Piracy, warez and You.

[MrOuija36]

finding a serial online for a pocket pc program is no where as serious as crippling pedestrians or swiping gps systems from circuit city lol

[jbonilla]

Originally Posted by lazyboy0172

I have downloaded many more warez than 2, and have purchased a few of them; I prefer using the warez site because it is cleaner, has no advertising, and has no sponsors so it is much easier to find what I am looking for, or find something new and unbiased, with reviews from many people.

Honestly the last place I would go for to find out about a program and how well it works is a warez sites. On the ones I've seen, it's usually just someone either asking for something or thanking someone for posting something or someone trying to figure out why a crack or serial doesn't work.

I find most sites provide plenty of great information about a program and how it works -- the one that belongs to the author in the original post has tons of screenshots for its programs. And as was mentioned earlier, most of these programs provide generous trial periods where the software is fully-functioning. And there are many of other sites (pocketpcthoughts, pocketnow, pdaphonehome, this one) where reviews are posted and users can discuss the program. I bet you can find out more about a program and how well it works from those sites than you ever could on any warez site.

In the end, if you want to use warez, that's your choice. But I really don't think that warez sites are good places to get information on the latest programs, other than finding out what people want to STEAL most.

[MrOuija36]

LOL @ want to STEAL the most..

when i 1st got my treo i LOADED it with pay apps and free apps just to get a feel on how they work, what i needed, what i would not need, and what i liked best so i think out of 10 apps i put on there.. only ended up reinstalling 2.. and for 29.95 and 19.95 thats not a bad price.. well 29.95 kinda steep for a lil 100k file.. support and updates are worth it tho just hope i wouldnt lose the license info

[jbonilla]

Originally Posted by MrOuija36

finding a serial online for a pocket pc program is no where as serious as crippling pedestrians or swiping gps systems from circuit city lol

Hey, you were the one who said that no one should ever feel bad about ANYTHING they do in life, not luv2chill. The fact is that while using warez isn't as serious as crippling pedestrians or swiping GPS systems, it still is STEALING and a crime and you are taking something without legally paying for it. Whether or not your conscious is affected by it doesn't change that. There are people who would commit crimes if they didn't think they'd get caught, and there are people who wouldn't commit crimes because they do have a conscious and want to do the right thing. The fact that you trivialize it says more about you than this discussion on warez. In the end, some of these developers will find that there's no profit in writing software and will stop supporting and updating their product -- if it's something that you use, you'll know who to blame.

[MrOuija36]

ok..

no one should feel bad about something they CHOSE to do.. so those examples.. crippling the pedestrian.. yeah thats messed up.. and your at fault.. but if my mans CHOSE to steal the gps system why should he feel bad for it? it was his decision and he was in COMPLETE control of the situation

maybe its just a difference in ways of living but i mean i just rather not regret anything ive chosen to do in my lifetime.. shouldnt dwell on the negative aspects of life but thats a COMPLETLY different subject

but back on the subject whats your feelings on ONE person purchasing a license for a ppc app, and then sharing the license with a couple other friends.. ??

[saqer]

"Keep it Simple...Stupid"

The more you overwhelm your ppc with programs, the lesser stable you'll find it, the faster the battery will drain and the more sluggish it'll become.

Having said that, I would like to approach this from another POV:

I have realized with my experience with Warez PPC apps is that people will generally download it and use it just for the sake of having it. When I first bought my 6700 I felt excited at the endless possibilities of all the programs free or not that I can get my hands on. Little did I find satisfaction in that.

I have also realized that availability of freeware out there supercedes my need for any shareware programs and I'm a pretty demanding user! There's literally a freeware counterpart to every paid program out there and so PPC users shouldn't be pirating these programs just so they can have them or say they have them. In fact, it's 8 months after I first got my 6700 and 80% plus of the apps I use are freeware and work just as well or better than their shareware counterparts.

I'm not against shareware and I respect developers' attempt at honest business, but I, first and foremost support the open source and/or concept of freeware.

