Would you pirate software?

[Ems]

Just curious when I read that Mok didn't want to pirate Halo 2... Anyone else feel the same way?

[Ego Woods]

Just curious when I read that Mok didn't want to pirate Halo 2... Anyone else feel the same way?
errrrrrr, I think most ppl if they did say "yes" would be a bit hesitant to openly vote such a poll in a public forum......

not that I pirate it myself! :cool:

[Mok]

errrrrrr, I think most ppl if they did say "yes" would be a bit hesitant to openly vote such a poll in a public forum......

not that I pirate it myself! :cool:
:werd:

[Ems]

errrrrrr, I think most ppl if they did say "yes" would be a bit hesitant to openly vote such a poll in a public forum......

not that I pirate it myself! :cool:Yes, that would explain why no one's answering me... They're scared I'm a cop in disguise. Aren't there laws protecting ppl from entrapment?

[Queen of the Beach]

Yes, that would explain why no one's answering me... They're scared I'm a cop in disguise. Aren't there laws protecting ppl from entrapment?
Ems, I agree that you've posted on a sensitive issue. I don't know about the laws re entrapment. But there are many laws against illegal downloading and selling pirated software. However the laws against piracy are not consistent through out the globe. And just to be clear I am talking about a bigger problem than some 13 year old boy who downloads songs off Kazaa and makes a CD.

I'm sure some of us will know of someone that knows someone who uploads movies onto the Net or makes VCDs of the latest movie etc... Most of the times it isn't for personal profit. The person placing the music/book/movie on the Internet already owns a copy. And the person downloading it is doing so because - they can't afford (or justify) buying the product and they see the producer of the product as a large multinational, money-making conglomerate. While Piracy starts with personal download and use, it has now become an international problem.

Some facts I got off an article in Net Guide Magazine.
"While the software piracy rate in the U.S. has declined since the beginning of the nineties till now, in Russia, 95% of all business software is illegal, in Thailand, 92%, and in China, 98%. An average of only $1 per personal computer is spent on legal software in China. The Chinese government has been linked to state-sponsored CD-ROM manufacturing facilities mass producing pirated software for the domestic market and for export. One bulletin board system (BBS) sold $1 million in stolen software in just three weeks."

IMO the only way to reduce piracy is to educate people about why it is bad. But I have no idea of how to solve the bigger international problem.

[Mok]

one way to solve privacy problems is open source :) haha...works great for the end user, free and less buggy software.

[Ems]

Yup, it is definitely a very serious problem. Even if someone is educated about why they shouldn't pirate, when they are faced with spending $300 on a software that they need/want, but their friend can pass them the CD for nothing... it's hard for anyone to resist.

At the same time, all those people who spent tons of money and hours, weeks, years in developing the software suddenly loses out.

In a free market, goods that can be easily reproduced will be. I don't think anyone or any organization is going to ever put a stop to piracy, it's just too easy, and the alternative of doing the right thing is too expensive.

I'm hoping that creators and producers would lower their margins so that it won't deter people from doing the right thing... but then what does it say about people in general? And even if they do lower the price points, there's still going to be someone who can't afford it.

Maybe as time passes, people would realize that it's not worth putting in so much money and effort on something that can be copied in a matter of seconds... and then where would we be without Halo 2 and Britney?! :confused:

[Mok]

just a quick comparison:

MS Office 2003 Pro Edition: $700
Open Source Office: $0

[Ems]

just a quick comparison:

MS Office 2003 Pro Edition: $700
Open Source Office: $0
Actually, Open Source is different, I don't see anything wrong with it. In fact, I think it keeps companies on their toes to develop good quality goods at reasonable prices... err.. or that it will do that.

Plus, people work on it knowing that it is free and that they are sharing and exchanging knowledge. I think it's really different from piracy.

[Mok]

i meant open source will sorta put an end to privacy haha...it will make big corporatioins obsolete!

[Kerudo]

Well everyone knows pirating software is bad, but people still do it. Simple as that. But I do feel bad for software developers, since I'm trying to be one myself, I'll one day feel their pain. :mad: Also, just about all software and game "rippers" note that you should only download this software/game if you already own a copy. Obviously this doesn't stop people who do not own copies, from downloading the software, not just because they are "bad people", but they just need it or want to try it out. I think it's ok to download something or get something for free, as long as you are not selling it for money afterwards, that's just bad period. But everyone likes to get stuff for free, I'm sure everyone will agree on that. And as for the problem, I don't think there is a solution. I think it's eventually going to be like the music industry, which has just gone with the flow of allowing downloading of tracks off music sites for a cheap fees. The internet is just too free to be caged. It's impossible to stop it all.

[patlo]

Well everyone knows pirating software is bad, but people still do it. Simple as that. But I do feel bad for software developers, since I'm trying to be one myself, I'll one day feel their pain. :mad:


Don't worry, programmers will always have a job and always be paid well for developing good software. I dont' think progammers will take a pay cut because software companies lose some profit due to piracy.

[Ego Woods]

Don't worry, programmers will always have a job and always be paid well for developing good software. I dont' think progammers will take a pay cut because software companies lose some profit due to piracy.
Agreed.......software developers are still making huge amounts of $$$.......just look at Halo 2......HL2 will probably be the same too......there use to be only 5 ppl needed to develop a game back in the ol' days......now it's like hiring a studio set or the size of a film production crew with all their cast ......that's how many ppl are involved to develop ONE GAME.

