[Fuzzy]

Think what amazes me is that you can pay £200 for a piece of software, but if you are a student get it for £100, no matter what software it is, even if it's not relevant to what you are studying ? Don't get it ?

Ooops there I go again..........................OT

Piracy is a crime, do not accept it

[saracen]

M$ charging mega bucks for their OS is a crime

All my software is legit and it works just fine unlike pirate stuff which i've heard hangs and most cracks are blacklisted quickly.

[Andy Trish]

This is a really good thread for me because listening to the responses and seeing peoples different thoughts on the subject is enlightening.

I'm going to throw a few things into the pot.

Why is Microsoft os more expensive than Apples, because they charge what they think people will pay just like the rest of us in business.

Is pirated software a bad thing? I am a Microsoft Gold Partner and my thoughts on it are actually no, in moderation. I strongly believe that if you are in business and you need to use software for work then you should pay for it, and if you can't afford to then at least trial it for a period but pay for it when the trial runs out. I would never support a business who had illegal software ever.

If you are at home, a student, unemployed, you want to learn the products in order to gain employment then pirated software will actually be a good thing, both for the person and the manufacturer because once they gain employment they will recommend the software to the business owner who will buy it.

what is illegal software? how about if you buy software in the US legally and bring it back here to use, did you know that is illegal? software is licensed in regions, I can't legally sell or buy from the US.

A copied CD, you may own the software on full products but sometimes you don't have the right to copy it, even to make a backup.

As far as I am aware Microsoft has never fined a private individual for using illegal software, they do fine people for copying and reselling the copies and they also fine businesses.

A lot of licensing is based on trust, you buy a license because you know you need one to be legal, Microsoft trust that you will abide by the license rules, if you don't then you break that trust and deserve what you get.

think about it the way I do.

I am legal in everything I do in my business because I would hate the fact that I was seeing someone out of what was rightly theirs whether it be licensing, taxes, anything.

would you like it if someone came in your house, used all your stuff how they liked and even took it with them? that is what you are doing with Microsofts stuff if you are using pirated software.

if you use the software to make money you should be legal in my opinion.

sorry for going on a bit, I just hate theft and thats what this is.

[saracen]

somehow i dont think anyone will put in a thread which is indexed that they use pirate material. Now that would pin point them to the heavy mob.

[awebapart]

My company used to develop and sell our own software, 3D games for PCs and mobile phones, so we have had first hand experience of what it feels like at the other end when software is pirated.

Software piracy, like other forms of piracy, music, movies is theft, plain and simple.

As a small software developer, I also know there are other ways you can end up losing copies of your software without getting paid for it, by entering into retail publishing agreements with pubilshers, distributors, and retailers around the world - it's not just the pirates you have to look out for but also not so honest retailers, publishers etc! But that's another story, suffice to say that I feel sorry for some of the developers of the budget softare you see in some of the big retail shops.

I don't like piracy. But I also don't like the prices some of the big companies charge for some products, products which might be overkill for your needs. Hence I'm a fan of open source software and commercial software provided by smaller companies.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Indizine

At the end of the day, anything thats good is usually replicated illegally, be it money, armani or whatever, so its a problem that will never go away completely. Perhaps one way is that when you buy original software, the keys can only come from the software company via a unique registration on an original disc or like a bar code on the box.

Afraid Crackers and Hackers will always be one step in front.



A

[Andy Trish]

Originally Posted by saracen

somehow i dont think anyone will put in a thread which is indexed that they use pirate material. Now that would pin point them to the heavy mob.

I disagree saracen, I have used pirated software in the past, I am not perfect. (ok I am but don't tell everyone)

I am the person I spoke about earlier, the one with no money who needed to get a job and learn what I know now and I used software that I never paid for.

now I spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on software in order for me and my customers to be legal. today alone I spent over £6000 with Microsoft so pirated software helped me a lot because it put me in the position I am now and it helped Microsoft because I now recommend and buy their software to everyone.

pirated software is good for a short period for some people

pirated software is evil for some long term

10 year imprisonment, very large fines, I'd rather pay up.

thing is you all say Microsoft is expensive, but you want to use it so is it worth it? opensource has its good points, in my opinion Microsoft is better.

[CPLTD]

Superb excellent feedback there guy's and thankfully recieved,
I believe there must be an even medium of cost reduction and different methods of liciencing to help combat the distribution of pirated software,
If there one thing that piracy has done it has shaken up the corporations into re-thinking about there consumers and ways of keeping them

[Fuzzy]

Fuzzy loves Andy's honesty

[Andy Trish]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Fuzzy loves Andy's honesty

was that the bit about me being perfect Fuzz?