How Many of Us Uses Pirated/Cracked Software

[Maverick340]

Well ...Come on guys ,no need to discuss cracks but at least confess how many of us actually use pirated softwares?

[drgrudge]

Will a theif accept his crime?

[Sourabh]

i have never used a pirated software in my life

all the softwares i need are original and i work on a genuine copy of Windows XP :wink:

[pradeep_chauhan]

I do use it.

[klinux]

whats with the "we indians are like this only" . i thought people confess only if they have performed a crime . atleast our corporates (well most) run genuine software , as opposed to other countries who use it even in govt offices . first off people use it , its an issue , thats why all the advts and cry by big corps . not like anyone is hiding behind their pc . i dont see MS and other people too complaining abt home users , who dont profit from the "pirated" /"copied" , using their tools . if u take MS for instance , u have people use their search engine , IM , Browser and other online stuff from their "copied" os . so they dont tend to lose much . photoshop users , eventually join big corps , which have original s/w . even companies provide demos to all to check out their software . Plus people are switching over to free s/w , both windows based and linux and others . so no point in asking if people use "copied" software . similar to asking if people have ever told a lie in their life

Plus who is a pirate ??? like an oss / freedom software advocate said , some time back , pirates generally loot other ships and strike terror in the high seas . i dont think a 15 yr old kid , somewhere in india , using some software on his pc , is a pirate anyway .

Plus , if u feel guilty in anyway abt using copied s/w , go ahead and confess to the companies , bow down and apologise in japanese style , or get a few slaps like the koreans even . was a story abt how a jar containing two scorpians ,didnt need a lid , while all others needed it . when asked y , reply was if one scorpian tried to escape , the other will not allow it and try to pull it down lol . If u feel guilty , i suggest , u can just switch over to linux and help promote other free software too .

[ctrl_alt_del]

I do.

[svk]

http://img148.exs.cx/img148/6959/ohgodwhy7me.jpg
:D

[techno_funky]

http://img148.exs.cx/img148/6959/ohgodwhy7me.jpg
:D
lol look whos talking
http://img110.exs.cx/img110/6053/249ly.gifhttp://img110.exs.cx/img110/6053/249ly.gifhttp://img110.exs.cx/img110/6053/249ly.gifhttp://img110.exs.cx/img110/6053/249ly.gifhttp://img110.exs.cx/img110/6053/249ly.gif

abt your post
hmmm
first remove that
Well we indians r like this only..........
then we can talk

[Sourabh]

lol http://img110.exs.cx/img110/6053/249ly.gif

ROFLMFAO ...........

[Yoda]

If its only for Educational Purpose theres no wrong in using Pirted softwares.

I hate Buying softwares and I Love buying Hardwares. :D

I will never buy a software in my life, unless and until I use it for a commercial purpose or I make money out of a particular software.

There are lots of commercial companies who buy the licensed softwares and thats more than enough to support the software producing companies.

And it will never affect the software company because the % share of any particular software used in India is less compared to Developed countries and companies don't think India as a potential market for their softwares.

They concentrate on Big Companies and Developed and Powerful Countries.

Can anyone say how many BRANDED softwares are created in INDIA.
Very Very less. All are created Outside India. So companies don't mind or don't care even if their software is pirated in India or in south asia.

Simply saying I just LOVE using Pirated Softwares as it comes for free. :wink:

And also Freewares are not up to standards and they don't have many features as in sharewares or softwares that comes with a cost.
Freewares are sometimes even useless or comes with lots of bugs and can never compete with costly softwares.

Thats one reason who people prefer pirated softwares that really do the job for them.

[SmoothCriminal]

OMG.. all u guyz unethical.. I use only Licensed sw.. ;)

[ujjwal]

I use very few commercial software, and prefer freeware or open source/GPL sw.

But I use one commercial software -

Windows 98 SE (with few system files from win me)

Its upto you to guess whether it is pirated or not ;)

[hikapil]

I think no one here can say that they are using npn-pirated software.

If they are saing so, they are lying, or they have purchased their original softwaes from local cd market and in just that 50-100 Rs. CD. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[enoonmai]

Unless you're totally an Open Source guy, I don't think anyone can claim not to have committed piracy. Heck, ripping songs and keeping them around in MP3 is also piracy. So is continuing to use Winzip/WinRAR by clicking the Close button everytime it tells you that your registration period is up. I guess the real question should be how many of us use pirated OSes, because as far as I can see, that's the only question that matters. We're willing to spend tens of thousands on hardware and not 5k on the software that we use day in and day out and makes everything possible on our computers.

[ujjwal]

While the OS('s) are the most important part of the computer software, there will be many people who own original copies of Windows (thanks to a branded pc) but use other pirated software.

I found that there was a freeware substitute to most software available (on both windows & linux platforms) so I dumped MS Office, Norton [and other bloatware] and stuck with the free [better] alternatives. However, though linux is a powerful operating system, some times windows is a little invaluable (for games particularly ;) ) so I had to stick with it.

[allwyndlima]

LOL.....when it comes to pirated stuff am all game......but i do give a big hands up to original stuff too cause quite frankly everthing has its own advantages and disadvantages :wink:

now why ya ask me????? cause very simple patting reply......its damm cheap....Bad.....but Cheap Sh!t.....plus if i go ahead and buy original stuff.....say a winXp.....4-8 original games.....may be some original softwares if i get some i.e.....and ahh yes orginal Video Cd's and DVD's then let me guess i would end up spendin enough money buying a Decent Gaming Pc rig with that amt..... :lol: :lol:

so its straight deal out here....unless and until the cost aint affordable....it would prove futile to go behind original sutff....btw not sayin that original stuff is bad (It never can be) but the point is spendin so much cash will just leave me bankrupt :lol:

[ujjwal]

One more factor to consider, in most cases, the price of software is according to the spending power of people in the west. What is cheap for some fellow living in the US, would be quite expensive here. If the price of some essential products (like windows) were brought down, then maybe less people would use pirated software.

Unfortunately, the mentality of people is such, that even if a legal version of windows sold for Rs 100, 90% of the people would prefer a pirated copy for Rs 30.

[Darthvader]

Just look atthe votes
Do u use pirated software?
Yes

85% [ 6 ]
No

14% [ 1 ]
Total Votes : 7

[hikapil]

Unfortunately, the mentality of people is such, that even if a legal version of windows sold for Rs 100, 90% of the people would prefer a pirated copy for Rs 30.

Actually Ujjwal. Just think Windows XP licenced version in Just Rs. 500. When i or anyone else go to buy a software. Buying Pirated CD is more easy then buying a Original One. I found more outlet for pirated instead of original one.

[vignesh]

I have.

[enoonmai]

Exactly! All a person has to do is get a legal OS and then look at freeware alternatives for the rest. Compression utilities like ZipGenius, photo editing with GIMP, productivity tools with OpenOffice (sure its not Office 2003, but how many of us use the billion and one functions that it has?) Quintessential media player, QuickTime and iTunes, DeepBurner/CDBurnerXP, Firefox, FreshDownload, they're all free. What more does one want? :(

[bharathbala2003]

ofcourse most of us use.. and its mainly cos of COST!!! an original MAYA 3D full set or a 3D Studio Max could cost bout 20K min.. but pirated is jus 100 bucks n works as the same.. who wouldn want it then!! :D

[DKant]

Exactly! All a person has to do is get a legal OS and then look at freeware alternatives for the rest. Compression utilities like ZipGenius, photo editing with GIMP, productivity tools with OpenOffice (sure its not Office 2003, but how many of us use the billion and one functions that it has?) Quintessential media player, QuickTime and iTunes, DeepBurner/CDBurnerXP, Firefox, FreshDownload, they're all free. What more does one want?

Nothing more. But what abt gamers? Life is tough for them. Any new game costs in excess of 1.5K, and even after four years, the lowest it drops to is 500 bucks (for the blockbusters like HL), 400 for the sports sims, and around 200 for games that wld either run on a PII, or never sold volumes, inspite of being good games (like Deus Ex :( ) And unfortunately, there aren't any free alternatives in games, that are engaging enuf! :( (OK u've got FLASH games...but....hell :D)

Luckily (?) for me, all I can play on my 810E, are games that are 3-4 years old atleast. So I can afford (to a certain extent) to get original games..but I still use Win 98 SE - unofficial version for the simple reason that I can't afford it (i.e, I cld get 8-10 games instead of that, or better still, a minor upgrade!) If it cost around 2K instead of the mammoth 4K that it does now, I wld surely have taken enuf pains ;) to save up for it! So in my case, it's a question of price.

But there are quite a few people for whom it's a question of their..er..values. They wld rather have a Rs.300 pizza everyday than buy original s/w! :D Nothing can be done abt them..;)

[klinux]

regarding games , arent there any games rental stores in any of the major cities here in india . i know its a huge hit abroad with people just renting it out ( wonder how pirated cd's arent made from that ;) ) .
If MS were to really put pressure on people in india to get original version , i think some people would go in for it , But a majority might stick to linux , as the newer versions are getting a lot friendlier to use .

On a lighter side : Regarding Pizza , most of the over rated brands dont give the actual taste as their chain stores abroad , same for chocolate . So stick to linux of pizza's , pizza deli in chennai , they customise ur pizza from the base and only give u what u want and are almost half the price , but add more cheese . Second option would be to make ur own pizza . Base is available at all supermarkets , Cheese , pizza sauce ( or ketchup ) and other ingrediants like mushroom , tuna , even frozen sausages are readily available . for those even without a microwave , a normal frying pan is enuf to melt the cheese . Tech Cooking anyone ;)

[Tech&ME]

the problem is really with what people buy in this country and in neighbourhood countries like China and Japan, most people in this countries operate the PC's on pirated versions of softwares... WHY ????
They get the MADE IN INDIA STICKER or MADE IN CHINA STICKER
or MADE IN JAPAN STICKER ???? look funny na !!!! But that's the reality of this Software world in this silly countries. People likes to spend a 1000 buks on his/her girl-friend or better still on smoking and such stuff but they never look back and decide to buy an ORIGINAL software for themselves, even if that is affordable to them. Why is this SO ????

B'cozz they don't care about the Company which suffers b'cozz of their irratic behaviour and sense of buying pirated software. And above all after using Windows XP (pirated version) they proudly announce that Microsoft is great and have come out with great software with great enhancements ????? Did they paid anything to Microsoft before commenting on the works of Microsoft ????

I use all Original Softwares, and freewares.

[klinux]

q : not sure abt the pricing of XP and others , but is it really worth pay the , sometimes hefty amounts ? some people who had a previous version of an OS , say 98 , would certainly expect to be still supported to this day right ? and get possible upgrades to their os and s/w bundled with it . but MS makes it impossible to keep old version of OS updated . sure they might have extended 98 support which was to end last year itself , but regarding a couple of patches in 98 , u got to pay them more to get it .

