Do you use pirated software?

[hotmale]

Just saw this poll on www.desktoppipeline.com (http://www.desktoppipeline.com) so I thought it was interesting.

[z3n]

I think the anonymous "my opinion is as follows" comments field is quite necessary because I don't suscribe to any of the simplified question listed above.
However I did pick the closest in order to participate. ;)

[petard]

i have my one vote in.
:D

[biker666_05]

i have and will always use pirated software

[Big Booger]

I think the way the companies are trying to lock down one OS to one machine is driving more and more people to piracy. Adobe, Microsoft, Norton, all these companies are trying to screw over their users. So what is Jane Dow uses 1 copy on 2 or 3 computers.. she owns it, she should IMHO be allowed to use it as she sees fit.

Oh well, I am hoping that linux will catch on to a simplified software and driver/hardware installation methodology. As soon as that happens, I will end my windows monopoly. I am using Mandrake now and liking 10.1 as good as windows.. except for what I mentioned above.

[beelzebub]

Ya i dont like how the end user has to pay so much for a piece of software i say if you can get pirated from a friend use it.

So what is Jane Dow uses 1 copy on 2 or 3 computers.. she owns it, she should IMHO be allowed to use it as she sees fit.

But, unfortunetly the end user can not make a few compies of a disk unless they have an unlimited license to the software which most people are not willing to pay for. Just remember this is a balancing act dont just go around and have everybody screw over a software maker left and right if they dont make enough money they will stop rolling out new products

[Big Booger]

But, unfortunetly the end user can not make a few compies of a disk unless they have an unlimited license to the software which most people are not willing to pay for. Just remember this is a balancing act dont just go around and have everybody screw over a software maker left and right if they dont make enough money they will stop rolling out new products

Do you believe that really? Microsoft didn't make enough money off of windows 98? So in XP, they decide to screw over users with Windows Product Activation? Come now, Gates is still the richest man in the world and Microsoft is one of the most successful software companies.. It's corporate greed. When is enough enough? How much is enough money?

Adobe certainly doesn't look like they are hurting much, and Symantec keeps buying up competitor after competitor...

It's a farce to say that they use product activation to protect profits... in fact, I'd say their profits are over inflated and could use some deflation...

:D The fact remains piracy will last for as long as software lasts.. If they reduced prices, it would have a more extended reach into curbing piracy than any product activation or protection scheme. But that never happens does it?

[PIPER]

Right on BB!!!!!!

[Big Booger]

That is not to say I condone piracy. BUt to me piracy, is getting a CD or DVD of something, making thousands of copies of it, and then selling it. There is some financial gain from that scenario.

Now, what grandma Jones does by loaning her CD to her cousin Dillard is not piracy at all. In fact, that is what I'd call sharing. Grandma paid for it, and then shared what she paid for with a relative. How did Grandma gain from loaning her CD to Dillard?

Certainly Dillard gained by using the product. But let's say Grandma couldn't give to Dillard because of product activation. Well, Dillard is as poor as they come and as cheap and tight as a drum. Well, he'd just stay off the computer and no sale is lost there... So in that scenario, nothing was lost to begin with..

Of course this scenario is only one of dozens.

I think soon, challengers to the mainstream products we use will be the biggest threat to these companies. Freeware, open source, and cheaper alternatives that are every bit as good but different in some way, will be far worse of an impact than any little old lady loaning or sharing her software....

[z3n]

GRANDMA JONES IS A PIRATE !!!! http://img94.exs.cx/img94/8072/images24.jpg

[efc]

Hot dogs! Another place to bash Microsoft. That is my favorite pastime. Some of you may remember very long essays that I have written on this subject in the past. I promise that I will not repeat that torture.

Microsoft's pricing policy has been a little like Nike's pricing of their shoes. Both have captured youths imagination and desire to own their product. Both have priced their product beyond many youngster's ability to buy.

With shoes there have been muggings, even shootings in ghetto areas. So far that hasn't happened with Windows.

If Windows cost $35 for a full version and $19 for an upgrade, the number of counterfeit copies would be far fewer. I'm sorry, I just can't feel sorry for Microsoft.

[beelzebub]

sorry it took me so long to respond to the post right after my first one. The one posted by BB.

i hate microsoft i am groing up in a household were we dont buy anything from monopolies like microsoft if we dont have to. that doesn't mean we pirate a lot well actualy my mom doesn't pirate at all. I do i just dont tell her. But, I specifically left microsoft out of my previous post because they not only control the opperating system they also have games and hardware so it would be a horribly inaccurate example to use. Feel free to pirate form Microsoft. They probably wont go bankrupt, hopefuly they will anything to further the Linux revolution

[Reverend]

Can i just add. Choose your words carefully.

