Will you keep on getting free software?

[ichwar]

Piracy is actually a god thing. Where else can you find people spending their time and effort to offer free software for everyone without any rewards or payment? It's like a humanitarian work or like Robin Hood, robbing the rich to give to the poor. LOL

But I just said, piracy robs no one. Do you agree? If not, how does piracy rob a company? They've still got their software.

 

[farscapeone]

You missed the big LOL at the end of the message.

 

[ichwar]

oh, ok, I thought you were serious at first:biggrin:

 

[Smith6612]

I'm a person who is more shifted by the quality of a product vs. the price. If there is an open source alternative that is closely comparable to a retail program or is better, I'll lean towards the open source program. Same goes for cost as well since I'm always doing some form of computer related purchase. Like right now, GIMP and Photoshop are very close in terms of features that it comes with. I chose GIMP simply because I don't edit images very often and it doesn't justify even getting an OEM version of the software for something I hardly open.

 

[ichwar]

I like freeware because I can reccommend it to a friend. I can't do that for the paid stuff cause I feel like I'm spending their money for them. lol

 

[truthguild]

first, i just want to point out the topic title is a bit misleading. pirated software and free software are not the same.
that being said, i do and intend to continue to use free (esp. open source) software, as well as contributing to many of them. many of them are as good, and sometimes even better than their costing equivalents. i do not, however, pirate nor condone pirating software. but if a company such as adobe wants my money, they are going to have to make a product that is worth spending my money on.

 

[ichwar]

first, i just want to point out the topic title is a bit misleading. pirated software and free software are not the same.
that being said, i do and intend to continue to use free (esp. open source) software, as well as contributing to many of them. many of them are as good, and sometimes even better than their costing equivalents. i do not, however, pirate nor condone pirating software. but if a company such as adobe wants my money, they are going to have to make a product that is worth spending my money on.

I agree! The expensive programs just aren't worth what the companies charge for them. Microsoft office, for example, has been out done by OpenOffice and LotusSymphony. And Microsofts WONDERFUL(not) Internet Explorer, I think has been out done by all of Mozillas browsers as well as Opera.

For pretty much every program that people want you to buy, there is a better free one out there!:thefinger

 

[hamsn]

Yes
I believe they are better than paid once
specially open source
no hassles with license and all

 

[BentFX]

It's probably been said, but it deserves to be said again...

Pirated software is not free, it's stolen. There is a difference.

Freeware and open source software is free. That is the price of it. If you download a $40 game, it is still a $40 game, it's just stolen.

Software houses deserve to be paid for their work. If you think new games are too expensive, wait a year. Prices come down.

 

[ichwar]

It's probably been said, but it deserves to be said again...

Pirated software is not free, it's stolen. There is a difference.

Freeware and open source software is free. That is the price of it. If you download a $40 game, it is still a $40 game, it's just stolen.

Software houses deserve to be paid for their work. If you think new games are too expensive, wait a year. Prices come down.

I agree, but in this thread, we are talking about how much it costs you. So if you pirate a $40 game, then it's free to you because it didn't cost you anything.

 

[crabbypup]

yeah. why pirate photoshop when you can legally download paint.net for free? and it is alot better.... unlimited free plugins that you can easily build yourself!!

 

[galaxyAbstractor]

I do only run free software if I know the free software is better than the paid. Example rocketdock instead of stardock, FileZilla instead of cuteFTP, avira/avast instead of all other AVs

 

[Criptex]

Well, I was surfing the posts and I found this one quite interesting... and I'm gonna write my very personal opinion... I think when there's something free, that you found...your instinct is to get it... I've done it before... but then I saw this page that scared me... It was about how you IP adress is being always monitorated and there are some special agents browsing the internet... looking for people who downloaded from bitorrent sources... and you can get a legal notice at your door... or the company can even sue you... because you broke the copyright laws... so now I'm more carefull cuz I think about my future... I know free software (pirate) is tempting... but I'm trying avoid it... even though I still have like 3 pirate programs running right now on my computer.so... anyways.. be carefull.