Someone said , u can use ur old opera registration key on even newer versions of the browser . if an os worked that way it would be gr8 . Plus MS themselves have cut prices like anything , just to keep linux from coming into offices /homes , so isnt it a case of actually them asking more than their s/w is really worth .

kurious : do u guys who have original MS os , get adequate tech support of patches in form of cd's or anything like that ? whats the price of the OS and office suites now anyways

another scenario : people who by indian branded pc's and a couple of mnc brands too , demand that they get office suite and other s/w like visual studio , adobe photoshop , norton and many other s/w "FREE" koz they paid so much for their pc . most technicians actually carry a pouch , with maybe one original OS cd , but the remaining is pirated . if these companies refuse to give custs these s/w , people will surely go into fully assembled and 100% pirated systems .

[DKant]

Tech Cooking anyone ;)

Hey how about writing a tut & making it a sticky :D

Kidding ;)

EDIT:

whats the price of the OS and office suites now anyways

Arnd 3.7K for Win98 SE, 4.1K for XP Home, and 6.9K for XP Pro and 2K Pro. Strange, but true. :|

And BTW, Office XP/2k3 (don't know which 1) costs arnd 7-9K or more. I'm not sure.

P.S: I heard a rumor that XP Pro prices have plummeted thanks to Win Server 2K3's intro....to around 4K. But I don't know for sure.

[goobimama]

I THRIVE on piracy....its the best thing that has happened in the IT world!!!!!! All software that i own is pirated.


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[goobimama]

Unfortunately, the mentality of people is such, that even if a legal version of windows sold for Rs 100, 90% of the people would prefer a pirated copy for Rs 30.

Actually Ujjwal. Just think Windows XP licenced version in Just Rs. 500. When i or anyone else go to buy a software. Buying Pirated CD is more easy then buying a Original One. I found more outlet for pirated instead of original one.

to be honest, i would seriously buy the original copy of windows if it was priced somewhere between 500-1000 bucks. nothing more. seriously. Also, if priced almost the same, I would buy photoshop, dreamweaver, and all those softwares that I really need, because when you pay for them, you really use them..


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[ctrl_alt_del]

I'm trying to be a reformed pirate. Securing an original XP copy is the first step. Offcourse, the recent Microsoft's aniti-piracy measures did prod me in the right direction, but thats another issue! ;)

As for original games, no matter how hard I try to get the original ones, some games are plain out of my reach, atleast till the day I have to depend upon my parents for my pocket money.

[djmykey]

Me am a pirator all the way. I believe in the freedom of world where you get everything free (that includes headaches and yeah crashes and also sometimes cr@pped cds). I also have been using a pirated antivirus :P because simply that the antivirus I'm using doesnt have an outlet in India thats y. And also I distribute the free stuff I use to my frens. So actually if I dont do it I wont be getting the majority of the stuff and imagine if I bought all legit stuff and were in a condition that I had to share it man it would make it easy for those companies to get me :(. Thats y use pirated stuff and be intraceable.

[klinux]

isnt there another term other than "PIRATE" to describe what ppl do . Copier , Sharer etc

@dj : which AV vendor are u talking abt . if u wanna switch , try pc-cillin , with firewall . they got an office here and their av is pretty good . i think it is below Rs.2000 too

[pirates1323]

Hey before downloading the software, I download the crack file first :lol:

[enoonmai]

P.S: I heard a rumor that XP Pro prices have plummeted thanks to Win Server 2K3's intro....to around 4K. But I don't know for sure.

Its just that - a rumor. Prices still average between 6.2 and 6.9k, depending on whether you get it from a normal retailer or from a Microsoft Channel Partner like Redington.

True, you cant do a damn thing about games and movies when it comes to "freeware alternatives" But the rules have always been:
a. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
b. You always get what you pay for.
But if you sit and develop a code and perfect it and try to sell it, and someone just rips it off without paying you and puts it up for download on a Warez site, how would you feel? All the nights you sat down coding it, trying to beat the deadling, staying away from family and friends and feasting on junk food, and finally, when the time comes for you to get paid for all of that work, bang. The key is always to put ourselves in the other person's shoes. Plus no DivX rip can even begin to match the experience of a true, factory-stamped DVD9 when it comes to sheer quality. :D

As for the others who think piracy is OK, sure, you get a pirated copy of Windows XP Professional and even manage to install the cracked versions of SP2 and later updates, but for how long? The Microsoft Genuine Advantage Program is still in its infancy, but when it grows stronger and develops the ability to cross-verify pirated keys, what then? Isnt it just MORE of a hassle to keep up the act of piracy, rather than just get a original, turn on Automatic Updates and just sit back?

If you want the advanced features and the extra oomph and the support, then suck up and pay. And oh, it cant get cheaper or dirtier than pirating antivirus software. I don't want to p**s anyone off, but when I think of people who pirate AV software, I cant help thinking they're lower on the social structure than bloodsucking parasites and navel lint. Come on, take any AV software.
Symantec and McAfee have retail distributors in India, as do Trend Micro's PC-Cillin. CA has a retailer outlet in India and BitDefender can be bought online, as can F-Prot and all the others I can think of. And stuff like AVG is free AND good. I mean, this is infinitely worse than stealing 25 paise from a blind 70 year old beggar on the street.

isnt there another term other than "PIRATE" to describe what ppl do . Copier , Sharer etc

Sure you could have 5ex with a girl against her will, and call it non-consensual, forced, an act of deliberation or any other fancy term, but in reality, there's only one word for it - rape. And this is also pretty much a rape of the software industry. Believe me, I know how it feels to have your source stolen from you and not receive payment for it, and trust me, only when you experience it first-hand, can you properly understand how bad the issue really is.

True, one man may not be able to make a difference, and its not really our task to go and try to change the world and end up being deep-fried at the stake, but all we can do is to try and establish a "personal" code of ethics that we should try and stick to. It doesnt have to be anything big, we can always convince ourselves to look for a freeware alternative first, followed by a cheaper alternative and if nothing but the best will do, go ahead and pay for it. At least, then, we can say "I don't know about the others, but I don't use pirated software"

[klinux]

and u couldnt pick any other way to describe it didnt u ?????? as if calling people pirates wasnt bad enuf , now they are called rapist for sharing software ??? i sure hope u asked permission from matt groening or the shows producers to use homer simpsons words as ur siggy , which i am sure the author spend so much of his precious time thinking abt . FYI , i dont have permission to use BB quotes as my siggy too ;)

btw , there is a whole lot of difference comparing the 2 situations . Is the OSS "suffering" because of piracy .

kurious : what s/w did u make , that u eventually lost out , financially to pirates .

[enoonmai]

No, thats the best analogy and pretty much an accurate one. How else can you describe it? Pure common, low-life theivery?

How do you mean "a lot of difference"? Care to explain? And what do you mean by "Is the OSS suffering because of piracy?"
Judgng your your nickname, maybe you're a fellow Linux guy who's in tune with the OSI. The very definition of the term Open Source as put forth by the OSI states, and I quote,

The Open Source Definition

Version 1.9

Introduction

Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria:

1. Free Redistribution

The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.

Rationale: By constraining the license to require free redistribution, we eliminate the temptation to throw away many long-term gains in order to make a few short-term sales dollars. If we didn't do this, there would be lots of pressure for cooperators to defect.

It also states that if you restrict the environment or the way or the features of the software, its not Open Source anymore. In such an environment, where does the word "piracy" even come in? The OSI has NOTHING to do with piracy, in fact, whether it exists or not, it will gain momentum. When we talk about piracy, we talk purely of mainstream commercial applications. Heck, even Mandrake is steadily flirting with commercial apps and moving away from the OSI.

EDIT: The software I lost was not to pirates in the conventional sense, but to a colleague working with me in a company. The code was for a high-performance mission-critical enterprise application and (I am yet to figure out how) somehow my "friend" got the code from my workstation to the CVS under her workload. When the time came for the performance-based bonuses, obviously, I lost out, and I raised a hue and cry and a month later, it was sorted out. I was upset that they didn't fire my colleague for outright stealing and I resigned rather than work in such an environment.

[klinux]

really sorry abt what happened in ur situation . a couple of my friends work around this problem by adding easter eggs and other comments with their name hidden somewhere to overcome such problems . Anyway , i think u could have sued her and won , instead of just leaving the company . If u really think one man can make a difference , u had the oppurtunity . i think u still can , if u have the evidence . if u dont , sue her anyway ;)

But in cases of Piracy related to s/w , say photoshop or os , Arent these guys eventually going to work in an office environment , which has a legal copy of the OS . isnt this a way to make others use their s/w even though there are others creeping up for a market share . When a guy who used win2k server on his pc illegally for educational purposes , is going to take up his MCSE , isnt he paying all the cash back to MS ???? same case for photoshop . A designer , once he has learnt his skills through a copy of the s/w , will eventually work in an office with legal software , or even if he starts a business , will eventually buy the s/w . and next time a neat upgrade is released , u think he would switch to freeware or pay to upgrade ??? pay right ?

i still think ur description is WAY to harsh . try telling a rape victim u know how she feels , just koz u lost s/w and a lot of work , i wouldnt be surprised if u actually gave the guy a slap or two . i aint saying this just for the sake of arguement , read the stories and watch the reports on the victims on the net or on tv and then u might know why i think theres a HUGE difference

I still dont think companies are going to get bankrupt because a few teens all over india and a couple of other people are going to use pirated s/w . Recent studies show that branded pc's on the rise anyway in india , and thats accompanied by the legal copy . actually some linux guys are against piracy even koz they say , it promotes windows all over the world , and is hindering linux chances of flourishing. so i dont think linux guys accept piracy too . i aint a linux guy (yet ;) ) . just thought the name sounded good KLinux Is Not Under Xwindows . once i switch over to linux completely it would be KLinux Is Now Under Xwindows . heck if stallman can choose GNU , i thought this is good too ;)

Regarding the Open Source . i mean even those guys are programmers and there are plenty who earn a living by giving out their s/w and source for free . It isnt the end of the world when ur s/w gets pirated . If u want to sue the real culprits , SUE MS . arent they buying out smaller firms with gr8 software . If these companies dont have a big enuf name but gr8 software , Mighty MS does everything to Destroy it . They even go as low as to copy and steal from these companies . Now who is the real culprit . Wouldnt u say this is more harmful to programmers everywhere . Why is there a case even in so many countries , where MS is using its powers to destroy smaller companies . Why has the european court ordered them to make Win without Media Player . Eventually its the same corps who cry foul on innocent users who are guilty of the gr8est theft , They steal the very ideas themselves . isnt that a gr8er crime , if not the only one

[icecoolz]

R.A.P.E ? Wow...thats a bit strong ? Anyways there is a simple phrase :

"You develop it someone will crack it" There is no such thing as absoulte security and absolute stability. If one belives in them then one is digging a hole bigger than themselves.