Techzonez in no way condones Piracy !!!

Phew,I'll get that out the way before my inbox gets bombarded by disgruntled software companies. :rolleyes:

[egghead]

I like to take my time....
Walk down the hill...
and troubleshoot them all.

That would be very costly so i try out freeware as much as possible.

I also read lots and I may test software to experiment with problem solving.

I believe all software in business should be paid for

[Reverend]

Why has this turned into a bash MS thread ???

Don't get me wrong i'm not a "Bill Gates" devotee but the thread title is "Do you use pirated software?" which if i have read it correctly means all software,not just Microsoft.

BTW,Microsoft has a so-called monopoly because they happened to be in the right place at the right time.And lets be honest,if it wasn't for the release of Windows and its relatively ease of use,the majority of us probably wouldn't be using computers today.

Pirated software is prevalent because it is so easy to obtain,and not necessarily because people refuse to line the manufacturers pockets.IMHO

[rik]

Exactly right. Microsoft has brought computing to the masses...be that good or bad. In time another may have done it, but they were the first to hit the mass market.

[efc]

Sorry Reverend. I will be good. I will not bad mouth Bill Gates or Microsoft any more today.

Excuse me, I've got to go puke.:p

[Reverend]

Sorry Reverend. I will be good. I will not bad mouth Bill Gates or Microsoft any more today.

Excuse me, I've got to go puke.mmm.... Correct me if i'm wrong,but i don't remember saying you or anyone else couldn't bad mouth Bill G. I was merely stating that the thread is called "Do you use pirated software?" and not "Do you use pirated MS software?" .

I'm sure hotmale intended this thread to relate to all software and not just MS stuff.

BTW,I don't think there was any need for your sulky sarcasm. :msnthink:

[efc]

I know. I just get carried away on this subject. It is better for me to lock myself in the bathroom with a couple magazines.:p Most of my hatred, and it is hatred, for MS dates back to the latter 1980's. I have a long memory and carry a grudge.

I would guess that most of our members wern't into computers in those days. My complaints mean nothing to relatively new users. I am sorry, I am turely sorry.:msncry:

[Reverend]

efc, just for you. Click here (http://www.holylemon.com/funny-video-clips/billgatesgetscreamed.html)

;)

[beelzebub]

sorry i did not mean to contribute to the bashing of MS either but they are just so evil.
This is were i am hopefully going to leave the bashing at, for me of coarse. In the words of Robin Williams in Robin Willaims Live on broadway.

"[Robin imitating Gates] Why senator Monopoly is just a game I'm trying to control the F**king world. Windows Millenium me it is leading to Total Information Technology and when your sucking on the TIT, I've got you by the motherboard."

[efc]

efc, just for you. [

Thanks for the memories. :p

[z3n]

And lets be honest,if it wasn't for the release of Windows and its relatively ease of use,the majority of us probably wouldn't be using computers today.

Aye indeed, Windows© user-friendly interface has made it readily available and "brought it to the masses" (as Rik so appropriately put it) - but most of us regulars here though would be pre Windows© - I cetainly am.

I was using Norton command when I first heard of Windows©. :eek:

It filled up my entire drive and I laughed at the thought of such greedy software ever being a success. . . Doh !!

I'm assuming this thread of Piracy has turned to Microsoft®, because I'm sure that if one were to consider the "MOST PIRATED SOFTWARE EVER !!"

The conclusion would be a landslide victory to a William Henry Gates.
Who, even holding the most ever pirated software, is still the richest man on the planet.

I think Windows© is great, and has done alot to bring the world together, and as far as piracy goes, I think, if you can afford software, and want it. . . buy it.
If you can't afford it, but can get access to it - then thats just being resourceful. :)

[Big Booger]

My point was not necessarily aimed at Microsoft. It was more or less at the trend of product activation.. hell, OSes, Anti-virus apps, Image editing apps, are all heading that way, and it creates a lot of frustration, system errors, issues and so on.. Especially for users without a net connection, or those who are worried about the big brother effect.

Piracy is a bad thing if and only if those who would have bought the products in the first place are the ones doing the pirating..

I know companies need to protect themselves from piracy. I agree with that in theory. But when it bothers the very people who PAY for the software, that is where I have issues.

[hotmale]

Man, I've been reading this thread for over 15 minutes!!! A lot has been going on here since I posted this thread a couple of days ago.

Anyway, the poll results have been interesting so far. Most participants have used pirated software in one way or the other.