 

[deaddevil]

For me free software is a matter of choice, If I have a choice of getting for example a game (free) for 50 bucks and the original one costs 999 bucks, I make the choice to get the 50 buck one. I know its wrong , its maybe affecting uncountable people, etc etc, but Its something that benefits me at that particular instant.
This feeling has arose maybe because of our way of life. In short why should I believe that piracy is a crime when I have not seen any one penalised or jailed for it? I can just walk into anyone home and catch them with pirated software.....that's the situation now....In my area there are around 10+ different locations where i can get pirated software just sold out there, the seller is literally screaming out to the people to buy pirated games, movies etc.
Even doesn't it make sense for a group of individuals to buy one copy and share that among other users....well that's piracy too....but who even notices that.
There are 6 stalls of piracy stuff just outside a police station where I stay. why isn't anyone doing anything ?
All are too lazy to even lay on finger on the issue.....that's why users find it so easy to just take a 5 min walk and get the stuff just like that.
Internet too being the largest source of piracy, can it be countered ??
think again
It is the choice which you make that matters, do you want to buy or indulge in piracy.....
but yeah i appreciate all those who actually go for licensed stuff.....it helps...
I just too a side in the debate, not that I am a supporter of free software.

 

[ichwar]

Well, I was surfing the posts and I found this one quite interesting... and I'm gonna write my very personal opinion... I think when there's something free, that you found...your instinct is to get it... I've done it before... but then I saw this page that scared me... It was about how you IP adress is being always monitorated and there are some special agents browsing the internet... looking for people who downloaded from bitorrent sources... and you can get a legal notice at your door... or the company can even sue you... because you broke the copyright laws... so now I'm more carefull cuz I think about my future... I know free software (pirate) is tempting... but I'm trying avoid it... even though I still have like 3 pirate programs running right now on my computer.so... anyways.. be carefull.

It's all total hype. They have no way to prove that you were the one who pirated. For me, I'm on an open wireless network with many other users. All they can see is the router IP which could be one of several people. And the network isn't encrypted, so any bum with a notebook could be out on the street and pirate through the network, so there is no way any one person could ever get in trouble.

Are you on a network? If so, and it's not encrypted, then don't worry about it. There's no way that they can pinpoint anything on you.

 

[sourfacedcyclop]

I get free software because well, its free.... If I had an extra $700 I might go out and buy photoshop instead of using GIMP, but the fact of the matter is that I don't. Free software is a godsend for people who don't have the money to go out and buy the really expensive programs. Anyway, I don't think the stuff I use it pirated, just a free alternative.

 

[SkuToV]

I'm currently 15, I've been using pirated software for a pretty long time. Here's my main reasons for doing it:

1. Money (or lack thereof)
I'm a teenager, in the UK, that means the largest source of income I can legally have is a paper round that pays £7/week for me giving up my Wednesday evenings. If I wanted to save up to buy a student version of an earlier release of the Macromedia big 3 (flash, fireworks and dreamweaver) I would have to save up for at least 10 weeks. After that I would have a pile of 1's and 0's that I rarely use for doing much and aren't much use as my school has a better version.

2. Support
The support that's available for authentic software is pretty abysmal in most cases. Any thing older than a couple of years will not have a website for patches and you will need to rely on forums and other sites to answer questions and help with problems.

3. Parents
Even if I had the money to buy most software I would need to persuade my parents of the point in spending that money. I have a total of 7 PC games at my disposal that I own the media for, either because I have bought it or have been given it as a gift. This is a pretty small collection and I don't play many of the games that often. If I were to download a pirate of the games then I wouldn't have to give up the valuable space on my shelf for their excessive packaging and I would be able to get rid of them when I get bored without the niggling doubt that I won't be able to play them again or that their sitting there as if their made out of un-spendable cash.

4. History
Piracy began the moment casset tapes hit the shelves, ever since then people have had the ability to save music from the radio to listen to later for practically no cost at all. This hasn't changed one bit and no matter how much DRM software that manufacturer laden their games with, pirates will still be able to crack them and distribute them to the masses without the haste of going through the DRM process. I'll take SPORE as an example, EA has imposed a limit on the number of installs that can be made with each activation code before you have to call them and ask for more. This is eliminated with the pirate versions and many more people download the pirate version than buy the actual game because of this exact reason.

I believe these are pretty good reasons. Feel free to try and pick holes in them.