So I sit for hours together and develop a software and a cracker gets hold of it and voila!. So lets see as to exactly why a hacker would pay attention to my software. Well probably because of two things:

1) It costs a bomb, very useful but extremely expensive

2) Its very popular and used widely.

These are the two main reasons as to why anyone would crack applications. The second cannot be eliminated. Popularity is here to stay and hence any application with a registration/trial scheme is going to get cracked. So that leaves me with the first option the pricing. Lets see the average softwares that a person who surfs the net installs on his machine and is a must and lets see the commercial costs for it as of today. I am looking at only windows as we are talking about piracy here and also I am not going to discuss freeware alternatives since I am looking at the cost factor :

1) An OS from the windows series starts at 3.4K for windows 98 and goes upto 6.9K for the Windows XP Professional.

2) An anti-virus - McAfee, Norton are two of the most popular ones and are priced around 1.5K

3) A firewall - Zone alarm commercial is priced around 30 dollars I think

4) Office Suite - Microsoft Office 2000 starts at 5k and 2003 prof goes till around 9k.

5) Download Manager - Again if I look at non-commerical one then I would say Flashget which is priced at 30$ for the licensed version.

6) A spyware remover - Commercial one Adaware professional priced at 30$

7) A image manipulation software - Most widely used one is photoshop priced US$649.00

Now the above totals to around 43-48k from low to high end. And thats just a few of the essentials that one is looking in terms of commerical software. At that price I can get H/W which is quite high end and with warranty and also if I dont like my HW I can always trade it in for something else from the competitors if its within the first 2-3 months. THink you can do the same with softwares?

Software needs to become more reasonably priced. This will bring piracy down. But eliminate it ? Never. As long as there is something to be broken people will do so.

[Maverick340]

OMG!!!This topic looks HOT!
I started it jus a Day ago and look what we have here!!
I guess the main rreason y ppl use pirated sowftares it
a) the cost
b)availibility

Am i right?

[Maverick340]

and BTW ,i am soory if sum1 had a probleam with "we indains r like dis only"
Apologieez!
I jus cudnt find a way to satrt my sentece..
I have removed it now

[Maverick340]

Software needs to become more reasonably priced. This will bring piracy down. But eliminate it ? Never. As long as there is something to be broken people will do so.

Cant Agree with you any more....

[klinux]

so this is the end of the thread ;) ???? . THE END , FIN , VANNAKKAM/Nandri ?????

hope amanwannalearn is learning something outta all this ;)

[ujjwal]

@icecoolz - Actually there are freeware alternates for all of the above, but piracy does bring a kinda aversion in people against free software. Just because someone CAN get photoshop for "free", they would not like to use free alternatives like Gimp or Photoplus 5.5 ...

Piracy exists at two levels

1. Where it is sort of unavoidable. When one already spends a lot for the hardware, one can't afford to spend another 5k for the OS. Maybe sometime applications for linux will be plentiful, and someone will be sensible enough to opt for an easy to use distro like Vector Linux, but till then, most people would want windows on their system.
Another example is schools. If they spend a lot to get a computer lab, they can't spend another lakh or so to get a licence to use windows an any number of machines.

2. Where it is inexcusable, like when we may no mind the ads of flashget, but we still crack it, just because we can.

Personally, I feel the biggest problem with most commercial software is the licenses... you cant install it on more than one computer, can't play around/modify it, etc...

[technovice]

i think it is pretty obvious that a majority of us use pirated s/w whether we admit it or not
and i think this issue will not be resolved until most of us are actively involved with open source s/w
waiting for that day when all s/ws are available for free and so is the internet access coz right now some of us end up paying more for our monthly dialup bills than for our school / college fees :cry:

[DKant]

I still dont think companies are going to get bankrupt because a few teens all over india and a couple of other people are going to use pirated s/w .

Mmm hmm. So u mean to say that stealing from Azim Premji's house would be ethical compared to stealing a 50 paise coin from a beggar? :D

But if you sit and develop a code and perfect it and try to sell it, and someone just rips it off without paying you and puts it up for download on a Warez site, how would you feel? All the nights you sat down coding it, trying to beat the deadling, staying away from family and friends and feasting on junk food, and finally, when the time comes for you to get paid for all of that work, bang.

EXACTLY! It's that thought that made me give original s/w a chance ;) Considering that I am gonna probably spend the rest of my life coding. Of course, Win is outta reach rite now, coz of the price, but when it is possible to go 4 it, I wld. :)

Another thing that kinda forced me into the switch was the fact that ideologically, for now, I support the FSF, and I wanted to somehow, in my own little personal way, disprove Micro$hit's theory that ppl who develop OSS/Freedomware are pirates & crackers etc. etc. :evil: Of course, considering what they say is darn stupid, there was no need to..but still ;)

But..

Software needs to become more reasonably priced. This will bring piracy down. But eliminate it ? Never. As long as there is something to be broken people will do so.

...that's right too, unfortunately. But atleast we can do our bit. :)

P.S: And BTW why r u guys getting so agitated about the analogy? The analogy was not for the act of cracking/pirating itself, but the seemingly convenient re-wording that was being attempted. What enoonmai meant was that calling piracy something else wouldn't be much different from calling rape anything else. Both would be equally stupid and unethical. He was not comparing software piracy and rape for god's sake!

[klinux]

Why do u think robinhood is a legend ;) . me serious on this . Arent there guys who just hate gates out there . Since ur a developer , think abt whom u should really fear , some guy copying ur companies s/w which u helped create and using it for learning more on the s/w and not gaining a profit , while corporates buy ur s/w legally or MS copying ur s/w and giving u zilch for it and making ur company bankrupt and leave the developers with no credit for their work / ideas and hopping between jobs ???

regarding the analogy : well , did u check out his description and details properly ?????? thats offending to victims of the crime and i still stick to the fact he shouldnt have said it .

[enoonmai]

couple of my friends work around this problem by adding easter eggs and other comments with their name hidden somewhere to overcome such problems . Anyway , i think u could have sued her and won , instead of just leaving the company . If u really think one man can make a difference , u had the oppurtunity . i think u still can , if u have the evidence . if u dont , sue her anyway

How do you think I found out in the first place that it was my code? :D Anyway, what would happen if I sued? I obviously have to drag the company into this too, and you know what would have happened? I'd have ruined my career. I'd be labeled "belligerent, not a team player" and God knows what else, and I can't quote a single reference from the company in the future. And how could I stay? Having to watch my colleague's face again? And the people who supported her? I'd feel a total lack of trust, absolute disrespect and plain loathing whenever I saw them again. And its not like I really had "concrete evidence" except the code snippets that I say I coded. And I have NO IDEA how it got under her name in the server. I really didn't have a rock-solid case. I think I made the right choice by stepping out gracefully. Anyway, that's in the past now and I try not to think about it.

When a guy who used win2k server on his pc illegally for educational purposes , is going to take up his MCSE , isnt he paying all the cash back to MS ???? same case for photoshop . A designer , once he has learnt his skills through a copy of the s/w , will eventually work in an office with legal software , or even if he starts a business , will eventually buy the s/w . and next time a neat upgrade is released , u think he would switch to freeware or pay to upgrade ??? pay right ?...I still dont think companies are going to get bankrupt because a few teens all over india and a couple of other people are going to use pirated s/w .

You got a point, and certifying someone is not just a way of getting their money, but also a means of promoting the software. That's why you have even Linux certifications, dont you? :D But your logic is also a bit flawed. True, you get to work on legal software, properly licensed, when you get to work in a major MNC, but what happens when you freelance or get in as a sysadmin for a smaller startup? They get legal software, all right, but then do not ALWAYS get the proper number of site/client licenses for the computers they're installing the software on. So, the guy might get a 50-client Windows Server 2003 license and proceed to use that server to service more than 50 clients. That's piracy too. And while most software developers focus on their software being improperly used en masse in a corporate environment, they're slowly waking up to the fact that the maximum piracy occurs in the segment they ignored the most - the non-corporates, the individuals. Of course, they had a very valid reason that they very well couldn't go around nailing these people down to crucifixes, simply because of the fact that a SIGNIFICANT number of people using pirated software weren't simply aware of the fact. They ask their vendors to install software for them, and being newbies, have no idea as to whether their software is properly licensed or not.Which is exactly the logic why Microsoft was handing out legal Windows XP CDs for people who were using pirated copies of XP and were "tricked" into using them.

It isnt the end of the world when ur s/w gets pirated . If u want to sue the real culprits , SUE MS . arent they buying out smaller firms with gr8 software....Why has the european court ordered them to make Win without Media Player

No, its not the end of world. But it sure feels horrible when you've sat and programmed advanced functionality that nobody else is supporting and is it such a big thing to expect to get paid for your work? I'm pretty much an OSI/FSF guy myself and I hate a lot of what Microsoft does, but the root cause of all the cases against Microsoft can be summarized in three words - sheer professional jealousy. You think Linus Torvalds or the Chairmen of the Linux divisions of IBM and HP have anything against Microsoft and Windows? Definitely not. The case against Microsoft that resulted in the "Set Program Access and Defaults" tool was the court ruling (justifiably) that Microsoft was not allowing users to use the program of their choice without hindrance. Microsoft may have committed a lot of mistakes, but they've also given us great software till now and that's a fact you really can't look over, how much ever you want to.And they've even started slowly boarding the Open Source movement with the WiX and WTL releases on SourceForge. Heck, I think they should be commended for finally testing Open Source waters, instead of being pounced on like alligators that haven't fed in a decade. As for the argument about the companies being bought out, well, its not like they dont get a good price. If I ran such a company and I had a great tool that Microsoft wanted and they paid me an exorbitant price to buy me out, heck, I'd be happy, take the money, thank the heavens that my product is so popular (albeit under a different banner) and then work on some other project. When AOL took over Netscape, you think the guys ended up on the street? They got out, started Mozilla and look where they are now.

Software needs to become more reasonably priced. This will bring piracy down.