I'm sure hotmale intended this thread to relate to all software and not just MS stuff.Yes, I did mean software in general and not only MS products.

Now my opinion is quite similar to z3n's: we shouldn't buy pirated software unless we cannot afford it. For example, here in Jordan, you'd be very lucky to get a salary above $700. And I'm sure the situation is much worse in other countries. So in this case, you can't expect a person to spend hundreds of bucks on software like Windows and Office. MS has finally started to realize this and that's why there will be special versions of Windows for India, Russia... from now on, but perhaps it's too late.

[Mousesk]

I know companies need to protect themselves from piracy. I agree with that in theory. But when it bothers the very people who PAY for the software, that is where I have issues.

This is exactly how I feel BB. I was furious this weekend trying to install and play Sims 2. It wouldn't work because I had 'CD/DVD emulation software installed'. I eventually got it to work but only after UNINSTALLING CloneCD. To me that is rediculous that they can do that. Tell me what I can and can't have on my computer! Bah! It is a great game though and would be worth the money I spent on it if it had installed, and worked right away. It's things like this that lead me to go to pirated software. I get all the same headaches but without having to pay for them. :D

[z3n]

Just another clause for this page for you reverend:

All posts on this thread are the individual opinions of the general public and in no way reflect the opinions or beliefs of Techzone.
Techzonez does not indorse, promote or encourage pirating by breach of copyright or the use of pirated software in any way shape or form.

.

[joshsiao]

My point was not necessarily aimed at Microsoft. It was more or less at the trend of product activation.. hell, OSes, Anti-virus apps, Image editing apps, are all heading that way, and it creates a lot of frustration, system errors, issues and so on.. Especially for users without a net connection, or those who are worried about the big brother effect.

Piracy is a bad thing if and only if those who would have bought the products in the first place are the ones doing the pirating..

I know companies need to protect themselves from piracy. I agree with that in theory. But when it bothers the very people who PAY for the software, that is where I have issues.
I agree totally with this. First came in the news that Windows Xp would ship as a total new OS with blah and blah features and anti-priacy. Then I read an article about the upcoming product activation and thought that it would just stay with MS. Then yes it spead all over Adobe, Norton etc... I think it beginning to become the norm. I hope that it does not go so far as to spread to games! Imagine you have to activate your game?!! Eg. You get HL2, having anticipated it for a long time, then you install and try to play but it tells you to activate it. So you'll end up anticipating for it longer for something you paid with your good money. Yes I really agree that it bothers that the negative side of all these anti-piracy things are piled onto the real paying consumers.

Now my opinion is quite similar to z3n's: we shouldn't buy pirated software unless we cannot afford it. For example, here in Jordan, you'd be very lucky to get a salary above $700. And I'm sure the situation is much worse in other countries. So in this case, you can't expect a person to spend hundreds of bucks on software like Windows and Office. MS has finally started to realize this and that's why there will be special versions of Windows for India, Russia... from now on, but perhaps it's too late.
Here in Singapore, most of us are low-income to mid-income salary living in Public Housing Flats. Living costs here are so high even a S$1000 income a month is difficult to survive on for even 1 person. Firstly, at least 25% is eaten by taxes, then there are bills and bills and more bills. And for say a food hawker, his rent for a stall the size of 2 toilet cubicles in a good area can amount up to S$4000! Pirated shops were rampant here a few years back untill the police cracked downed on most. Now pirated shops are in pasir malams (Moving Night Markets) or in hidden areas of old housing flat estates. Becasue possesion of illegal articles can mean jail for 1 year and fine of 200,000 PER ARTICLE at the most. But still who IS going to pay thousands for original software for his son's school project?

[z3n]

Sorry OT,

Hey Josh, is chewing gum still illegal in Singapore ??

[joshsiao]

No and yes. They banned chewing gum I think in 1998 due to littering problems but becasue people have since gone to neighbouring malaysia and "imported" back boxes and boxes of it for their own use, the government has been planning to allow it again I guess so they can tax from the popular chewing gum market.

[Conan]

No and yes. They banned chewing gum I think in 1998 due to littering problems but becasue people have since gone to neighbouring malaysia and "imported" back boxes and boxes of it for their own use, the government has been planning to allow it again I guess so they can tax from the popular chewing gum market.

Interesting...

[joshsiao]

Ok I can clarify my post now.

Chewing Gum is STILL BANNED. When they banned it in 1998, they banned ALL chewing gum. But they have laxed the rule only to allow nicotine chewing gum. This is due to my country's high profile anti-smoking campaign. They wanted to allow nicotine chewing gum to give more choices to help encourgae people to stop smoking and use nicotine patches or the more popular nicotine chewing gum instead.