 

[ichwar]

I'm currently 15, I've been using pirated software for a pretty long time. Here's my main reasons for doing it:

1. Money (or lack thereof)
I'm a teenager, in the UK, that means the largest source of income I can legally have is a paper round that pays £7/week for me giving up my Wednesday evenings. If I wanted to save up to buy a student version of an earlier release of the Macromedia big 3 (flash, fireworks and dreamweaver) I would have to save up for at least 10 weeks. After that I would have a pile of 1's and 0's that I rarely use for doing much and aren't much use as my school has a better version.

So, because you can't afford something, you steal it. That doesn't sound right in my book.

2. Support
The support that's available for authentic software is pretty abysmal in most cases. Any thing older than a couple of years will not have a website for patches and you will need to rely on forums and other sites to answer questions and help with problems.

So, because you don't like old software, you go and steal some new stuff. That doesn't sound right in my book.

3. Parents
Even if I had the money to buy most software I would need to persuade my parents of the point in spending that money. I have a total of 7 PC games at my disposal that I own the media for, either because I have bought it or have been given it as a gift. This is a pretty small collection and I don't play many of the games that often. If I were to download a pirate of the games then I wouldn't have to give up the valuable space on my shelf for their excessive packaging and I would be able to get rid of them when I get bored without the niggling doubt that I won't be able to play them again or that their sitting there as if their made out of un-spendable cash.

Ok, sometimes, parents don't always think along the same lines as you do. But still, does that really justify stealing?

4. History
Piracy began the moment casset tapes hit the shelves, ever since then people have had the ability to save music from the radio to listen to later for practically no cost at all. This hasn't changed one bit and no matter how much DRM software that manufacturer laden their games with, pirates will still be able to crack them and distribute them to the masses without the haste of going through the DRM process. I'll take SPORE as an example, EA has imposed a limit on the number of installs that can be made with each activation code before you have to call them and ask for more. This is eliminated with the pirate versions and many more people download the pirate version than buy the actual game because of this exact reason.

I believe these are pretty good reasons. Feel free to try and pick holes in them.

Everyone else steals, so it is ok for you to steal too? That doesn't sound right in my book.

 

[Criptex]

It's all total hype. They have no way to prove that you were the one who pirated. For me, I'm on an open wireless network with many other users. All they can see is the router IP which could be one of several people. And the network isn't encrypted, so any bum with a notebook could be out on the street and pirate through the network, so there is no way any one person could ever get in trouble.

Are you on a network? If so, and it's not encrypted, then don't worry about it. There's no way that they can pinpoint anything on you.

Hello again ichwar! I didn't believe that at first... when I told guys that they can find you... I said it.. cuz the father of my girlfriend works with the FBI... is a contratist or something like that... but the thing is that sometimes.. we tells me stories about people that they caught for doing that... what happends, he says, is that the internet is not a secure or personal type of communication... practically, everything you do... is monitored, unless that you pass your information for a tunnel, he didn't explain to me what that is =S, but he says that he can find a person that uses a personal computer because your computer has a code... that is unique like fingerprints... and then they find out where you buy it... and the next thing you know... is that theres a agent knocking your door... even google says that... in their program google chrome... if you go incognito... it says that your history is not gonna be archived in your computer but be aware of: and it gives you a list, at the end of this list it says: special agents., so I donno, but I'm not doing that anymore!

 

[noerrorsfound]

but he says that he can find a person that uses a personal computer because your computer has a code... that is unique like fingerprints... and then they find out where you buy it... and the next thing you know... is that theres a agent knocking your door... even google says that... in their program google chrome... if you go incognito... it says that your history is not gonna be archived in your computer but be aware of: and it gives you a list, at the end of this list it says: special agents., so I donno, but I'm not doing that anymore!

There is no such thing. Maybe he means MAC addresses, which are easily spoofed, and not even transmitted via TCP/IP or BitTorrent. Additionally, the manufacturer of the specific piece of computer equipment would have no idea who gets what MAC address.

The way people get caught uploading data illegally is via IP addresses. A whois on your IP address reveals your ISP, and even if it's dynamic, ISPs keep track of who has what IP addresses at what times. The "unsecured wireless router" defense may work, but I believe they'll get to confiscate and search your computer as well.