I can think of freeware alternatives for literally every single software you've listed there that get the job as good for the end-user. But the thing you're forgetting it is this: why is the software priced that way? Its not like the companies think of the highest arbitrary number as a price for their software. In fact, they try to price it "as low as possible" with a significant (not "phenomenal") profit margins. Take OpenOffice as a freeware alternative to Microsoft Office. When it comes to the end-user, it can do everything Microsoft Office does, from composing love letters to mail merge. Then why do people need Microsoft Office in the first place, you ask? Why is Office 2003 priced at around 10k? Because that's not all Office can do. From handling centralized access to all documents, to providing a single-window access to all user files and projects on a project, to coordinate with the entire team on a project via the SharePoint portal, integrating workflows with shared Calendars, Tasks and mails and memos via Outlook and Exchange Server, take your pick. The true power of Office is revealed in such an environment and it is THIS what you pay for. The ability to make all this possible. How many users do you know use these functionality. I've seen every other program except Word (or maybe FrontPage) sleep uselessly on the user's computer. So, while you fork out 10k, you get all of this in one package. Ask the guy that uses all of these features and he will tell you that its cheap for its price. For a guy that needs Word to compose single-page letters and uses Excel 2000 to play the DevHunter game, its obviously pricey. The same can be applied to any other tool that costs a lot - from Adobe Creative Suite to Macromedia Studio MX to what not.

Where it is sort of unavoidable. When one already spends a lot for the hardware, one can't afford to spend another 5k for the OS.
That's the problem with most people. They look at the OS as software and being totally disconnected from the computer system itself. They ask, "Oh, I paid 45k for the computer, and you mean I got to pay 5k more for the OS." Give them a computer with no OS or some flavor of Linux and see them come back and complain "5k more? I just spent 45k on the computer, you think I cant pay another 5k? I'd rather pay than suffer with this." That's inevitably what you hear with a newbie. I always tell people to look at the OS as part of the computer itself, not as a separate, optional entity.

Quote:
Software needs to become more reasonably priced. This will bring piracy down. But eliminate it ? Never. As long as there is something to be broken people will do so.


...that's right too, unfortunately. But atleast we can do our bit. Smile

Exactly! That's what I said before. No point in trying to change the world, but we can atleast try to stick to a set of principles and then actually follow them. Like DKant said it so well - just doing our bit to prevent it.

As for the rape thing, I was not trying to be an inconsiderate clod. As DKant rightly pointed out, I was merely using it as an analogy or a metaphor, and how both were a crime, no matter how it was stated, not literally. I never put in any "descriptions" or "details", merely using alternate terms for the same thing. I apologize if it has upset anyone. I have a girlfriend and a Mom too, and I'm not really a chavunistic, insensitive person. :D

[klinux]

well regarding the first para : and does any organisation respect u for the decision u made and praise u for it ??? anyone going to call u a team player now ??? u as an individual still feel bad thinking abt it right ??? u got rights too u know , that u can protect . heck , if people went abt worrying abt society and making their life decisions , based on what society wants or what society feels is good , idea of individual wouldnt exists . u arent a drone in a hive , rather citizen in a democracy . it might sound corny , but its ironic that people would talk and do so much for freedom of software , where as the real place where freedom should be maintained and fought for , LIFE , we just tend to give up . what makes u think that fighting for what was rightfully urs makes u a bad person and other companies wouldnt take u in ??? . is corporate india that dishonest or criminally inclined that no one does any honest work . we ridicule ppl in the US for suing over silly things , apart from things that are important , but we seem to let go of our rights too easily . rnt there any cyber / IT forensic labs in india which could have probably traced the files . or even a simple security program . ??? anyways i think we usually let go of these things and the next guy who finds himself in the same predicament , will probably do the same , koz no one ever stood up in the first place . its sad , but thats the situation .



well regarding the second para : smaller corporates are a target of firms like MS and others . we had a case of radiant tech in chennai , being charged with piracy a few years back . there werent that big , in fact i think they were just into teaching new tech . But this thread specifically targets individual users , which in any case wont make a big diff to the corps anyway . other companies which profited from piracy might have to pay heavy fines and they probably will be able too . but what abt the individual ? u really think MS is gonna target individuals ? if that was the case , they would have done it long back . when they themselves are not so forceful on people , i cant understand y the guy who started this wants people to confess a supposed crime in his view .

regarding 3rd para : what abt the remaining developers and companies , the ones which giants crush out and steal s/w from and dont pay off , koz giants can afford good lawyers ??? if ur bought out fine , if ur kicked , beaten and screwed outta ur business , because giants can hire sharks , thats bad right ??? i think even real media sued ms for windows media player . already we have trouble brewing between MS and Symantec koz of MS acquiring anti virus softwares . isnt this tactic of MS hurting other software players ? Free s/w like firefox might have an advantage , but paid s/w like norton will eventually suffer and lose business koz of MS .

regarding the Office 2003 issue : couldnt MS give away a cheaper version of the office utility without the fancy addons or the extended features , built for corporates ??? even MS knows their products are too pricey for asian countries , thats y they give discounts on it . giant firms will always try to get max outta their product , especially if they are in a monopoly . Normally boycotting the product itself would bring the price down (as we have seen in the past with isps ) , but here in asia , s/w sharing is a means by which they actually have the same effect . So what we know now is MS can actually give out their bloated s/w + support for a lower price .

[goobimama]

Isnt it just MORE of a hassle to keep up the act of piracy, rather than just get a original, turn on Automatic Updates and just sit back?

Why would one have to turn off automatic updates? This is India baba. nothing happens. And no microsoft anti piracy guy will enter my gate without a punch in the face....

Also, right now I am in a very fragile state of mind. I am not sure of my career, whether its going to be graphics design, animation, web design, 3D arts, all that whatnot. You don't expect me to buy legal software of Photoshop, dreamweaver, Flash, 3ds Max and all others just to try out which field I am best in. Maybe when I settle into my ultimate weapon of choice, I will think of buying original copy (but the price has got to come down....35k for photoshop? zaina re)

--------------
http://www.rollaword.com/firefoxsig.jpg (http://www.spreadfirefox.com/?q=affiliates&id=5025&t=1)
Rollaword.com (http://www.rollaword.com)

[klinux]

@goobi : aim for 3d graphics . as far as i know , with so many tv channels , it seems a good option . side by side , keep ur skills with graphics and animation tools sharp too . first few years of any career will always be confusing . Once u step one foot inside the arena ( now i know why aptech named it arena ;) ) , u will start to get an idea on whats the future scope and where ur skills / potential really lies , slowly u can move towards that goal and within 2-3 years u can have a gr8 career . but best thing is to learn most of the things now and start experimenting and using ur creativity to the max now , as u have the freedom and time and as i can see the s/w too . once ur into a job , u might feel restricted . so sharpen skills now to make it easier for the future.

wouldnt hurt if u tried out Open Source alternatives too man . Not saying give up on paid s/w , but learning a bit more with stuff like blender in open source / linux , wont hurt , and will be added advantage for u . Animation companies initially used linux only as servers to render graphics , now they might be switching over to linux apps too .

Ok this brings me to another question . We have such a HUGE labour force in IT and anything computers . U guys think this would have been possible if there were NO copied s/w available here in india ??? I mean guys working in most Tech MNCs would have graduated , lets say 4 years back , when use of copied s/w was higher . If everyone had to pay for , say , visual studio and the other s/w , including MS OS , would we still have such a huge force with so many people skilled in so many platforms ???

"In their End User Licensing Agreement, you agree that the company can look at files on your hard drive and take screen shots of what's happening on your computer and send them back to the company, which is just ridiculous," she observed.
http://technewsworld.com/story/40777.html

[KHUBBU]

I use pirated coz original is :
1. costly
2. not easily available
3. I cannot share it with my friends.
4. I cannot resell it after I have used it.
5. Doesnt have reasonanble vfm ( for eg even if i use original i wud have to download patches, fixes. ideally MS shud compensate for the bandwith, internet usage costs to their loyal cusomers.
6. To teach these companies that they cant charge extraordinary prices for anything they sell. They have to bring down the prices.
7. Read the license agreement of Spybot S&D. ( really inspiring !)

Now really MS is not really bothered whether home users r using copied version, bcoz already they r charging high prices from others which more than compensates them.

If u r using legal, thats absolutely alright and u can and u wud and u shud (maybe) call us whatever u want. No problem.

No hard feelings.
We r all Indians.

Three cheers for the "Indian" or I may say "ASIAN" version of the softwares.

Hip Hip Hurray
Hip Hip Hurray
Hip Hip Hurray

[parthbarot]

some one told abt to find a freeware options...

but can tell me that he/she has any freeware option for these softs?

1.photoshop CS
2.MS Visio
3.Rational Rose
4.Flashget (best thing ok?)
5.anonymous browsing App.
6.Alcohol 120%
7.Nero (ok free version with Lg... but if nero 6.0
then?)
8.Jet Audio 6.0 PLUS
9.MusicMatch 8.8 or latest...
10.Soundforge
11.DivX (bcs some movies r not running in XviD
ok? properly)
12.OnSpeed
13.Kazaa++ Klite
14.eXim
15.VCDCutter
16.Xing MPEG player/Encoder
17.Power DVD 4.0 & Above
18.eDonkey
19.MS Visual Studio 6.0 & MS VS .NET (for windows
ofcourse)
20.PE Explorer

And many more i doesnt remember at this time bcs not writing this from my home ok? thats why i say
"----- indians r intelligent bcs they use everything latest in the market,any lang,soft etc... they find it handy so they learn more & more-----"

piracy is best for programmers & students...

bad for Microsoft...(only?)

i think no one is pure "RAJA HARISH CHANDRA" ok?

& if there is any good freewware optins available then plz suggest it...

regards....

[klinux]

As far as i know

flashget : leechget
development tools : zope , jdk etc ( i aint into s/w so not sure )
Music : Winamp
Video Players : zoom player , global divx player , virtual dub flaskmpeg ( from ur siggy ;) )
Burning tools : Check out chip feb issue , they got plenty

I know most people know that their using copied stuff knowingly , But if u give a guy some alternative free s/w , hopefully he might just take it up .

[Maverick340]

Waow!

[Maverick340]

I am thinking o0f changing my name to amanhaslearnt...
Hey seriously any way of changing my username?Getting bore of this stupid one!?

[ctrl_alt_del]

eXeem is free as long as you can bear with the ads. That goes out for any other freeware versions as well, say like DAP 7.

