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Piracy in a Modern World

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

12:41 / 02.05.02

(if this belongs elsewhere feel free to move it)

Ok, so here at work we had a big discussion about Piracy, video games, software, movies, music etc.

What is everyones opinion of this?

Myself--I have no problem with bootleg Anime, i get it from hong kong and its a fraction of the price.
Operating software (win and such) i never pay for, since they are overpriced and buggy.
If i have the money i will generally buy games, because i like to support good product.
I have a grip of MP3s on my system, and feel no shame for it.

So, what do you all think? are there certain things you would NEVER bootleg to support the publisher/creator?

ONLY NICE THINGS

12:52 / 02.05.02

So you like to support good product, which presumably means that anime, operating systems and music are never good product. Or that you only bootleg bad anime, bad operating systems and bad music.

Which is it?

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

12:57 / 02.05.02

Heres how i see it
Microsoft makes shoddy product, which i need to use for what my computer was built for, but i refuse to support them.

The anime was all made in japan, so by buying the overpriced US versions all i do is support Pioneer or whoever, not the makers who already made the money--plus by buying bootleg hong kong versions i dont have to wait 3 years for more recent releases, since sub titles are quicker than dubing, and usually better translated.

MP3s are actually the one i sometimes feel guilty about, since the music industry is more of a creator profit industry a lot of the time.

and as far as games go, they are often published by the studio who made them, so its all the same folks makin money off my purchase.

ONLY NICE THINGS

13:06 / 02.05.02

You know, Redhat isn't shoddy...

So, for example, if a game was produced by one company and published by another (as I believe Championship Manager is), you would feel entitled to pay royalties to neither and copy the game, because if the creators had wanted your money they would have distributed the game themselves?

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

13:12 / 02.05.02

no, if it were a game i knew i would enjoy, or had played and enjoyed i would buy it
basically, if i believe it is a good product then i will shell out the cash for it, but only within reason, which is generally more of a problem when it comes to anime, since 30 bucks for 2 half hour episodes is damn silly.

And Redhat is free anyway, its installed on my other HD so i can learn a bit more about linux/unix--but correct, it is not shoddy, although i couldnt get it to recognize a new video card...

Kit-Cat Club

13:16 / 02.05.02

I don't think that using OS software is quite the same as bootlegging copyright material...

ONLY NICE THINGS

13:16 / 02.05.02

Well, quite. If Redhat is free, and not shoddy, and Windows is expensive, and shoddy, why copy Windows rather than using Redhat? It makes no sense...all you are doing is demonstrating that you do not wish to support the very movement that challenges Microsoft's freedom to make shoddy product on the grounds that people will a) pay for it and b) even if they don't pay for it, use it and force programmers to write for it.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

13:26 / 02.05.02

ever try to run 90% of easily available software?
Kit---OS software is just as copywrited

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

13:26 / 02.05.02

uhh, the top line originally said "on linux"...

Kit-Cat Club

13:33 / 02.05.02

It's Open Source, which means that the source code is available for other developers to adapt. Unlike the source code of Microsoft software, for example. That's a significant difference.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

13:35 / 02.05.02

Oh, you meant OS as in Open Source, Not Operating System

heh, my bad

ONLY NICE THINGS

13:35 / 02.05.02

So, because people like you spurn Open Source operating systems, and developers have no profit incentiveto make programs for them, you feel entitled to rip Microsoft off with the product you are helping to cement as the only viable OS through your patronage?

Hoom.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

13:50 / 02.05.02

I dont spurn open source, I said i have it installed, however not being a programmer i cant make, say Everquest, run in a Unix environment, and since i enjoy playing everquest, as well as other games, I am forced to use MS product since it is the industry standard.

If manufacturers of entertainment software were willing to make products for linux, then i would purchase those products to support "the cause" of open source, but for the moment i am stuck with windows XP

Nuwisha

13:51 / 02.05.02

Microsoft cemented itself into this part of things long ago when they made their original license agreement with IBM.. long before Linus Torvald created Linux as a viable alternative to Windows. as the industry moves into a more computer oriented marketplace we see software that is moving to a more cross platform basis.. unfortunately the gaming industry and microsoft itself understands the wide placement of software piracy. fortunately we are seeing our first glimpse into the world of linux cross platform gaming in june with the release of Neverwinter Nights from Bioware and Infogrames...

Nuwisha

14:00 / 02.05.02

http://www.linux.org/info/index.html

ONLY NICE THINGS

14:05 / 02.05.02

Interesting.

Question 2. Does piracy exist in a vaccuum?

For example, if Microsoft raise the prices of Windows XP due to widespread piracy, is that the fault of the pirates, or other consumers for not being savvy enough to pirate it themselves, or Microsoft for charging so much that people decided to pirate it instead of buying it, or the programmers employed by Microsoft for selfishly charging so much for their services that Microsoft have to charge that much for their OSes to recoup the cash and make a profit, or what?

Nuwisha

14:32 / 02.05.02

microsoft charges such exorbitant prices to apphease stock holders and to make them think that they are buying into a company where piracy is being combatted... unfortunately microsoft spends the money that they over charge ($199 for a copy of XP pro v. $70ish for SuSe Linux with Full tech support) on flashy CD's.. (have you actualy taken a look at an authentic XP cd) but you can almost do a direct CD copy of any of their OS's... but on the CD's that they use for games... they use the most up to date copy protection... if they didnt expect their OS to be pirated they would at least attempt to put the same or similar copy protestion as they put on their games...

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