[Kerudo]

That's very true. I feel more reassured of my career choice haha, thx guys. :)

[leftintherough]

Don't you just love polls???

Lets get some updated votes on this one!

[Big Shooter]

Don't you just love polls???

Lets get some updated votes on this one!

You sure do have a lot of Spare Time, maybe if you took up PLAYING GOLF, you would have LESS time for POLLS!!?? :D ;)

p.s., Ironically Halo 3 is coming out NEXT WEEK!!! ;)

[nearace]

If I cannot afford to buy it I wont get it,my oponion is it is stealing.nobody likes a thief.

[caddishack]

This is not exactly on topic but similar. All the fuss about people downloading music from Napster and kazza, and bands like Metalica crying about lost revenues seemed to be a bit of BS in some circumstances. All I know is that I have 4 or 5 milk cartons in my basement of vinyl records that I bought that really are not to playable in this day and age. I suppose one could say that I paid for the copyright to that music when I bought the LP. I don't remember getting a discount for already owning the purchased copyright when I had to purchase an 8 track/ cassette / or cd of that LP I originally purchased. For me I was basically downloading a lot of the music I already owned and as such feel I was not violating any copyright infringement.
Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.:eek:

[3whack]

. I suppose one could say that I paid for the copyright to that music when I bought the LP. For me I was basically downloading a lot of the music I already owned and as such feel I was not violating any copyright infringement.
Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.:eek:


1. Buying an article does not pass copyright or any right of reproduction along with it.

2. You may feel that you weren't violating copyright, but you were. You have no right to copy or reproduce.

As for software copying:

http://www.caast.org/release/default.asp?aID=170&language=French

[pir2]

1. Buying an article does not pass copyright or any right of reproduction along with it.

2. You may feel that you weren't violating copyright, but you were. You have no right to copy or reproduce.

As for software copying:

http://www.caast.org/release/default.asp?aID=170&language=French

What is "Private Copying"?
Before the Copyright Act (http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/info/act-e.html) was amended in 1998, copying any sound recording for almost any purpose infringed copyright, although, in practice, the prohibition was largely unenforceable. The amendment to the Act legalized private copying of sound recordings of musical works onto audio recording media - i.e., the copying of pre-recorded music for the private use of the person who makes the copy. In addition, the amendment made provision for the imposition of a levy on blank audio recording media to compensate authors, performers and makers who own copyright in eligible sound recordings being copied for private use.

http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/news/c20032004fs-e.html


On software piracy... do you use "codec packs" to watch videos you download?
http://msmvps.com/blogs/chrisl/archive/2004/07/04/9546.aspx

[dekker]

your asking for individual ethical action when the corporate role model is free of such ideological encumbrances.

[leftintherough]

You sure do have a lot of Spare Time, maybe if you took up PLAYING GOLF, you would have LESS time for POLLS!!?? :D ;)

p.s., Ironically Halo 3 is coming out NEXT WEEK!!! ;)

You have seen my point !! I'm not golfing near enough for my liking !!!

Hey, did you see the Best Buy tent at Yonge and Dundas? They had somebody dressed up exactley like the Halo 3 picture.

[xander.uk]

There are a few different considerations to this question ( IMO )

In england the record companies estimate pirate CD's cost them £ 250m a year.

Yet every single year since CD's were invented they have sold more and more of them?

Some people say that places like kazaa helped the music industry by allowing people to try b4 they buy ( obviously the music industry disagrees )

IMO a huge part of the problem is the price conspiracy between these companies ( music & film & games) to fleece the consumer!

For example if U2 were to release a new album ( i use them as a worldwide recognised name hopefully :) ..although i dont like their music personally )

Then in the U.K it would cost £13 ( approx $26 candian ) for the album or £18 ( $36 ) if it were a double album ( MINIMUM )

Yet in for example India it would cost less than 10% of that figure.

Surely they dont expect people to believe they sell these albums at a loss in India?

In the U.K ( again :( ) the music industry recently won a court ruling to stop online internet music retailers from buying cd's/dvd's abroad and selling them to people in the U.K at a discounted price.

IMO people in the U.K ( and i imagine other countries were prices are unjustifyably high ) are fed up at being charged unfair prices and therefore pirating IS on the incease.

IMO if they want to end pirating Cd's & Dvd's then they should reduce the prices of these products.

YES they may lose money on individual unit price but i believe they would gain more sales thereby making up the loss.

Of course any1 working in the film/music industry is going to think i am a raving lunatic ( and maybe some of you do too :D ) because greed is king!!!

Also remember that when you purchase cd's films software you CANNOT take it back to the store because you have changed your mind or you have tried it and dont like it..........once its opened it has to be faulty for you to be able to take it back ( at least in the U.K ).

How many of us have spent alot of money on a game/film/cd only to find it is poor.
How many of you have bought a game for your computer ( retail £40 or $80 ) only to find after an hour your bored with it because the substance of the game is poor!

While these practices continue then piracy WILL flourish.

Wether its right or wrong may be debateable............personally i have no sympathy with the corporate money making machines.........because they care NOTHING for their customers except squeezing every last drop of blood from them.

And they are the only industry that gets away with that kind of behaviour!