Why Do Mac Users Feel Piracy is Evil ? lol

[yamcha]

I still don't get it, every mac user that I meet in mac forums they always flip about the piracy situation, I'm not gonna say its right, but at the same time its just a last resorter for most of us, I mean in my case there is no way I can afford applications like Adobe Creative Suite, I use at least three of them on the regular, not to mention the prices on games, I only play for about two weeks and then its over, so not worth it . In the end who doesn't do it, and I personally believe if you can afford it you'll buy it regardless, my brother does that, he has the money for it though thats the difference, he can splurge without a doubt, I think Piracy is justified to some degree . But what really irritates me is most mac users worry about the charges, heres my answer to that = isn't ever gonna happen, there are way too many people doing it, infact I can say at least 40-50% of all Computer users are involved in piracy and some probably without even knowing it, even my teachers did it in school.. fact of the matter is nobody can do anything about it. Notice in games today they made it so you can't play online without purchasing? its fool proof now, its impossible to play HL2 Online if you don't have legit, and even if you do find one that works online it'll only work with users that have the illegal version.. Anyway Just my thoughts, I haven't had an issue ever, I started when I was 12, It's like stealing cable, even if they find out all they do is cut you off.

 

lol thats my rant, and no I don't approve of it, but I don't see why Mac users are so stiff about it, its like they've only recently learned about how to use a computer. The situation is completely the opposite if your a pc users, i see things in perspective, how much money does Microsoft really make, how much are they screwing us over lol

 

Again thats just me, I'm not trying to upset anyone at all, I just wanted to see what everyone else felt when it came to piracy..

[NeSuKuN]

I tend to buy games I enjoyed and think they worth their price. same with apps and even mac, I had a great experience with OSX86 and then, bought my macbook. but seriously, few games or apps worth their price.

[Quackit]

YOUR IP HAS BEEN LOGGED!

 

 

hehe... I love seeing that on sites. so what!

 

I buy things that are worth the price. What do I really think? Information and knowledge should be FREE! Down with all those money grubbing mongrels. The day will most likely never come, but maybe... just maybe... we'll one day be able to expand our human evolution/society beyond these archaic forms of transaction, and treat each other as more than equals... instead of someone to make money off of for personal profit.

 

Yeah yeah yeah... people have to eat and have a place to sleep, but paying for those services won't be needed either.

 

Personally? I think we'll blow the entire planet into a smoldering pile of ash before we reach that point.

 

So I'ma continue to live-the-dream early via torrent files

[Headrush69]

I don't think it is strictly just a Mac/PC difference.

 

First off no matter how we want to rationalize it, piracy is a crime. Whether the price is too high, or the period of use is small makes no difference. Someone produces a product and decides on a price and that's it. We have a choice to buy it or not. It's not like its a monopolistic product like your local electricity supply and as such we need protection.

 

My guess as to why you might see a different attitude with Mac users is probably because the average age of Mac users is older and as such might be a maturer group and less likely to pirate (as much). A second point being the most pirated software is probably Office and games, and since there are far fewer games for OS X, less game piracy and hence the culture of piracy is less prevalent and/or considered normal.

 

[asphix]

I guess the difference is in your logic (which is highly flawed I must add).

 

It's a subjective issue in that it depends on how you look at it and what influences that perspective. However, on moral grounds (using social norms as our moral guidelines) it is wrong and no matter how you try, you can not justify it. Plain and simple.

 

Your brother may have the cash to "splurge", but I think he has something else you may not take into account.. maturity gained through experience in social responsibility which is usually (but not always) attained in the first few years after entering the corporate world (thus your confusion between it and disposable income). Just because I cant afford it, doesn't mean I can run out and steal that shiny ferrari I saw driving by...

 

It's stealing... may not seem it since your individual theft will not impact the company the same as say, someone stealing another persons car... but once you strip away all the fluff and get down to the core it's the same thing.

 

Just my opinion... and FYI, I'm a PC user through-and-through (mostly microsoft products, and just recently being more open minded to open source) and I think piracy is wrong. Thats not to say I haven't done it, nor am I saying I never will do it again. I have my reasons and it's pointless to express them in this thread. But I dont delude myself with statements such as, "...how much money does Microsoft really make, how much are they screwing us over...", "...I mean in my case there is no way I can afford..." and "...In the end who doesn't do it..." to try and justify or worse--make me believe it's OK.

 

It's a matter of morals and how much you're willing to bend them. Thankfully, the laws of our society currently allow for a significant amount of moral flexibility, especially in the digital realm... even if there has been a recent shift toward a more clearly defined line... thus the people who get upset when people flippantly blow it aside as you have here.

 

With that said, piracy on some levels can be seen to benefit society and companies alike. An example would be how without the rampant piracy of windows in the win98, windows 2000 and early winxp days I'm positive you woudlnt have such a large general familiarity with the OS and it's related tools. Also, piracy by students helps companies gain large chunks of marketshare once those students graduate and enter the work-force proficient in said applications. Of course, with the new trial periods and student versions now being offered it becomes a moot point.. but this was largely true back in '96-2001.