[icecoolz]

Here are the freeware alternatives that I am aware of :

1.photoshop CS - GIMP available for windows
2.MS Visio - DIA found here (http://linux.tucows.com/preview/49933.html)
3.Rational Rose - Free ware alternative here (http://argouml.tigris.org/). However we at our office use a much cheaper alternative called Enterprise architect from Sparx Systems. We use Rational too but found it way too expensive. I suggested EA and its been implemented.
4.Flashget (best thing ok?) Absoultely the best. Try Mass downloader too. Works for most files.
5.anonymous browsing App. - A lot of them are out there for free. Just google it !
6.Alcohol 120% - Daemon tools.
7.Nero (ok free version with Lg... but if nero 6.0
then?) - CDBurnerXP
8.Jet Audio 6.0 PLUS - VLC Player
9.MusicMatch 8.8 or latest... - too many to list!
10.Soundforge
11.DivX (bcs some movies r not running in XviD
ok? properly) - They all run in XViD as long as you have the proper codecs. XviD with AC3 is just awesome.
12.OnSpeed - Dont know
13.Kazaa++ Klite - Shareaza
14.eXim - ExeemLite (beta right now)
15.VCDCutter - VirtualDub
16.Xing MPEG player/Encoder - Virtual Dub and TMpegEnc
17.Power DVD 4.0 & Above - Windows Media Player man!
18.eDonkey - Emule Plus
19.MS Visual Studio 6.0 & MS VS .NET (for windows
ofcourse) - no idea
20.PE Explorer - no idea either!

enoonmai:

I just listed out the freeware alternatives which you suggested. However I clearly mentioned in my post that I am not looking at freeware only at the most popularly used ones. And hence the list. Just look at the post by parthbarot and the softwares he has mentioned and see how many he is comfortable using which are actually not freeware. Most users are in ths catagory and either thru familiarity or simply because its the the most popular one they all want the same thing.

As far as software pricing is concerened if there are freeware alternatives available or every proprietary software out there then why do they cost so much ? Take photoshop for example. It costs around 650$ and then theres GIMP which is freeware and is supposed to be as capable as Photopshop. Now dont you think the price difference is a little too much ?

Do a corporate survey of the no of users who use the advanced features of office such as itegration into sharepoint portal and so on and you will see that it hardly accounts for the 10% of the general population. I spent a year and a half working for the Portal giant and I know the above information since I spent so much time in collateral reserach work. Sharepoint is hardly used by 10% of the portal users. There are way better portal soultions. Why would I buy sharepoint portal for a whopping 200000 $ where in I can get Oracle's significantly better portal solution for just 20000 $ ? Office can do a lot of the said stuff agreed however why would I buy it if I dont use it ? I really dont have a choice do I ?

And Enoomai I seriously think you should have taken it up with higher ups with regards to getting your code stolen. Somethings in life are worth it.

[ujjwal]

if there are freeware alternatives available or every proprietary software out there then why do they cost so much

Companies do take advantage of familiarity. Ask a home user, used to photoshop, to try out GIMP, and he will immediately say no. The same goes for trying out linux. The reason being, on their first experience with computers, home users are taught this -

1. To start the computer, press the on switch, wait for the windows logo to dissapear.
2. To use the internet, click the blue 'e'.
3. To edit images, go to Start > Photoshop > Whatever, and use the drawing tools like this.

How many people learnt using computers by experimenting around, seeing pressing what button does what?

If an average user was put in a linux system, with (say) the fluxbox GUI. The first thing he would say, would be "where is the start menu?".

On the contrary, an absolute first time computer user would be just as comfortable in a unix shell as in windows.

This is what has hurt linux, and other free software the maximum. Companies do make sure that users of their software get used to it very quickly, and are unable to adjust to other software.

[Yoda]

I use some of the above listed highly priced softwares.

Not even TRIAL but FULL RETAIL

I even hate Trial versions now. I prefer always Full or Retail versions.

But only for my presonal use.

Thats always OK. :wink:

Freewares can never replace them.

[Dipen01]

http://img148.exs.cx/img148/6959/ohgodwhy7me.jpg
:D


hey buddy

thats nice wallpaper.. can u mail me that pic of a kid without the text to dipen01@gmail.com... ill be really greatful to you...

anyways... cheers... Dipen

[svk]

hey buddy

thats nice wallpaper.. can u mail me that pic of a kid without the text to dipen01@gmail.com... ill be really greatful to you...

anyways... cheers... Dipen
sorry pal, i got the pic with text.
anyway u can use a little photoshop work and try 2 eliminate the text.
:D

[Ashootosh]

--lolz..........even my OS is pirated

--but most of other things r freeware
also second OS is freeware(no need to tell that it is Linux)

--but .................... yes i m using pirated ones......
but i cant afford non-pirated s/ws.......... specially like Oracle,.net

--i dont think so digit geeks will use this information against me........(hope i m right)

[klinux]

Kurious : does anyone plan on switching over to linux completely or making it their primary os . same thing for copied s/w apps like photoshop and stuff . u might be using them as "free" now , but it would be a good idea if u tried freeware versions of it too . it might seem along shot learning both , but hey , isnt that why we in india are good at grasping IT stuff , everyone loves to learn .

[KHUBBU]

I'm using openoffice word processor.
I'm using firefox.
I'm using SPybot.
I'm using cablenut.
I'm CA EZ antivirus.


Switching over to linux is only possible if games can be palyed as easily as in windows.

[girish_b]

i do use pirated softwares. i know most of us are using them

[Kl@w-24]

"Yup, I use pirated software, coz I ain't got th dough for buying even th basic necessary softwares, like an OS (read Windows), an Office suite (read MS Office) or even an antivirus (read Norton AV). ;) "

This is what everyone has to say, I believe. ;)

[ashu888ashu888]

HELLO BACCHA LOG!!

well i am myself a baccha here !!

WEll main GITA PE HAATH RAKH KAR KEHETA HOON KI MAIN SIRF AUR SIRF AUR SIRF PIRATED SOFTWARE HEE USE KARTA AA RAHA HOON AUR KARTA RAHOONGA I promise. "lol"


Well yes come on guys lets admit we all use PIRATED(CHALOO) software in our PCs........

see i am always speaking the TRUTH :wink: :twisted: :evil: :lol:

[borg]

I writing this on a genuine copy of XP home edition. Got it with my Sony Vaio . I guess claiming that u don't use pirated software at all is a lie. Everyone has some or the other pirated software on their comps. This is not just here in India but everywhere as enoonmai has pointed out.

[ctrl_alt_del]

OMG.. all u guyz unethical.. I use only Licensed sw.. ;)

Ironical isint it, that you have Napster logo as your avaatar! LOL! :)

[DKant]

I'm using openoffice word processor.
I'm using firefox.


..and GIMP, and Winamp, and WMP Classic with the K-Lite Codec Pack. What else do u need?

Switching over to linux is only possible if games can be palyed as easily as in windows.

Right. :( Till then, or till I earn enuf money, the OS remains the red-herring on my sys.

[mamba]

cut the crap
if i had the money 2 buy ' original ' s/w after my fetish 4 new hardware is satisfied , i would .
par yeh ho na saka , aur ab yeh alam hai ....... :lol: :lol: :lol:
but coz this is a never ending process , ethical or unethical m not spending more than Rs 50 on ne software :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[DKant]

Well atleast u consider Rs.50 to be reasonable enuf. There r a good number of ppl who think that's an exorbitant amount to charge! :D Newayz, it's not a question of ethics, but of the fact that u have a choice. That's all. :)

[lywyre]

if it is piracy, then i certainly am a pirate.

If the software company is ready to buy back my licence if i am not satisfied, i would definitely buy, given the s/w is affordable.

[klinux]

@lywyre : i think sun micro had a scheme wherein u could pay license fee on a yearly basis . its lesser than the whole os pack and u could stop subsciption if u wanted too . Ur idea is gr8 , renting out OS for particular periods , by the company or even cash back guarantee is good . as many like to compare the pc industry to car industry , would be nice if we could have a rent-an-os

[enoonmai]

Pity that most people still think an OS is a separate piece of "optional" software for a PC that can be bought legally or otherwise instead of looking at it as part of the computer itself and necessary for proper working of everything associated with the computer. A lot of high-end programs I can understand, but the OS? :(
You want all the features of the OS, a secure environment, ease of use, cool looks, customizability, network support, and all the other stuff, and yet you dont want to pay more than 50 bucks. Crying shame! :(

[klinux]

u know whats sad ? these CORPS , in our country , use the man power we have well and extract skills and talents that might rival their counterparts abroad , but yet they are paid only a fraction of what the people abroad are paid . Maybe if corps paid their employees here in par with those elsewhere , more would be able to afford the original s/w . They pay less here , but expect people to pay same if not more for their s/w

[mamba]

Well atleast u consider Rs.50 to be reasonable enuf. There r a good number of ppl who think that's an exorbitant amount to charge! :D Newayz, it's not a question of ethics, but of the fact that u have a choice. That's all. :)
u say choice :shock: :shock:
thats a hell lot of money u r paying for the ' choice ' :lol: :lol: :lol:

n the companies no the general janta cant buy the ' legal ' stuff . so people r literally forced 2 buy the copied versions , or as topic goes , ' pirated ' versions

like the saying goes
marta kya na karta .......

should go by the economies of scale :wink: :wink: :wink:

[DKant]

Oye baba I didn't mean the choice between pirated and non-pirated software, but ultra-priced bloatware and good 'n' lite (mostly) freeware! Guess I should have said "alternatives" instead of "choice."

[icecoolz]

Lets look at some hard facts.

1) The most expensive pieces of software are either as expensive or more than a comparable software component. ie: Oracle database costs upto 10000 dollars.

2) The hardware that I buy I can usually get it replaced/exchanged for a competitor. There is no such guarantee.

3) My hardware is faulty I get a replacement within a short period of time. And many of them come with huge warranties such as 3-5 years. During which I will get my H/W replaced. Software issues are bugs and they will get replaced or resolved with further releases. Furthermore these are only available to you if I subscribe to the support mechanism.

4) There is no restriction on how many places I can use the hardware in. I can use in how many machines I want at any point of time. With S/W this is never the case.

5) If I buy a game for 1500 Rs and after a month the CD's dont work will I get a replacement ? Where in if I buy RAM and it doesnt work after a year also I will get replacements. No matter even if it is a 128 MB stick.

I think the above clearly highlights some of the issues with the software industry and why piracy is so prevailant.

[hjs_hjs]

Icecoolz! Different view dude..nice

[Maverick340]

OMG r u rally frm da Antipiracy sqad hjs_hjs???

[Charley]

Mine r all orgnal except for the OS ....... I cant figure any body who doesnt use pirated softie........

[koolbluez]

Hmmm.... i'm not gonna tell... ;)

But.. i prefer Freeware... else... we try to FREE it...

Good sw should b free 2 show its pros... right...

[DKant]

Lets look at some hard facts.

1) The most expensive pieces of software are either as expensive or more than a comparable software component. ie: Oracle database costs upto 10000 dollars.

2) The hardware that I buy I can usually get it replaced/exchanged for a competitor. There is no such guarantee.

3) My hardware is faulty I get a replacement within a short period of time. And many of them come with huge warranties such as 3-5 years. During which I will get my H/W replaced. Software issues are bugs and they will get replaced or resolved with further releases. Furthermore these are only available to you if I subscribe to the support mechanism.

