pirated software

[somak_de]

recently i have read a thread posted in the forum asking for a crack
of window xp. those who replied requested the thread starter to buy it.

well i support their views. but the real fact is that softwares is priced
so high that very few user can afford them.

for example in my country (India), Adobe photoshop is priced so much
that with this money one can easily buy a brand new computer !

just have a think of it. who would go for an original version paying such
a high price when they can easily get a copy from there friends.

i know that to develop such a software heavy money is required. but still
i think software prices should be low to stop piracy.

i would like to know your views on that. and i would like to ask how many
of you has never used any pirated software.
dont think i am a supporter of piracy

 

[Stoner]

Photoshop is one example that is ofter referred to because of its pricing. But only users that have a commercial benefit have a 'must have', or 'need' of this product. For them the cost is a matter of doing business.

For the hobbyist, there are alternatives that are low priced-PSP7 is less than 10% of PS when on sale- and many that are freeware-Irfanview,Satori,etc.

In general, there is usually a free version of most commercial software.

Stealing anything is wrong, as we all know, and stealing software has nothing to do with our survival,unlike stealing food in order to not starve. The first example is a rationalization, the second is a reason.

just my 2 cents,

 

[Rhettman5.1]

Lots of shareware functions after the "trial" period is over..i/e winzip...I recently D/L'd a animated gif tool that was advertized as a "evaluation" version, only to discover it is fully functional forever,exept for the nag to register when you close it out.

I know many contribute to shareware and freeware sites, but wouldn't shareware also be considered a "pirated" program after the evaluation period has expired ??

 

[dalereis]

The free enterprise system would tell us that anyone can sell anything they want at any price. While I can't deny "borrowing" software very occasionally, I am very choosey about doing so and only in great need or just to experiment before buying. The price is determined by the demand and the way to voice your objection is not to "steal" it, but to just not buy or use it. As Stoner said, there is usually a free alternative if you will just take the time to search for it. My 2¢ worth.

 

[ComputerFix]

I do agree that if one were to go out and buy full versions of Windows XP and Office, they would spend nearly the price of the PC, however, daleries has a point.

Also, one does not need the "latest and greatest" all the time, even if we want it.

I am still using Office 97.

There are also "student" versions available for those who are students. I am taking a marketing class at the local college, therefore I qualify for the discounted OfficeXP if I want it, and I also bought some marketing software at 50% off.

This site has been an excellent resource for locating low cost or free software. If you are looking for something, ask. Odds are pretty good someone here is using something that can get the job done. (when I needed some AV software in a pinch, I received a reply for free software within minutes!)

I understand your frustration, and don't think that you are saying we should all be using "stolen" software.

(P.S. my sometimes comes from the fact that I am a Kazaa lite user, which is hacked software, though most do not regard it as such, since Kazaa is free in the first place)

 

[GoneForNow]

If you're gonna steal software you really need to do it in a more sophisticated manner. I have Microsoft believing that I'm an IT professional (I do maintain the office network but IT pro, I don't think so). I get long surveys from them that I complete, in return I get to choose free software. It how I got XP Pro, Office XP and so forth.

 

[ComputerFix]

Originally posted by gbrumb:
If you're gonna steal....you really need to do it in a more sophisticated manner.

Yeah, its called being a lawyer.

(glad to see you back GB )

 

[somak_de]

Thank you for such wonderful replies.

I know that there are plenty of freewares and sharewares available on net
and i have used a lot of them. But the problem comes when after 30 days some features
are turned off and frustrating regestration windows pop up.

I admit there are many low priced sofwares but they generally come from many unknown sites and
before buying them online one is very much concerned about safety of such transactions.
In this forum many users told how they were cheated.

Stoner:
"For the hobbyist, there are alternatives that are low priced-PSP7 is less than
10% of PS when on sale- and many that are freeware-Irfanview,Satori,etc."


