Pirated software

[Locut0s]

What's your point of view? A criminal act? Neutral? Depends on what's being pirated? Don't have any problems with it?

To make it clear I am talking about pirated software that people download off IRC chat rooms, off of usenet and other sources not paying someone for pirated software.

[datasuspect]

1. great stuff

if you like virus loaders . . .

[Locut0s]

2. I was actually curious about..

peoples moral objections, or non objections, to it.

[datasuspect]

3. just advocate it

or advocate any type of filesharing and you will get more moralizing bombast than you know what to do with!

bon appetit!

[Locut0s]

4. lol, well hopefully not too much..

[mike_c]

5. well, without incriminating myself, I'll say...

...use open source and free alternatives whenever possible. Actually, I don't *think* I have any pirated software, but I don't have much in the way of entertainment software, e.g. games. I traded MP3s for a brief time several years ago, when p2p software first became available, but haven't done that in a long time, and all the files on my music server are ripped from my own CD collection.

That said, I think many commercial software apps are grossly overpriced and I can't really blame anyone for pirating them when necessary. This is where the open source movement really shines, IMO.

[Locut0s]

8. Currently It's actually legal to share music over P2P apps in Canada.

[Deja Q]

12. Yeah, but your country is CIVILIZED.

I envy y'all.

[Deja Q]

10. Bingo. And the corporations make us pay for THEIR mistakes too.

Right on the head and that's why I'm switching. More and more the 'activation' requirements go past the boundry of acceptability and even force me to have my computer hooked to the internet, ripe for picking. (I do have antivirus and firewall installed, but they slow down the computer and I want my CPU devoted to video archival. Not a fucking net nanny, which shouldn't be my responsibility because the corporations cut corners to make Winbloat that much more open TO hackers. x( )

[Deja Q]

6. To pirate is to illegally sell copyrighted software. & Corporations do it.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=oem+dreamweaver&btnG=Google+Search

Many sites 'sell' Dreamweaver for $20, $50, $100, $200. Some claim it as OEM or say they are selling you a "backup copy". (bull. Dreamweaver, Photoshop, 99% of all applications are NOT bundled for OEMs. Not full versions unless they're "economically unviable" and even then you'll note that computer emulation of 15 year old computers risks legal action. :eyes: )

The term "pirated" had been "pirated" by the corporations.

They charge ludicrous amounts of money. Sell the product for a reasonable amount and you'll get more buyers, far fewer pirates.

Or best yet: Make everything OPEN SOURCE and rid the fucking problem for good and watch Bill Gates die a penniless man. He essentially stole the GUI concept from Apple, who essentially stole it from Xerox.

The whole system, open source aside, is a damn joke.

And I've three valid Windows licenses. My other PC is Linux. Once my video project is completed or when my apps can be ported to Linux is when I am switching too. As Microsoft and other companies get to the point where needing an internet connection is a MUST for the software to even FUNCTION, I've said "I've had it with this e-fascism. Fuck them all and not in the good way." (tmpgenc switched to a forced-online connection. If tmpgenc goeso ut of business or I prefer my video processing PC to be off the internet to reduce risk of infiltration/infection, I refuse to buy software that forces me to be online. No. Fucking. Way.)

Consumers are far less the problem than corporations tell us they are.

BTW: The VAST MAJORITY of piracy happens in China and Asia.

[Mojambo]

7. Given the pathetic state of software testing

I always try before I buy anything. Especially games.

So yeah, I download pirated software occasionally.

[benburch]

9. I only pirate software I can no longer buy.

If they are out of business, and I cannot find any other product that does what I want, I will pirate software. For example, much of the software for my Apple IIc is pirated.

If I have placed an order for software, I might pirate a copy until my order arrives.

Under no other circumstances is it even slightly ethical.

[Locut0s]

13. Much of what you are talking about is know as "abandonware" and while...

technically it may be pirating to download such software, as often times someone somewhere still owns the copywrite, usually no one is making any money off of it anymore so almost no one considers it really pirating. For example you can get a hold of a lot of old Sierra Adventure games that way.

[cynatnite]

11. Yeah, it's criminal

Software I'm interested in I will use the demo if it's decent enough. If I don't get a good idea of how well it works I will get the pirated full version and play around with it.

The problem with getting pirated software is that a lot of times there are upgrades and other extras that you can only get with legal software. That's not always the case.

If I like the software enough to pay for it I get rid of it and pay for the legalized stuff.

Bejeweled is one prime example. I hated playing it online and I wanted my kids and hubby to see if they would like it as well. I got the pirated version and after a few days of finding out the rest of the family liked it, I bought it. We wound up buying Bejeweled 2 because we all like the game so much and have a running contest to attempt to beat each other out.

When it comes to the more expensive and bigger software games, I would rather rent stuff for the PS2 then buy it.

Pirated software has it's uses, but when it comes to keeping it, I say buy it. It's easy to make me feel guilty plus I don't feel I'd be a good parent if I kept the software without paying for it.

[Dave Reynolds]

14. A long, long (statute of limitations) time ago

I held close to 300 cracked programs, ranging from games to apps.

Mind you, this was back in the DOS 3.1 days, my old 286 was a hot-rod then.

[LostInAnomie]

15. I will in no way support pirates.

I don't like their policy on plank walking.