quote:

Originally posted by DJFreaq Because it feels like they're not getting anything TANGIBLE.

Maybe. People pay for services all the time and that's not tangible either.

I'll make like a broken record and say again that this is not in any way a defense of software piracy, but I think if there's any reason people are loath to pay for software it's that:
- It's often not a truly finished product (i.e. not fully tested);
- The service/support accompanying it is often crap and often costs extra;
- It's simply a lot easier to not get caught than stealing something from a store.

Overreaching copy-protection schemes add a few more reasons:
- The cracked versions often perform better because the protection cripples it;
- Some protection schemes prevent users from exercising their legitimate rights (making a backup copy, reselling, anything to do with the First Sale Rule);
- It's demeaning and inconvenient to users and they're pissed off.

Now, to me, this is more of an argument to simply not use the software as opposed to stealing it. Piracy, in the end, is actually a less effective way of sticking it to the "man" because it generally provides a popularity boost via word-of-mouth advertising. That is why, assuming that the FM8 is part-malware (I realize this is unconfirmed right now), I simply will not touch it.

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My party schedule:
2009-02-21 - DJ Attention @ I'm So Popular
2009-06-18 - DJ Annoying @ People Need To Know Where I'll Be
2012-11-32 - DJ Insufferable ɸ Or At Least the Stalkers I Complain About
2048-06-66 - Spastic & Whocares ¶ Although I'm Actually Flattered
9999-45-81 - Tweaker Gimp ☼ I Probably Won't Even Go To This But I Have To Make Sure I Fill Up All The Available Space Here

Hackers and crackers seem to cut right through any kind of anti-piracy scheme, I don't even know why these companies bother. The standard schemes that keep the common users honest are fine, but trying to stop the warez traders is pointless, and ends up punishing legitimate users.

I don't know what the solution is, but this FM8 thing seems to be overkill. I wonder how often the thing scans for illegal NI software. How much CPU and memory is that going to use up. Bloat it up baby! Punish me, I love it!

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soundcloud

Youtube

1 word: Dongle.

hahahahahahahah.

I am going to sell all my NI software and use their warezed versions. Hah, take that NI.


Not much to sell though.

Since this thread went sideways for a moment, allow me to add some momentum to what has been already discussed. Here's case and point for piracy:

I work as IT consultant, doing systems administration and alike. Few days ago, a client of mine who has been running a certain backup software package on his servers decided to buy a license after evaluation ran out.

I needed to get him price quote for license. Unlike regular VSTi, with some software packages you have not just one license to buy, you have to buy several:

1. Main license
2. Licence for client access (CAL)
3. Agent licence (sub-license for feature of the program to do backups of specific programs)
4. Feature license (for program to do something it was meant to do but with a tape library - e.g. more than 1 tape)
5. Disaster recovery license - yet more features of the same program but done slightly differently
and on top of everything....
6. Upgrade(!!!) and support license for products (each sold separately)

None of this is documented in plain language anywhere, of course.

after all was said and done, we were looking at about $15,000 in licensing and support fees. And this is a "small business" product. I don't know too many small businesses that can afford a $15,000 backup software, but that's besides the point. What pissed me off that I tried calling the company for pricing and spent over 3 HOURS of my time, being tossed around phone queues, hold queues, and incompetent sales reps all over the globe. The answer itself took about 10 minutes.

The time I was holding, just out of experiment, I was searching for keygen for the program. I found a keygen that worked like magic in less than 15 minutes. So, what's the initiative here for the buyer to go legally? And company that's so cumbersome, inefficient in servicing the customers who WANT TO BUY THEIR PRODUCT deserves to have its product "stolen" e.g. "used illegaly". If customer was offering to pay me $15,000 - I'd make damn sure I was available with a pen and paper to take their oder.

The cherry on the cake was that all of the stuff I was ordering was simply pieces of paper with license key numbers written on them. Yet, somehow my shipping charges amounted to $87.. (I guess they haven't heard about PDF files.)


In case you're wondering, it was Symantec. Probably one of the worst and most criminal software companies that ever existed. If you don't believe Symantec themselves are responsible for at least few viruses and spaming operations you need to get your head checked.

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quote:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

--Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

Well said. The general contractor construction company I do webdesign for is looking into buying some licenses for Adobe Acrobat Professional. And I already warned them it was going to be very pricy.

I couldn't agree more with you EMC, can't wait to hear more on the FM8 rundown.

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Soundcloud

All "small business" products are a joke, there's not a small business in the world that can afford them.

But then again, you have to understand how these people think: a "small" business to them is anything between 1 and 5000 employees. I'm not kidding, all of the boneheaded consulting companies like KPMG use that specification, and of course that's what the software retailers base their licensing costs on. Call IBM about their "small business" servers and ask what exactly that means - you'll be [un]pleasantly surprised.

They honestly don't even seem to be aware that some businesses employ less than 50 people and have no more than a few million per year in revenue.

___________________
My party schedule:
2009-02-21 - DJ Attention @ I'm So Popular
2009-06-18 - DJ Annoying @ People Need To Know Where I'll Be
2012-11-32 - DJ Insufferable ɸ Or At Least the Stalkers I Complain About
2048-06-66 - Spastic & Whocares ¶ Although I'm Actually Flattered
9999-45-81 - Tweaker Gimp ☼ I Probably Won't Even Go To This But I Have To Make Sure I Fill Up All The Available Space Here