The Anti-smoking campagin first had a law passed to have Health Warning messages to be pasted on all cigarette boxes sold. A messages goes like this: Smoking causes lung disease. This was intended as a deterrence, but it wasn't effective. then they encourgaed smokers to switch to alternative nicotine sources and also jacked up the price of a cigarette regardless of weight to S$1/stick. Recently, they passed a law to add pictures of the ill effects of smoking to in addition to the health warning messages to the boxes. In the effect that a picture says a thousand words. Well, if you buy cigarettes here, you'll see a gruesome picture of a guy on a respirator in a hospital, the clogged arteries of a heart or haemorrage of a brain. the messages and pictures vary from box to box.

Sorry for another post being off-topic but I wanted to clarify what z3n asked.:Offtopic:

[rohitk89]

Ok I can clarify my post now.
Recently, they passed a law to add pictures of the ill effects of smoking to in addition to the health warning messages to the boxes. In the effect that a picture says a thousand words. Well, if you buy cigarettes here, you'll see a gruesome picture of a guy on a respirator in a hospital, the clogged arteries of a heart or haemorrage of a brain.

amazing!

[Content]

Whenever Bill Gates might happen to lose 5 million dollars
it the equivalent to any normal person losing 5 dollars

and I don't really think he's sweating the twenty million that
he gave to Carnegie Mellon University cause he hates Linux

[muckmail]

To add to this discussion, What happens after software gets old and a purchaser who
buys it wants to continue using it? Does MS continue to give out activation numbers
until the very last user discards it or do they drop it after a period of time. If they
drop after a period of time that would leave a some consumers without a way to
use there purchased product.

[rik]

As in all software, the vendor will keep it up to date as long as it is benificial to them monitarily speaking. Once a newer version, update, or upgrade is available they will most likely drop support for it.

[Content]

Many companies are well aware that its costly to have up to date operating systems and any person that works at a help desk knows that they get calls from people who still use Win 95 and DOS in some cases.

[SupaStar]

Many companies are well aware that its costly to have up to date operating systems and any person that works at a help desk knows that they get calls from people who still use Win 95 and DOS in some cases.

But there has to be a limit and I guess MS is kind of forcing us to enforce their support schedule. We no longer support NT4 and when it comes to Win 2000, basically, if there is a problem with the machine, we re-image it to Windows XP. No mucking around.

Same goes for MAC systems. We simply dont have the resources (just me :p) to support OS 9. Anyone having trouble HAS to move up to OS X Panther to enable us to support them.

[Rex Mundi]

My PC must be like over 80% illegal software. Still everything i have is for personal use only. I do not give illegal software to any one. I have linux as a backup system. All hardware, on the other hand, is 100% authentic legal stuff. Lets hope the world doesnt start buying illegal hardware cuz then there is an even more serious problem at hand.

[hotmale]

Lets hope the world doesnt start buying illegal hardwareWhat do you mean? :confused: Hardware cannot be cracked or copied or am I missing something?

[Big Booger]

by illegal, I was assuming he meant stolen... :D

[Rex Mundi]

How about mice and keyboards aye? These things are easy to make and im sure they exist and are made and sold 'illegally.'

[hotmale]

by illegal, I was assuming he meant stolen... :D:eek:

How about mice and keyboards aye? These things are easy to make and im sure they exist and are made and sold 'illegally.'I still don't get it, Rex. How can hardware be made and sold illegally? :confused:

[FastGame]

:eek:

I still don't get it, Rex. How can hardware be made and sold illegally? :confused:
Some countries have been known to make unlicensed spin offs and sell things underground, like Walt Disney toys, Cd's, DVD and the likes. Don't know why someone would make mice & keyboards :confused: but I'm sure there would be a market for ATI X800 & Nvidia 6800 :D

[hotmale]

Thanks for the explanation, FG. I'm surprised; this is the first time I'm hearing about something (computers-related) that's illegal but not practised here :p Illegal software, games, music, DVDs... can be found here but illegal hardware? That's something new.

[Rex Mundi]

Maybe im looking too far into the future. Illegal hardware can be made and sold onto the blackmarket im sure, but the means to do it and the ease people can get access to this stuff as easily as to illegal software isnt there yet. I once read about this (non-existent) invention called a "hardware printer." It does what it is called, i.e. print hardware. Maybe im just making this up ;)

[hotmale]

Maybe im just making this up ;( Yes, you are most probably :D