I am a hobbyist and has great interest in multimedia. i will definitely try
the softwares you have mentioned.
But in this case there is another problem specially in my country that is "low bandwidth". i use a dialup connection and usually get nearly
2 kb/sec download speed. Imagine how many hours will it take to download a software
eg. macromedia dreamweaver which is 50 mb and does not support resume !! so sometimes i think
why should i d/l the trial using so much telephone bill when i can get the full version from
a friend for free.

actually i want to make the point that

1)developing a good software may need heavy investment but since making a copy of it actualy
requires nothing (unlike hardware) so why softwares are so expensive

2) why we cant share them with friends like everything else.


gbrumb : i did not understand what do you mean by "steal software .....in a more sophisticated manner". Can you explain it a bit elaborately?

 

[jdemnyan1116]

Not only do you have to worry about the it being illegal, also about the security of it. I have heard about pirated software causing problems like taking over computers etc. Wouldn't trust them at all.

 

[pyritechips]

(P.S. my sometimes comes from the fact that I am a Kazaa lite user, which is hacked software, though most do not regard it as such, since Kazaa is free in the first place)

Very interesting point.

TSG rightfully does not condone nore allow postings promoting, demonstrating or otherwise supporting cracking, hacking or pirating software. But Kazaalite is clearly in this category; indeed its illegal, hacked state is openly declared in the EULA. Yet it is promoted here as a necessary substitute for Kazaa.

It seems that the people WILL defy the law when a moral issue takes precedant. Nobody more than I hates spyware. People can and will defend themselves when the law cannot or will not.

 

[GoneForNow]

Originally posted by somak_de:
gbrumb : i did not understand what do you mean by "steal software .....in a more sophisticated manner". Can you explain it a bit elaborately?

somak_de.......I was making a joke (obviously a bad one). There are two types of thieves, one that hits you in the head and takes your money or one that talks you out of your money. I was joking that I was the second kind of thief because I had convinced Microsoft that I'm an IT professional when I'm not. In other words, I talked them out of their software by false pretense.

(BTW, I do actually do the survey and I give honest and truthful answers. Microsoft is just not getting answers from an IT pro.)

 

[Fyzbo]

I'm a college student and I have to admit I see tons of pirated software. I think a lot of people do it because they don't realize that they can get the software legally. At my school all computer science majors are entitled to any microsoft software(with the exception of office) for free, and it is not a trial for during college either it's yours for the rest of your life. Yet I still see computer science students getting pirated microsoft software. All I have to say is that if you do pirate software becareful because you may just get caught and then you'll be in a lot of trouble. I'd also like everyone to remember that the more pirating the higher the price will go and this will continue until no one is buying the software and the companies will just assume it is no longer wanted and stop producing it. It makes you think... if you want the price to go down convince all of your friends who are copying it to go out and buy it.

 

[somak_de]

thank you fyzbo. you actually spoke my mind. I am also an Engineering student
I think piracy has alot to do with the attitude of the people
But it cant be eradicated unless software giants stop throwing unfair
terms on us.
though this is not related exactly to piracy, but think how
microsoft software try to monopolise a particular format. Can you edit a
WMA or ASF file using some other software not from microsoft. Not legally i can tell you!

all these playes subconsciously in the mind of the user and i know many people
who took the revenge by cracking the trial version!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Understood your joke gbrumb!!!
keep doing it

 

[brendandonhu]

Yes you can legally edit WMA or ASF in a non-microsoft program. MS tries to keep their file formats "closed" but its never successful (completely, anyway). Its a good thing when independant developers are able to use MS formats.
Now we have OpenOffice and plenty of video editors.

 

[boyoh53]

I believe more people would use pirated software if they thought
they could get away with it. I certainly would. Bill Gates is taking
advantage of his position in the software market.

I think it is outrageous that I would have to buy three XP systems
if I had three computers in my house. That to me is bare faced
robbery. I have joined the computing game too late to be able to
join in the pirated scene. Everything now has to be activated by
Mr. Gates.

The student licence states that the student must stop using the
Office software once he ceases being a student. Now what kind of a law is that? Is it any wonder ordinary people try to get one over on Mr.G.?
If two students living in the same house had a computer each,
they would need two Office's. The licence allows installation on one desktop and one laptop. I could go on.