4) There is no restriction on how many places I can use the hardware in. I can use in how many machines I want at any point of time. With S/W this is never the case.

5) If I buy a game for 1500 Rs and after a month the CD's dont work will I get a replacement ? Where in if I buy RAM and it doesnt work after a year also I will get replacements. No matter even if it is a 128 MB stick.

I think the above clearly highlights some of the issues with the software industry and why piracy is so prevailant.

EXACTLY! But these are issues not with the Software Industry as a whole, but with the proprietary software model (OK, presently they aren't much different :( ). It stupidly believes that software copying is something wrong, and can & should be stopped. It believes that I shouldn't share, or make life easy for a friend/relative. It believes that the only good things about the Internet are advertising, spam, credit card payment and the ability to download demos! It tries to compare virtualware with realware and in the process suppresses and suffocates it, by not allowing it to fully express its power. That's why the Free Software Movement is so important.

But that doesn't mean that u try to defeat the PSM by stealing stuff right? Instead, use freedomware, as far as possible, and allow the FSM to grow. :)

[lywyre]

If I don't get a pirated copy, then I am not going to buy that software anyway! So there is no loss to the s/w company.

But when the same software comes at an affordable, if not cheap, rate, I (anyone) would surely be inclined to buy that software, 'cause I would also get support for it.

[icecoolz]

EXACTLY! But these are issues not with the Software Industry as a whole, but with the proprietary software model (OK, presently they aren't much different). It stupidly believes that software copying is something wrong, and can & should be stopped. It believes that I shouldn't share, or make life easy for a friend/relative. It believes that the only good things about the Internet are advertising, spam, credit card payment and the ability to download demos! It tries to compare virtualware with realware and in the process suppresses and suffocates it, by not allowing it to fully express its power. That's why the Free Software Movement is so important.

But that doesn't mean that u try to defeat the PSM by stealing stuff right? Instead, use freedomware, as far as possible, and allow the FSM to grow.



Thats precisely the problem. I totally agree with your point of it being proprietary software companies problem. However thats the problem with the whole industry since everyone goes proprietary. I am all for FSM. I currently am in the phase of trying out the freeware alternatives for a lot of the stuff I use and I dual boot with Red Hat 9 and Windows XP. Its a step in the right direction FSM. However the issue with FSM is already starting to get clouded with the introduction of different Licensing mechanisms such as LGPL. Now I wonder where this is going to lead. sheesh.

[Charley]

Also most of the games i have r pirated.........

[h4xbox]

Now thts something kewl ...nearly 90 % of digit members use illegal software..Just for posting some illegal links i was banned..can raaabo ban all of the illegal software users...And whats the guarantee tht digit users dont use the digit dvd softz with a crack from the guarantee ..RAAABo wasn't here and i want an answer for this ....

[Yoda]

Now thts something kewl ...nearly 90 % of digit members use illegal software..Just for posting some illegal links i was banned..can raaabo ban all of the illegal software users...And whats the guarantee tht digit users dont use the digit dvd softz with a crack from the guarantee ..RAAABo wasn't here and i want an answer for this ....


sad to hear this. I too posted some links but deleted them immediately.

most of them in India are Middle-Class and we can't afford these costly software.

so no harm in using the softwares,games and songs for personal use.

I don't even use cracks for many soft. because i get full versions or retail versions :wink:

i have a few games but all are pirated only. :wink:

[cheetah]

I donot use
PIRETED software.

[vysakh]

and what are PIRETED softwares???

[shivac11]

I am amongst YES...

I've not seen any INDIVIDUALS using a GENUINE XP...

Commercial organisations use GENUINE COPY coz everything else done ther is FOOLISH... :-)

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[deepaknal]

I DO.
Well accept it guys,
Software piracy in the world can never come down unless all the software is free.DUH
Laugh.This is a joke.

[parthbarot]

i thnk piracy is good for us...means we can learn from that free...

& for developers like us also,its good,so we good new latest prog tools & can learn from that..

otherwise who can spent lot of money for hi own alone use of some softi...like MS .NET,VS, Borland C++, JBulider etc...

i dnt no u people no or not..that piracy of windows is intended by bill gates himself,bcs he wants "his"(means not his but pirates & taken from somewhere" OS to be most used in the world...

regards

[khattam_]

almost all of the softwares i use are pirated unless they come with my hardware. I use a pirated copy of Windows XP and have SP2 and all the latest updates. I also have a pitrated copy of ZoneAlarm Security Suite with antivirus and use pirated OnSpeed. I even use pirated CacheBoost Pro. I use DeepBurner Pro and Nero Burning ROM bundled enterprize edition and are of course pirated........................................... ....a lot more programs ................

[suj_engico]

HEY GUYS!!!!!!!
I am using genuine Windows XP.
U might be surprised to know that.
Confused???????
Thats not because I have bought a liscenced versin, but definately I have been provided by one by the govt.
:roll: :roll: :P :P

[Darthvader]

SO u work in a govt office????????????

[Slam Team]

There is nobody who doesn't use pirated s/w in India.. except a few morons !!

[Slam Team]

I.N.D.I.A man... It Never Develops In Anything ... My apologies to anyone who finds this disgusting

[techsavvy]

There is nobody who doesn't use pirated s/w in India.. except a few morons !!


WHY DO U CALL THM MORONS??????

IT IS BCOZ OF SUCH PPL THAT SOFTWARE COMPANIES R WORKING

[suj_engico]

I.N.D.I.A man... It Never Develops In Anything ... My apologies to anyone who finds this disgusting
Well thats too disgusting man for an apology.
Its because of people like u that our country stays behind.
Such ideas suck man.
I would give I.N.D.I.A. definition as It Nurtures Developers Intelligence Accurately.

[hmvrulz]

i have never used a original version of any software ever and never will. why should i when it get things for free.

[enoonmai]

I've not seen any INDIVIDUALS using a GENUINE XP...

Well, I happen to be an individual and I happen to have licensed copies of Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional.

Software piracy in the world can never come down unless all the software is free.DUH
Laugh.This is a joke.

No, its not a joke. :x Far from it! You think all software in the world should be free? Of course, we're all philanthropists and multi-gazillionaires to boot, so we can afford to create really high quality software and then just give it away for free, right? You should try to create software, then you would know why some software cannot be given away free? Did you know the sheer amount of work that goes into a product like Adobe Acrobat Professional? Its not simply a tool to create PDF files, there are freeware alternatives for that. Its a total workflow management solution, and THATS why it cant be given away for free. You're paying for the tight integration with existing software and the one-stop solution for workflow management, not for printing silly little PDF files. The same logic applies to every single software that you pay for. All the way from Windows XP to Office 2003 to your games and DVDs. Why dont you just go and demand that everything in life should be free, all the way from electricity to water to clothes to electronics to groceries and what not. You can pay for those but not for software that extends you great productivity? For shame! The last I checked, you dont go around stealing from shops, malls, etc. so is it all right to steal software, especially the one software that makes everything else run? Its hardly a joke, whats a real joke on the country is how small and perverted our thinking can get along these lines.

i thnk piracy is good for us...means we can learn from that free...

& for developers like us also,its good,so we good new latest prog tools & can learn from that..

otherwise who can spent lot of money for hi own alone use of some softi...like MS .NET,VS, Borland C++, JBulider etc...

i dnt no u people no or not..that piracy of windows is intended by bill gates himself,bcs he wants "his"(means not his but pirates & taken from somewhere" OS to be most used in the world...


Piracy is good for us? You know, if I met you in person right now, there's no telling what I would do to you. :D Are you honestly a developer? Coz if you were, you would understand how bad piracy really was. If you want to use software like VS.NET or JBuilder, then you better pay for it. If all you wanna do is write code and compile it and run and test it, use the myriad freeware IDEs that are available online. Use Eclipse IDE for Java, the JBuilder free version, NetBeans or Gel, why go for JBuilder Enterprise or Pro? You want all the functionality and toolkits that the VS.NET and JBuilder IDEs provide, but you dont want to pay for them and actually have the nerve to think that "piracy is good because I learn from it". Grow up, buddy, seriously!

As for the part about Bill Gates himself promoting piracy in the hopes that Windows becomes #1, well, what can I say? When was the last time you got yourself a PET scan?

almost all of the softwares i use are pirated unless they come with my hardware. I use a pirated copy of Windows XP and have SP2 and all the latest updates. I also have a pitrated copy of ZoneAlarm Security Suite with antivirus and use pirated OnSpeed. I even use pirated CacheBoost Pro. I use DeepBurner Pro and Nero Burning ROM bundled enterprize edition and are of course pirated

Good for you, I suppose you also steal from the local stores. Did you ever even "think" for a single second for the freeware alternatives available for the products you listed, all the way from Linux as the base OS to DeepBurner Free for the CD Burning software? Can you tell me how many times you burn discs directly, burn Video-DVDs, use the Backup tool, burn PhotoCD/DVD albums, burn from the command line, etc. for you to pirate DeepBurner Pro? The Free version allows everything else except these functions. And I dont know what to say to a person who pirates an antivirus program. It really cant get cheaper than that, when good free AV programs are available.

There is nobody who doesn't use pirated s/w in India.. except a few morons !!I.N.D.I.A man... It Never Develops In Anything ... My apologies to anyone who finds this disgusting

You know, I will be honest. If I know who you are, and if I am ever on the interview panel for a company that you're applying to, I will go to the ends of the Earth to make sure you're not selected. That's literally the worst attitude I have ever seen. A few morons? And you think you're a certified genius? So if I were to walk into a store and steal all the stuff I want, I am a "genius" and the others who pay for them are morons? Its because of people like you that India doesn't get to the heights where it can reach. Disgusting isn't even cutting it close. I am honestly saddened that people think this way in our country.

i have never used a original version of any software ever and never will. why should i when it get things for free.

This is just the attitude I was talking about. You get software for free, so why not stick to freeware rather than pirate full version software. You seem to want to have your cake AND eat it. You want full functionality and are not willing to sacrifice it, but you cant come up with the money to pay for what you owe them? If you ever develop software for a living, then may be you would understand. But this attitude is just sick and has just GOT to change.

I can understand people who pirate games because they don't earn and are dependent on their parents and promise themselves they will get legal games when they start earning. I can understand people who pirate games and DVDs because they're not available here, even if you've got the money to spare. There are zero "alternatives" to a game or a DVD movie, so the excuse is at least partially valid. But a software with tons of free alternatives? Why cant people just buy a base OS and then use freeware to get their job done? Do they really require all the frills of a "professional" software like MS Office or Photoshop when OpenOffice and GIMP can do more than what they want? I feel honestly sad and plain infuriated when I go through this thread. :(

[rajkumar_personal]

Very limited (near 2 nonexistent) ppl in India use Genuine S/W. Even Govt. offices have started using XP (pirated though) !!!