For many shareware product and what it does, there's a freeware program (or multiple ones) that performs in the nearly the same manner:

1. Smartskey -> None really
2. Tomtom GPS, iguidance, etc -> Live Search, Gmaps
3. Pocketbreeze/Diary -> Calendar+, O2 Calendar
4. Memmaid -> Dot Fred Task Manager
5. Phonealarm -> O2 Sound Profiles
6. Pocket Player/Core Player -> MortPlayer/TCPMP
5. Internet Sharing -> PDAnet
6. claunch/02 Shortcuts -> ilauncher
7. Cyberon -> MS Voice Command
8. Hubdog, etc -> Egress

And the list goes on. Obviously, there are some features you want to utilize that aren't available in free programs and at the end of the day it shouldn't cost you much more to satisfy those by purchasing those programs.

The bottom line is to think twice before downloading and using a pirated app. Most likely you don't need it.

And, the list goes on and on.

[MrOuija36]

pretty much.. like i said i had a lot of programs on my device.. then after my 1st hard reset i only ended up reinstalling 2.. and i have no issue paying for those.. cause there are no free warte alternatives and they're very solid apps wouldnt mind supporting the devs. to make it even better

[answerman]

Originally Posted by MrOuija36

... and they're very solid apps wouldnt mind supporting the devs. to make it even better

... 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.

[Quixote42]

As a long time Palm User - as well as PC user .. I have download and tried many programs. I had my own crisis of conscience and finally decided to start paying for all the programs I used on a regular basis. I asked myself - is this something I need? Something I am glad is out there? Something I regularly use? If the answer to any of these was yes... I registered.

As a Palm shareware developer (putting a few games/utilities out there) I saw that I got many downloads, but few chose to contribute, so I had to go stop developing things because I wasnt even getting my out of pocket expenses covered (programming environment, new palms to test on - compatability issues).

What do I think is behind this. Part of it is the fact that once software is developed, there is little/no cost to another version. Unlike a CD or a GPS unit, if you take one, you are depriving no one of the one you took. Are you depriving the developer of being rewarded for their efforts - yes. But you are not by virtue of taking it, preventing another from having that particular one. It is an "invisible" crime, where the only person deprived is the person who invested their time and effort into crafting the product you use. I also believe that some of the software companies contribute to things by charging a large amount for something that each part costs them little. I know from my own experience that I am more likely to "pirate" a $150 product than a 20 dollar one. Particularly for those programs that you use once in a while rather than your constant use ones.

From someone who has been on many sides of the piracy warez issue,
Quixote42

[tdk]

As a noob to this forum I would just like to bring up something no one else has brought up. I think pirating software became a main stream affair due to major software publisher's actions (ex... MS and Netscape fiasco), MS deals to computer manufacturers to sell only MS OSs, overcharged prices for software (ex... $400 for Vista Ultimate), time bombed software that stops working or is crippled past a certain date, software bought w/ lifetime upgrades option (less than 6 mo use-no upgrades, bought by another company that is now extorting more money for their inferior product) (ex... musicmatch jukebox and yahoo). The list of software issues goes on and on. Music: What about the cassette you bought that broke the 1st time you tried to listen to it, or the tape stretched and now sounds warbled, or the record (LP/45) that had scratches from the jacket sleeve when you purchased it. What about the music collection that was stolen from the person that bought it, does that person still own that stolen music? what about buying a CD that installs a root kit that can only be fixed by a full reinstall. How about buying music or software that cannot be returned to the store that it was purchased from. Finding out the CD or software installs programs actually does damage or can give others control of your computer. Virus scanners don't detect root kits, the maker of the root kit gets a slap on the wrist, until the next time it gets caught? To end perception may be part of the problem, frustration is probably as good a reason as I can think of. I did not come to this forum to steel anything. I was looking for Vista drivers for my Utstarcom PPC6700. Yes I purchased both the Vista and 6700. Thanks all flames will be read. B)