þ Costin Manda wrote to Kalman Daniel on 15 May 97  04:11:09
Hali Costin Manda !
 ML>> Just because you can't afford something does that mean you
 ML>> should steal? So if i can't afford a TV I should steal it?
 KD> The difference is, that if you steal a TV, someone won't have it.  If
 KD> you copy a software, noone looses anything.
 CM> Come on, a simple "yes" would have been enough :>
Perhaps it would, but I don't want anyone stealing my TV with excuses like
mine :-)
 
 CM> I have to say
 CM> that it is quite annoying to make a program and to see everyone not
 CM> even thanking you, even complaining about it, without paying a dime.
Of course, on the other hand how annoying it is when you buy a software and
it's protected by hardware lock or other primitive technologies and only the
people who use them legally suffer ?
 CM> development would suffer. And excuse me: if you can't protect your
 CM> software from piracy using software techniques, why wonder everyone is
 CM> using it?
There isn't any protection that would last too long.  
 
 ML>> A lot of companies offer demo programs.
 KD> Some do, some don't.
 CM> Oh-oh! Deom programs. Like "Press a key! You see, if you'd have
 CM> bought the full program for only all your money, that key would've
 CM> work"
:-) 
 
 CM> Demos are a pain in the bottom. Only when I think of a message
 CM> around here that offered a DOS 6.0 with upgrade to 6.2 for _only_ 10$.
The funny thing is, that MS-DOS costs about $45 here, so we would be actually
happy if it was only ten bucks.
 CM> And speaking of protection of software: program in Windows!
 CM> Nobody even bothers to start the damn thing up, how could anyone crack
 CM> a program in that catastrophy?
Unfortunatelly, most new games and utilities are written for Windows 95.  
hey
take up about 4-5 times as much space, twice as much memory and are so damn
slow and buggy that you'd never use something like that under DOS.
 
 ML>> If you pirate from a friend you can try theirs on their computer.
 KD> Don't tell me you see a huge difference between trying out something
 KD> at your friend's, or copying it, trying it at home and then erasing
 KD> it.  Do you really commit a crime if you erase it in say, an hour ?
 CM> Hey! What is that "pirate from a friend"? If he is a friend of
 CM> yours, then you _take_ from a friend. And you erase it in an hour if
 CM> you don't like it... 
I agree with that.  Only some licenses do not even allow selling a software
completely, let only lending or renting it.
 CM> To make a program you need a lot of other little useful programs.
 CM> If you'd have to pay for ll of them you'd get broke before you even get
 CM> started. Of course nobody pays for everything, only for software they
 CM> can't crack...
I don't think so.  People do pay for good shareware to support the author, or
play for CD-ROM games which are cheaper than copying the CD.
 
 CM> And another thing: I have a program, a demo. If I
 CM> debug it and deshareware it, does that mean I pirated something?
I guess not, because it's yours in the eyes of the law. 
 CM> I mean: the demo was mine. Is there a law that may forbid me to do
 CM> whatever I please with the files on my computer? 
That's a different question, because theoretically the software you buy
belongs to the author, you only have the right to use it.  Therefore, since
it's not yours, you can't modify it. Theoretically.
 ML>> i don't know anyone who has ever later paid for what the
 ML>> pirated.
 KD> Well, you live quite far from here, so it's not your fault that you
 KD> haven't met me before :-)
 CM> Oh, that refreshing smiley face... :) For a moment I thought you
 CM> were serious.
I am serious about thinking that we should pay for shareware products we 
ike.
I don't mean we should pay for 20 different compression programs which we 
eep
only to decompress our exotic friend's programs.  No. Only for programs which
we really like, and want to support the author.  I know of about 10 programs
that I think are really useful for me every day so I should support the
author. 10 out of, say a thousand I have tested and tossed away...
 
 CM> Yeah, yeah... All the copyright protecters blame the piracy: "the
 CM> prices are high because less people are paying for our product"
Last time I read it in a DOOM clone game.  It was a demo, yet it was NOT
freely distributable. I wonder how it made to the CD magazine I usually 
uy...
 
 CM> but
 CM> have you even heard of a  market of monopoly where the prices lower by
 CM> themself?
No, but there is no monopoly 'round here...  If someone wants to sell a
sofware cheap to get more customers, he can do so, and it may worth it.
 
 CM> So everyone: spare me the "good guy" concept... nobody is a
 CM> good guy, there are only smart guys and stupid guys, rich guys and poor
 CM> guys. 
A can't really agree with that.  Do you consider me stupid if I pay for a
software I could crack ?  I use some software that has, say a hundred or less
registered users.  So if you don't support it, there will be no upgrades, bug
fixes etc.  And another thing.  If you were the manager of a big company and
would know, say, very little about computers.  On day you'd get a nasty 
irus,
and of course, since we supposed you don't know much about these things,
would panic.  Don't you think it's worth the 50 bucks or whatever to get an
experts advice (called online support) ?  So I don't think everyone is stupid
who pays for software. 
I'm off now.
                                         Daniel
... When all else fails, lower your standards.
--- OMX/Blue Wave/386 v2.30
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