which I believe made the product for someone like myself. I definitely help out the underdog more than anyone. Peace

[CozBoogie]

I usually don't reference something I've already posted but I believe it should be reviewed in light of new posts. So...please review my post here:

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showpost.p...69&postcount=2

In addition to what I stated there I believe that there has been a fundamental change in society associated with the advancement of technology.

Pirating (as it's now called) has been around for a very, very long time. It really came to the forefront when people would attend and record concerts. If you're a Dead Head or somewhat familiar with the Dead, you'll know that some of their most strongest and vocal supporters were those who bootlegged copies of their shows. These tapes (y'all remember tapes don't you?) would get shared (early version of P2P) with fellow Dead Heads. The Dead eventually embraced the bootleggers but the culture of "pirating" was already established.

Back then there was still a human element involved. You weren't bootlegging to get rich...you were out there sharing these tapes because you truly loved the product and wanted the experience of concerts that you may have missed. Part of it was done out of admiration for the group.

With time and technology bootlegging has morphed into pirating. Pirating is primarily done, I believe for 2 reasons. The seller wants to make some cash...the buyer wants a cheap/free product. I think that's pretty much a no-brainer!

Technology has brought these two together quite easily. Additionally there is some sense of entitlement in our society. This sense of entitlement "allows" people to justify the stealing of goods (e.g., pirated software, etc.). We're all guilty of it. We all say to ourselves, "Well...Microsoft already makes a killin' on their software...I'm just downloading a few of their apps off of the net for free." Or, "movie ticket prices are so expensive...I'll just get download the movie off the net for free." Or, "I'm just downloading a few songs...it's not hurting anyone."

Now I'm not quite sure where this cultural sense of entitlement has come from. I do believe that we are a very material society. I believe a lot of people base their self worth on what they own. Tell me y'all don't show off your phones to friends and family? Tell me y'all don't want the sweetest car with the best sound system. Tell me y'all don't want the best/biggest plasma/LCD TV. Why? It doesn't make the shows any better. All you're watching is some crappy TV show...but now you get to see that crappy TV show in hi-def. And y'all justify the purchase of you're hi-def rigs.

Now how does this sense of entitlement work with the issue of piracy? Well, for starters I believe that most of us feel that we are entitled to whatever we want...even if we can't afford it. Along comes the pirate who's selling his "wares" and the perfect relationship has just been established. And again we justify our use and buying of pirated goods.

We don't ever have to see the pirates...there is no human interaction anymore. It's all done with mouse clicks anymore. You're not getting that pirated movie because you're a fan of the director or actors in it. You're getting it because you can...because you feel you're "entitled" to it...because you want it...because it's easy...because you deserve it...because you work all day at a lousy job that doesn't pay much...because everything is too expensive anymore...because...because...because...

In the final analysis everyone has to make their own decisions. I've probably not articulated my thoughts as best I could because I'm writing this at work (I have a sense of entitlement to surf the net instead of do my job). However, ask yourself what your motivations are for using pirated stuff (e.g., software, music, etc.). Ask yourself why you do it and let the rest of us know.

late,
Coz

[ycats]

Has been mentioned before, most trial programs are limited..........if I can't experiment with a full-blown version, there's no motivation to buy it or even use it........that's usually my reason to try to find a cracked version.

[HyperGO]

I used to have a pirated version of Lakeridge WA/ SBSH iLauncher... but after a while a purchase a license and become a legit user.

I have a mixed opinion about this issue.

[Lsme420]

Originally Posted by cozboogie

If you're a Dead Head or somewhat familiar with the Dead, you'll know that some of their most strongest and vocal supporters were those who bootlegged copies of their shows. These tapes (y'all remember tapes don't you?) would get shared (early version of P2P) with fellow Dead Heads. The Dead eventually embraced the bootleggers but the culture of "pirating" was already established.
late,
Coz

DeadHeads Ahead of our time. Many a show Ive traded.

[OneOfOne]

this is hilarious. a bunch of self serving thieves trying to justify their actions with long winded bullshit. thats all it is. the end. pathetic. and yeah it pisses you off to read this doesnt it? but you wont stop stealing will you? or justifying it or trashing me for writing this. there is no honor among thieves. and no chance for respect either. look in the mirror. what do you see? its sad that these developers and musician live in an era where they have almost no chance to make money. something tells me though that this is going to change. and soon. until then we are what we are. arent we?

[michaelj1981]

Originally Posted by OneOfOne

this is hilarious. a bunch of self serving thieves trying to justify their actions with long winded bullshit. thats all it is. the end. pathetic. and yeah it pisses you off to read this doesnt it? but you wont stop stealing will you? or justifying it or trashing me for writing this. there is no honor among thieves. and no chance for respect either. look in the mirror. what do you see? its sad that these developers and musician live in an era where they have almost no chance to make money. something tells me though that this is going to change. and soon. until then we are what we are. arent we?

Actually if u stop and listen to what they are saying you might see why they do what they do. Everything is over priced, maybe its telling "YOU" or people like you what is going on with your own ideology. IT IS YOU that is stealing, IT IS YOU that is the thief as well and not just them. I stop illegal downloads and i will download a game if i can't find my cds that I OWN ALREADY does that make me a thief "NO" Does it make me a thief if i want to test out something fully before buying it "NO". In this day in age digital downloads are a very cost effective way to delivery digital products fast and efficient. When you download a file only 2 main recourse is being used your server and the bandwidth. Charging someone for 39.99 for a simple application is in my opinion worthless over priced example with handigo 39.99 for a instant messenger program. I’ll try to find it cheaper or just find a way around it. I think for there own sake dropping the price to 10.00, 15.00, or 20.00 is something worth buying and they will see more increase in sales and purchases and wont see people as you put it as STEALING. OVER PRICING A ITEM IS CALLED “GREED” with GREED COMES STEALING so in actuality you reap what you sow don’t you so you are what you’re a greedy person and they are what you say a thief. After getting more knowledgeable on developers I find them offering just as good programs at a lower rate, rather support them and I WILL BUY.