[icecoolz]

enoonmai, I agree with most of what you are saying, however I still dont agree with the costing factor. Why ? Simply because I know how much goes into building the product and how much it is charged. Since we are in the same field will give you an example you can perhaps relate to :

Our company had to buy application server licences for the client. In all it was 16 licenes of application server licenes (2*8 for each of the 8 machines were dual processor cores). We initially thought we will go for weblogic and bear the costs. Weblogic per license costs 10000 dollars per cpu. So that 160000 dollars. I came into this project as the technical architect. And I suggested why not go with Oracle's application server offering which was priced substantially lower at 5000$ per cpu. Immediately we tried to port the application to Oracle's offering and after a few tweaks we were suucessful and decided to move to Oracle. However this is when things got interesting. Weblogic hearing of our reasons for not buying lowered their costs and so did Oracle. Finally Weblogic came down to 3250 $ per cpu and Oracle came down to 2500 $ per cpu. See the cost difference!!! We finally went with Weblogic simply because of comfort reasons. Wheres 10000 dollars wheres 3250 $. I am just giving one such case where in I can propose many. So now you tell me, is the exorbidant price warrantied....think...

[enoonmai]

I absolutely agree with you on the costing factor. Most software is actually priced higher than it needs to be, and I for one, actually hate it. (Although I've never seen any case like yours, which is downright funny and infuriating at the same time. Imagine the profits they're making :shock:)

But that doesn't mean people can run around pirating software that lends them great functionality, and even in your case, didnt you switch to Weblogic because of comfort reasons, even though it was priced higer than Oracle's AS? But these guys here have a rotten attitude that they won't pay for an OS even if it comes to 1000 bucks, because they're getting it for free from their friends or they get it for 50 bucks in the bootleg market. And that's what's sad. Plus, its not like we developers get a cut of those sales anyway, so I couldn't care less and I, as a developer, am also an end user of software, and would like to see the prices southbound or freeware alternatives that deliver what I want. I would really like to see the prices go down and more people switching to legal software, but there are some that wont switch to one no matter how cheap they get, almost a rebel without a cause attitude, which is what needs to totally change.

PS: I never said prices should be exorbitant, I am also an end user and I can afford only so much. :lol:

[icecoolz]

The breed which wont change no matter what cannot be altered. However there are so many people who legitimately need software which are exorbidant in terms of costs. Thats the point u and I agree on. Costs need to come down. Then I think a mojority will switch to legit software. Forget those who will always pirate. Its a false sense of pride for them. Nothing can be done about it. boil ur blood over something useful ;-)

[khattam_]

I have a great legal trick for extensive software users and the ones using pirated copies. I have a great legal trick to use all the programs like latest Antivirus, Updates and such in a Free Legal Copy of XP (hope the way i'm going to describe is not illegal). If you have a copy of XP with WPA (Windows Product Activation) Technology, but don't have a registration key, just follow the tips. What we are going to do is very simple to understand and hope it is legal as well. What we do is install XP and trial versions all the programs we need. Most of the programs are 30 day trial programs while others run for 15 days for free and legally. Similarly, XP (with WPA) too runs for 30 days without activation. Now, what we do is FORMAT HARD DISK EVERY 30 DAYS and reinstall all the programs after their trial is over.

The things in which we need to take extra care is that we never download the updates through the program itself but we download the updates and install them manually so that we can have updates for later installations. Similarly, for windows Updates too, we download the patches manually and not use 'Windows Updates', so that they can be installed later or you can integrate them in the older Windows Share, burn into a rewritable and install. I recommend the use of McAfee and the great Norton Antivirus which run for 15 days each to be installed. This will complete the 30 days project. Why we choose these programs is because their manual updates are found so that we can use them later. Similarly, you can use other programs as well. But, what about Office, the answer is OpenOffice for Windows.

On the 29 th day, we backup all the necessary documents and put it into other drive. And on the next day we format the drive and reinstall evrything along with the patches. we'll have a lot bit of work on computers every month but hope you don't mind this. (kiddin)

Hope the software companies do not mind even if they figure out this technique of using their softwares. Hehe

Good Luck Everyone

[khattam_]

I've not seen any INDIVIDUALS using a GENUINE XP...

Well, I happen to be an individual and I happen to have licensed copies of Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional.

Software piracy in the world can never come down unless all the software is free.DUH
Laugh.This is a joke.

No, its not a joke. :x Far from it! You think all software in the world should be free? Of course, we're all philanthropists and multi-gazillionaires to boot, so we can afford to create really high quality software and then just give it away for free, right? You should try to create software, then you would know why some software cannot be given away free? Did you know the sheer amount of work that goes into a product like Adobe Acrobat Professional? Its not simply a tool to create PDF files, there are freeware alternatives for that. Its a total workflow management solution, and THATS why it cant be given away for free. You're paying for the tight integration with existing software and the one-stop solution for workflow management, not for printing silly little PDF files. The same logic applies to every single software that you pay for. All the way from Windows XP to Office 2003 to your games and DVDs. Why dont you just go and demand that everything in life should be free, all the way from electricity to water to clothes to electronics to groceries and what not. You can pay for those but not for software that extends you great productivity? For shame! The last I checked, you dont go around stealing from shops, malls, etc. so is it all right to steal software, especially the one software that makes everything else run? Its hardly a joke, whats a real joke on the country is how small and perverted our thinking can get along these lines.

i thnk piracy is good for us...means we can learn from that free...

& for developers like us also,its good,so we good new latest prog tools & can learn from that..

otherwise who can spent lot of money for hi own alone use of some softi...like MS .NET,VS, Borland C++, JBulider etc...

i dnt no u people no or not..that piracy of windows is intended by bill gates himself,bcs he wants "his"(means not his but pirates & taken from somewhere" OS to be most used in the world...


Piracy is good for us? You know, if I met you in person right now, there's no telling what I would do to you. :D Are you honestly a developer? Coz if you were, you would understand how bad piracy really was. If you want to use software like VS.NET or JBuilder, then you better pay for it. If all you wanna do is write code and compile it and run and test it, use the myriad freeware IDEs that are available online. Use Eclipse IDE for Java, the JBuilder free version, NetBeans or Gel, why go for JBuilder Enterprise or Pro? You want all the functionality and toolkits that the VS.NET and JBuilder IDEs provide, but you dont want to pay for them and actually have the nerve to think that "piracy is good because I learn from it". Grow up, buddy, seriously!

As for the part about Bill Gates himself promoting piracy in the hopes that Windows becomes #1, well, what can I say? When was the last time you got yourself a PET scan?

almost all of the softwares i use are pirated unless they come with my hardware. I use a pirated copy of Windows XP and have SP2 and all the latest updates. I also have a pitrated copy of ZoneAlarm Security Suite with antivirus and use pirated OnSpeed. I even use pirated CacheBoost Pro. I use DeepBurner Pro and Nero Burning ROM bundled enterprize edition and are of course pirated

Good for you, I suppose you also steal from the local stores. Did you ever even "think" for a single second for the freeware alternatives available for the products you listed, all the way from Linux as the base OS to DeepBurner Free for the CD Burning software? Can you tell me how many times you burn discs directly, burn Video-DVDs, use the Backup tool, burn PhotoCD/DVD albums, burn from the command line, etc. for you to pirate DeepBurner Pro? The Free version allows everything else except these functions. And I dont know what to say to a person who pirates an antivirus program. It really cant get cheaper than that, when good free AV programs are available.

There is nobody who doesn't use pirated s/w in India.. except a few morons !!I.N.D.I.A man... It Never Develops In Anything ... My apologies to anyone who finds this disgusting

You know, I will be honest. If I know who you are, and if I am ever on the interview panel for a company that you're applying to, I will go to the ends of the Earth to make sure you're not selected. That's literally the worst attitude I have ever seen. A few morons? And you think you're a certified genius? So if I were to walk into a store and steal all the stuff I want, I am a "genius" and the others who pay for them are morons? Its because of people like you that India doesn't get to the heights where it can reach. Disgusting isn't even cutting it close. I am honestly saddened that people think this way in our country.

i have never used a original version of any software ever and never will. why should i when it get things for free.

This is just the attitude I was talking about. You get software for free, so why not stick to freeware rather than pirate full version software. You seem to want to have your cake AND eat it. You want full functionality and are not willing to sacrifice it, but you cant come up with the money to pay for what you owe them? If you ever develop software for a living, then may be you would understand. But this attitude is just sick and has just GOT to change.

I can understand people who pirate games because they don't earn and are dependent on their parents and promise themselves they will get legal games when they start earning. I can understand people who pirate games and DVDs because they're not available here, even if you've got the money to spare. There are zero "alternatives" to a game or a DVD movie, so the excuse is at least partially valid. But a software with tons of free alternatives? Why cant people just buy a base OS and then use freeware to get their job done? Do they really require all the frills of a "professional" software like MS Office or Photoshop when OpenOffice and GIMP can do more than what they want? I feel honestly sad and plain infuriated when I go through this thread. :(
Nothin to say from ma side man..........................

[enoonmai]

I have a great legal trick for extensive software users and the ones using pirated copies. I have a great legal trick to use all the programs like latest Antivirus, Updates and such in a Free Legal Copy of XP (hope the way i'm going to describe is not illegal).

Well, what you're doing is illegal. :D Its still software piracy. :D

[Tux]

Why should one pay for a free thing.
Take a trial. Install it. Go to net.
Find its CRACK. ANd that's it.

[Tux]

its a FREE FREE world baby.

[enoonmai]

That is so illegal. You shouldn't even be talking like this in the first place here. :x

[icecoolz]

And ur point being ??? What you are doing is both illegal. And you reiterate the points over and over again with images such as these ??? The whole point of the topic is not if you can do illegal stuff or not. Its just to say whether the whole aspect is warranted or not. I think you are missing the whole point anyways.

Khattam, you just might wanna be careful. I am reporting this post as I feel this will leal to illegal activities.

[Deep]

Note: I have deleted images posted by khattam_, the images are not relevent to the post.

Any kid can use the cracked copy of the software and increase the expiry limit, there is not big deal in that...

I would suggest that rather than posting such images, it would be better if poster can stick to the subject of the topic.

Thanks
Deep

[icecoolz]

thanks deep for acting so quickly on this.

[abhi_shake]

Wat the heck :!: :!:
My windiws is even pirated :idea: :oops:

[khattam_]

i have something to say to enoonmai, maybe a lot............
And to moderators, i'm sorry...................I was just tryin to say I USE PIRATED SOFTWARE
I have a great legal trick for extensive software users and the ones using pirated copies. I have a great legal trick to use all the programs like latest Antivirus, Updates and such in a Free Legal Copy of XP (hope the way i'm going to describe is not illegal).

