PC Software Legitimacy Poll

[bluninja]

The 2 desktop PCs on XP are all legit, and the 98 PC under the stairs, the XP Laptop is legit, and the Apple notebook OSX .....yawn...anyone else bored yet...as for work....it seems.....we're sharing 400 licenses for 1500 PCs and 2500 users, though all the Apple stuff is legit.

Strange poll...shoulda been one for...Are all your bike parts legit?, are they all OEM? Do you use any homemade parts?

Hey maybe I should run a poll about if I should run a poll....Race 2 of WSB on in a few minutes. Better go do something more interesting...

[bugjuice]

windows vista beta , need i say more

no.... we feel your pain...

[Lias]

People pay for software in this day and age?

What are you smokin and where can I get some...

[Drunken Monkey]

...how rife software theft & piracy had become, thus confirming what I already thought to be true....

... many have been duped into believing it's trivial and acceptable, yet it is a chargeable offence.

Oh that's right. By pirating MS software, we're really destroying the profits of that small, hard working company Microsoft. They'll never take off and grow. That poor Gatesy, he'll be driving around in a beat up old Corolla for the rest of his life and continue living in a shack if we don't start paying for our software. I mean c'mon, $900 for an operating system is cheap, and 'MS Office', heck we all want to use 99% of its features, we should be thankful they only charge us $1400 for the Professional pack (gotta have Access, I use it every day!). Heck, these days it's even better than that. Did you know you can buy this kind of upgrade scheme called "Upgrade Advantage"? You can empty your pockets even more on the premiss that if a new version of software comes along in three years, you can have the upgrade "for free"? Did you also know that people who got suckered into this bullshit scheme when it started 3 years ago have now had their SA lapse and MS have failed to release any new versions of their OS or Office in this time? They've effectively thrown more money at their licenses for nothing. Nada. Zip. I think that's a perfectly acceptable business practice, don't you?

Seriously now, maybe if they weren't such rip-off merchants who peddle garbage software, people might be inclined to pay for it. The MS pricing scheme is a crock of shit, and as a completely irresponsible IT guy, I actively encourage people to show their distrust and pirate away! Power to the people!

[The_Dover]

I love that pop up.

"You make be the victim of software counterfeiting"

fuck, and don't I feel victimised.

[MrMelon]

I paid for a couple of online games I used to play that needed cd keys (quake1/2/3, battlefield 1942 etc.) but the rest of my software's a gift from Mr Gates.

If there's something I use a lot that's really worth paying for I'll buy it.

[phaedrus]

I made the switch to linux about 3 years ago. No more bullshit EULAs, no more bullshit pricing, and no more bullshit sharing is theft mentality

[ManDownUnder]

...but as my wife says about her car.....''I just wish he'd leave it alone''.

My wife says that too - but it's not about her car...

[ManDownUnder]

no.... we feel your pain...

I don't... maybe if he stood a little closer?

[StoneChucker]

It is far too easy to fall into such theft nowadays, many have been duped into believing it's trivial and acceptable, yet it is a chargeable offence.

Actually, I agree 100% with Zed here! We're not only talking about Microsoft, what about programs like Winzip, Nero 7, Adobe (Photoshop, Elements, etc...), SereneScreen Marine ScreenSaver (yes really), Command and Conquer Full Decade Set, World of Warcraft, Norton Internet Security, Norton SystemWorks, McAfee Internet Security, McAfee Anti-Spyware, the list goes on indefinitely...

From the poll (which is relatively indicative of general society, if not slightly more towards the piracy side), 79.8% of people think it's ok to steal stuff they don't want to pay for (or can't). Even if it is Microsoft, why is it ok to use any version of Windows just because you've stolen it? I understand why people pirate it, if it's because they really need a pc but are flat broke, but I have issue with the group of those people who think that that's ok... At least be ashamed, or admit it's wrong. Just because a company is super successful, doesn't automatically make it ok to steal their products (even if they are sharks, but wouldn't you be if you could make shitloads of cash, honestly?).

It's especially relevant with regards to smaller companies like Winzip, Screensavers, Nero even, etc... Whether or not you think it's ok to steal, is irrelevant. It isn't, period. The reason it's socially "acceptable", is only because so many people do it (most people), because people don't/can't afford it and the fact it's so easy follows onto that. I'm the first one to admit it, I've always used pirated software in years of past, but moral, decent people learn from their mistakes.

Oh that's right. By pirating MS software, we're really destroying the profits of that small, hard working company Microsoft. They'll never take off and grow. That poor Gatesy

For those that honestly think it's ok to steal software (not you specifically DM), why do you think that? I mean what are the actual reasons?
* Because you don't want to spend the money?
* Because you don't like certain companies?
* Because everyone does it?
* Because you think you shouldn't have to pay for something you can get free?
Do you honestly think you can justify that because of any of those reasons above, or any other like them?

I'm not saying people who pirate software are shitty scum, far from it. People who can't afford things that they really need (lets face it, PC's are essential nowadays), do whatever they have to, to get them. That's why there's so much crime in South Africa, people need to eat. It's the people who have fooled themselves into thinking it's ok that I'm worried about. At least admit that your a software thief.

[The_Dover]

I'd call the wankers that charge exorbitant prices for their software the thieves.

Windows is not worth however many hundred bucks as an OS. I use it solely because most of the other software I want to use runs on it.

I'd pay fifty bucks for it. I don't pirate PS2 games, I don't really play PC games.

I'll have a clear conscience once I get openSUSE installed tho.

[rwh]

Seriously now, maybe if they weren't such rip-off merchants who peddle garbage software, people might be inclined to pay for it. The MS pricing scheme is a crock of shit, and as a completely irresponsible IT guy, I actively encourage people to show their distrust and pirate away! Power to the people!

If you continue to use this 'garbage software', though, you're still accepting and contibuting to a society in which anything that isn't Microsoft-compatible isn't compatible. It's much harder for anyone else to compete.

The more different software people use, the more different software will be available, and the more they'll have to rely on actual open standards to interoperate, making it harder for any one publisher to lock up the market.

Richard

[sAsLEX]

I got the latest release of ubuntu linux shipped from france and I paid not one cent!

Thats where the secret lies open source freeness

[The_Dover]

I got the latest release of ubuntu linux shipped from france and I paid not one cent!

Thats where the secret lies open source freeness

I wont entertain anything french on my PC.

[Mental Trousers]

For those that honestly think it's ok to steal software (not you specifically DM), why do you think that? I mean what are the actual reasons?

Paying for Microsoft software is saying that it's ok to put out substandard products, that innovation is a bad thing and that it is ok to have a market place that is so skewed by the mere fact that Microsoft exists (it's like a giant black hole in the middle of a galaxy - everything gravitates towards it whether it wants to or not) that nothing else is able to establish the tiniest of footholds. Competition is good so stop feeding the monster and look at alternatives.

I fully support paying for software btw. Just not Microsofts.