[e-rick]

Re-using old music, slap a bass-line under it, get a anorexic teenage girl or a gold-clad-pumped-up 'gangsta' to sing some lyrics to it, hyping it so much that you can't watch MTV or listen to a popular radio channel for 20 minutes without hearing the song at least 2 times, with that manipulating a group of highly perceptible teenagers into thinking the 'artist' is the most talented artist ever... (don't get me started on Idols/american idol...) and brainwashing them into buying loads of overpriced albums is also stealing.. If you really stop and break down what is happening there, you will see that some of these tactics border on or even cross the border of criminal activities.

 

As I am not American or even a native English speaker I don't quite know how to put it more eloquently, my apologies for that.

 

My point is that in music, but also in software we are being misled, being fed recycled {censored} for the premium prices. If I get an original product, I'll gladly pay for it. Most of the time though I don't get originality, and it annoys me that I do have to pay 400 euro's for it.. (vista) Especially if there is no possibility to try the software/music before you buy it..

 

So piracy is definitely wrong, but it is more or less a Robin Hood kindof thing.. Rip off microsoft(vista=buffed up XP), universal (crappy remake movies), Sony BMG ( greatest hits albums 3 months into artists career), but support the small original artists an software houses!

[yamcha]

lol, thx for responses, interesting to see how other people see the situation, and again I'm never gonna say its right, in the end even I buy things that i really love, especially when it comes to music, because it's not expensive for me, so from time to time I purchase albums that I really feel deserve the credit, most of them usually are those who get little radio play, but are good artists.. And I guess what Asphix mentioned is correct, but no ones perfect. I turned 20 last december, I've def seen a change in myself but got more to go.. I think i still have that mentality that companies rip the people off, I mean for example Nike, they get there shoes made internationally for the most part and the pay is extremely low its sad, yet they sell them for $$$ and give those who made them literally almost nothing, thats what really irritates me because they are screwing us and the workers over, I know I can't say that for all companies but there are many of them who do that, and theres always those who are honest and loyal.

 

Anyway just my thoughts n opinions

[Colonel]

I'm a Mac user and I share with my fellow peers all the time.. actually, most Mac users I know think it's great, not evil lol.

[vbetts]

All types of people don't like piracy. But it's kind of bad when the people who's downloading an illegal OS like Osx86 is gonna complain about piracy. For me, I really don't care. I have no 2 thoughts about it. If there isn't a demo of a game, well there's a torrent downloading tonight then.

[Superhai]

I don't think the common OS X users are so opposed to it. But I have some theories why they would be. Most importantly a very large user base of the macs are "creative" people, those who use to make money off what is easily and commonly pirated. For those they have really no gain from piracy. And they will of course influence the community. Those who have bought the mac computer are seldom the "hacker" type, as configurability is limited, and instead the computer appeals much more to novices and people who just want it as a tool for specific tasks. The macs have a reputation of having a premium price and often people buying it also easily can afford their software. And last point is that less software is available and therefore there will be less to pirate and being a mac hacker will not have a big time statistic of releasing to the "scene".

[Numberzz]

I'm a Mac user, and I don't think piracy is evil. I have a collection of apps, music, videos, etc., that is larger than most hard drives out there today, but that is nothing compared to what some people download. I have a friend who downloads about 500GB a month. That's incredible, I don't know how anyone could download like 500GB a month, which is like 16GB a day, 690MB an hour, 11.5MB a minute, or 191kb/s. I don't see how his ISP allows that.

[Ongeloof]

I'm a iMac user and don't think piracy is evil.

@Numberzz:I would love an ISP with that much overlooking lol

 

I download stuff just for the sake of seeding and collecting sometimes. I got over 2GB of Flickr picture last night of the Pope...

Never going to use them, but they are in Time Machine now lol

I download OSx86 versions i wil never use. But thats so.. no piracy is not bad for mac users. i introduced a fellow insanelymac user to pirated iWork and he loves it

 

Think Mark

[Rufus T. Firefly]

if only I could have downloaded a Mac Pro. . .

[Bakes]

Yeah Mac users are more of the professional occupations so they usually have no need to pirate every thing. I do find that most Mac programs are all pay applications not much freeware out there.

[(MoC)]

I'm a Mac user and I share with my fellow peers all the time.. actually, most Mac users I know think it's great, not evil lol.

 

QFE. I'm a Mac user myself and have pirated software/music/etc collections that are huge! It's not evil, there are people that do worst things in life than not paying $1000 for CS3.

[fpyyh]

This is because Microsoft invented piracy. There is an excellent post named "Why open source didn't prevail" or something similar and it explains how they intentionally made windows easy to crack/redistribute so no one will bother to learn how to use some open source OS (How many persons bought a windows xp box? Everyone knows someone who "has a copy"). This way all the businesses have to buy windows because all the available workers are only windows literate. And now people accept software piracy as a normal practice.