Well, what you're doing is illegal. :D Its still software piracy. :D
Ok maybe the WIndows thing is illgal but not other programs, i don't think so, whatever..............


Good for you, I suppose you also steal from the local stores. Did you ever even "think" for a single second for the freeware alternatives available for the products you listed, all the way from Linux as the base OS to DeepBurner Free for the CD Burning software?

Thanks for your suggestion and comments. I've tried Suse Personel and Fedora Core 3 but they aren't as easy to use and manage as M$-Windows and had any one of them supported my modem (it is a cheap modem and probably so-called Winmodem, i can't afford even a modem. poverty............), i'd have dual boot of SuSE and FC3 instead of XP Home and Pro dual boot. By the way, i don't steal from local stores coz its ILLEGAL and software piracy is NOT (in our country. PS: I'm from Nepal). Ok, you can explain this to me some of the people in this forum one by one but what about 99.9% of Nepalese who use PIRATED copy of Windows. Linux is very uncommon. If you buy a PC and ask them to install Linux on your machine, they will explain about the difficulties in Linux operation and recommend Windows and install a pirated copy on your system. Most of them have not seen Linux Desktops yet........and i'm talkin about the people who own or work in computer stores..........

Can you tell me how many times you burn discs directly
Many times......dont ask these questions. I understand the difference between Deepburner pro and personel and that is why i choose Deepburner Pro. But, after your comments, i've uninstalled Pro and installed the freeware version of Deepburner. I will use the Iso recorder add-on for making ISO of disks and burn them with the iso burning facility of Deepburner freeware. I'm still looking for a freeware which is easy to use and can burn in command line mode..........
But i dont think that will do any help to Deepburner's developers. What do u think, if i don't use pirated version of a program, i'm gonna buy it or what?? I'll search for a freeware and NOT buy the software. I don't see any harm to Software Companies if i'm using a pirated copy of their program. I would not buy it if i was not using a pirated copy coz i'm NOT using any software for ANY commercial use and can survive without any of the pirated software I'm using (even without Windows), but then when i can use why shouldn't I??

And I dont know what to say to a person who pirates an antivirus program. It really cant get cheaper than that, when good free AV programs are available.

By the way, I'm not pirating software....... I'm using a pirated copy........
Anyways, I wanted minimal protection from viruses and extensive online protection, so i choose Zonealarm Security suite. I could have replaced it with Kerio Personel Firewall+Avast Personel AV but then those would eat more of my resources (I have only 128Mb RAM and can't afford to upgrade). So................
And by the way, i want to repeat the same question, i asked earlier, again, what difference would it make to any of the three software companies if i used the later two instead of ZoneAlarm. If i WOULD have to buy ZA i would use the alternative, i wouldn't use it. I WOULDN'T BUY ZoneAlarm COZ I CAN'T AFFORD $79 (or i dont know how much it costs) for a program THAT CANNOT ECONOMICALLY HELP ME.

By the way, if i've badly reacted to you, i'm REALLY sorry. I'm just 16 and want to be a Programmer too but after what i've seen and learnt till today, i wont spend my time and money in making my software SECURE from crackers. I wont spend money in DLL and EXE decrypting tools and Anti-Softice tricks. I will make programs that can be EASILY cracked, if they ever need to be cracked. I'm not talkin about open source (It has its own place and importance), i'm talkin about freewares, at least for programs that are intended to be run on personel use platforms, not only because most of them are not going to pay for your application but because I'll get more disadvantages by charging ppl money for my appz. They WON'T buy it if they don't find it helpful or can't afford it. And trust me NO BODY likes a 30 day trial or program that has limited functions and when you try to run extra functions, it opens a webpage with the instructions on how you can order the app................. Thats really IRRITATING.
And by the way, what did a SECURE (From point of view of being cracked) program called 'Advanced-System-Optimizer'(ASO) do by spending probably a lot of money on security of the 30 day trial. It certainly didn't give give birth so much of software buyers. But it certainly gave birth to crackers like me. Most of the software crackers are crackers because they probably had an application to crack. And one of them is me............... And by the way, cracks for almost every version of ASO is available in every crack sites, now.

So they should know that "ANYTHING THAT RUNS CAN BE CRACKED", if they have seen the history of apps which need to be bought in order to run fully and the list of apps in any of the crack sites. So dont spend your money on protecting your apps from cracking (just a suggetion). If i become a programmer, and if i'll make any programs, I'm gonna make programs which you will not need to be paid for for running their functions. I'll make donation-wares with all functions available and no irritating nags about registering or payment. It'll have a small button in one corner, with Donate written on it and I'm sure software crackers wont spend hours with Hex editors and disassemblers to remove that. The donaters will get online support when they need and i should have no problems. In this way, i'll not only stop the birth of software crackers but will save a lot of money and time which i otherwise would have spent in making my software 'secure' from crackers............. And by the way, if my app does any good to anyone, i dont think ppl who can pay will pay.........
And, there will be no cracks of my programs, which would have otherwise been on every crack hosting site......................

[icecoolz]

By the way, I'm not pirating software....... I'm using a pirated copy........
Anyways, I wanted minimal protection from viruses and extensive online protection, so i choose Zonealarm Security suite. I could have replaced it with Kerio Personel Firewall+Avast Personel AV but then those would eat more of my resources (I have only 128Mb RAM and can't afford to upgrade). So................
And by the way, i want to repeat the same question, i asked earlier, again, what difference would it make to any of the three software companies if i used the later two instead of ZoneAlarm. If i WOULD have to buy ZA i would use the alternative, i wouldn't use it. I WOULDN'T BUY ZoneAlarm COZ I CAN'T AFFORD $79 (or i dont know how much it costs) for a program THAT CANNOT ECONOMICALLY HELP ME.


Using a pirated copy is still the same as the pirate. Doesnt make one lil difference. And think about it. There are other firewall AV options available. I personally use Avast home edition and I dont see how its a resource hog. As far as firewalls go well ZA is good however the AV solution I wouldnt reccomend. There are always alternatives. Why dont you just ask ? Tell them your plight and see how people are willing to help out. With respect to three companies thing, ask urself this, how many people are out there just like you ? and see the business that these people loose out. Then u'll understand.

Dude ur heart is in the right place. I can understand the need to have the softwares so that you can self-educate yourself. Some of them are exorbidantly priced and hence the need to pirate a copy. All this I can understand and so does enoonmai as he has mentioned before. However put the knowledge to good use. Your intentions are noble and i hope you can reach a stage where in donation ware is possible for you. I wish you all the best! [/quote]

[enoonmai]

By the way, i don't steal from local stores coz its ILLEGAL and software piracy is NOT (in our country. PS: I'm from Nepal)

LOL, I didnt obviously know that, but its not a question of whether its illegal in your country or not, when you install the software, you agree to the conditions that are laid down by the developer in the End User License Agreement (EULA) and installing/reinstalling/cracking means that you are breaching that contract. :D

But i dont think that will do any help to Deepburner's developers. What do u think, if i don't use pirated version of a program, i'm gonna buy it or what?? I'll search for a freeware and NOT buy the software. I don't see any harm to Software Companies if i'm using a pirated copy of their program. I would not buy it if i was not using a pirated copy coz i'm NOT using any software for ANY commercial use and can survive without any of the pirated software I'm using (even without Windows), but then when i can use why shouldn't I??

That is what we are hoping to change. If you get a chance to support the people like us who write software for you, then help us. :D Sure, a lot of companies overcharge, but most software that's targeted at the end user is reasonably priced, because the companies making them look at bulk sales, which makes it even easier for an end user to buy it. We're not asking you to buy Winzip or Photoshop Album, etc. at least you can use ZipGenius or IrfanView/Picasa. It hurts a developer and breaks his heart when the software he creates is cracked and he knows he should have gotten the money for it, but he hasn't. How would you feel if someone who owed you money never gave it to you? :D

As for the part about the antiviruses and firewalls, icecoolz already explained it to you. :D

By the way, if i've badly reacted to you, i'm REALLY sorry.

Oh no, dude! Dont! You dont apologize to me, ever. We're all friends here, and we watch each other's back and help each other out, even if we get tizzy with each other a couple of times. :D

I understand that part about not protecting your software, but for me, my software is like my baby (I dont have one, but...ahhh, what am I saying? :D) so just because you think they're gonna steal your house anyway, you just leave the door to the house open. Thats like saying, I am gonna die one day, so I might as well try to die today. :D If you wanna give your program as freeware, thats something totally different, as we all know. :D

If i become a programmer, and if i'll make any programs, I'm gonna make programs which you will not need to be paid for for running their functions. I'll make donation-wares with all functions available and no irritating nags about registering or payment. It'll have a small button in one corner, with Donate written on it and I'm sure software crackers wont spend hours with Hex editors and disassemblers to remove that. The donaters will get online support when they need and i should have no problems. In this way, i'll not only stop the birth of software crackers but will save a lot of money and time which i otherwise would have spent in making my software 'secure' from crackers............. And by the way, if my app does any good to anyone, i dont think ppl who can pay will pay.........
And, there will be no cracks of my programs, which would have otherwise been on every crack hosting site......................

Thats a really honorable thing to say and you should be commended for saying that, because not everyone can give their programs away as Donationware, and I really respect people who can do that. Maybe I should do something that people will find useful and give it away for free. My good deed to the world. :D

Like icecoolz said, your heart is very much in the right place. :D Good luck to you in all your endeavors and I hope I have the privilege of downloading software you create one day. In the meantime, all I can say is try not to pirate. I am sorry if I was harsh to you. :D If you want any help figuring out which freeware you need to get your job done, right from your normal tasks to programming, drop me a PM and I will do my d@mned best to help you out. :D

[godsownman]

Oh yes i do !

[khattam_]

Thanks enoonmai and icecoolz for your kind responses.........

I'm gonna Uninstall the pirated copies.............

Not M$-Windows now.................None of ma family members know how to deal with LINUX and we CANT buy Windows............

I'll try my best to avoid CRACKED programs............

But I'll reverse engineer some..................... But only for knowledge............... I'll barely share them................

THANKS for everything....................

[icecoolz]

like enoonmai said if at all you need any help do not hesitate to ping either of us (Enoo I hope u dont mind as I speakin for u too :P) and we will do out d@mn best to help you out!

All the best in your future endevaours. Do keep updated if you come up with anything interesting!

[khattam_]

Thanks to everyone
Here's a list of the programs I'm usin'. Most of them are freewares. But many of them are still illegal. It would be help