[scj312]

This is because Microsoft invented piracy. There is an excellent post named "Why open source didn't prevail" or something similar and it explains how they intentionally made windows easy to crack/redistribute so no one will bother to learn how to use some open source OS (How many persons bought a windows xp box? Everyone knows someone who "has a copy"). This way all the businesses have to buy windows because all the available workers are only windows literate. And now people accept software piracy as a normal practice.

ORLY? There were pirated programs for the Apple II.

[(MoC)]

ORLY? There were pirated programs for the Apple II.

 

Those were fun times

[dj_stick]

 

 

My point is that in music, but also in software we are being misled, being fed recycled {censored} for the premium prices. If I get an original product, I'll gladly pay for it. Most of the time though I don't get originality, and it annoys me that I do have to pay 400 euro's for it.. (vista) Especially if there is no possibility to try the software/music before you buy it..

i find your choice of example to be highly amusing - Vista is actually the first OS microsfot will allow you to test for 30 days WITHOUT buying a cd key

 

simply start the installation of the OS (you do need to get a copy of the dvd from a mate), choose not to enter a CD key, then choose the edition you want to use

 

after 30 days you need to enter a cd key for it to continue working

 

imo that's pretty fair, and you only have to spend 400eur if you want ultimate, which most people don't need, home premium is fine for most people (it's what i'm using)

[djet]

Eh the fact you needa get an install DVD from someone else doesn't seem to be a trial. Oh well, imagine if someone got a crack for the trial though.

[Special-K]

Half my MacBook is pirated. Seriously. Other than a couple CD's that I own, and 2 seasons of Weeds (pirated the 3rd), all the rest of my music, movies, and apps are all pirated. It's not that I can't afford it, but I'm not paying $600 for Logic Studio, or $1300 for FCS. And when I wanna watch a movie, I'll usually watch it only once. Unless it's really good, then I'll go out and buy it. Most of the movies that come out these days aren't that great though. Foreign films FTW!!! As for music, I'm used to it. I grew up with Napster and that whole thing so it's just natural. I did go on a CD binge like 2 years ago where I refused to download songs. Like even if I was dying to listen to some new CD that was coming out and knew I could get it online like 3 weeks ahead, I wait til the release day and ran to my local record shop after school. Now it's like it's nothing. I figure I've given the record companies enough money that year and years previous. And actually I still give them cash here and now, there's just some CD's you just go out and buy, which I occasionally do. By the way, I'm not trying to rationalize my piracy. I just kinda started going and didn't stop, and I don't know where I'm going with this anymore.

[lumbie]

if you pirate anything your a theif you can try and justify it all you want

[Espionage724]

I don't feel piracy is evil lol. As matter of fact, i find it easier to pirate stuff for mac then windows (because most windows games i've seen have some cd protection like secure-rom). I do buy games that are pretty good though (and that can be played on my video card....that limits it down to a low amount of games)

[2gig]

I have a MacBook and Mac Mini that I got from my school/job (same place, but its a little bit of both). The only things on my dock that aren't either pirated or open source are Firefox and iTunes. Personally, I would never buy a mac. I've actually recently purchased a behemoth from ibuypower.com, and I plan on installing OSX86.

 

Quite honestly, I believe everything should be open source, and no I'm not a linux guy. The only thing I've ever used Linux on is my Nintendo DS. People should just make a donation box, and if they don't get enough donations they should say "Look, I'm not gonna release a new version until I get some cash. Donate if you like my game/app/whatever." They should, however, give some sort of amount they want donated. Also, they should have a release prepared to go as soon as their donation demands are met. This way, people who have the money and support a product enough can donate and further its production, and people who are poor or just want to try can, legally. Not to say that my ideas are perfect, but I think they'd work ok.

[sarahbau]

I have a MacBook and Mac Mini that I got from my school/job (same place, but its a little bit of both). The only things on my dock that aren't either pirated or open source are Firefox and iTunes. Personally, I would never buy a mac. I've actually recently purchased a behemoth from ibuypower.com, and I plan on installing OSX86.

 

Quite honestly, I believe everything should be open source, and no I'm not a linux guy. The only thing I've ever used Linux on is my Nintendo DS. People should just make a donation box, and if they don't get enough donations they should say "Look, I'm not gonna release a new version until I get some cash. Donate if you like my game/app/whatever." They should, however, give some sort of amount they want donated. Also, they should have a release prepared to go as soon as their donation demands are met. This way, people who have the money and support a product enough can donate and further its production, and people who are poor or just want to try can, legally. Not to say that my ideas are perfect, but I think they'd work ok.

Donation-ware is no where near enough to pay for the development costs of most commercial software. I've tried donation-ware before (many years ago), and out of thousands of downloads of the software I wrote, I got a total of $5 and 1000 yen (worth about $10 at the time). At work, my small development team of 6 easily costs my company $350,000 a year. Thankfully our customers are all within the company, so we don't have to worry about it, but companies like Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, etc has hundreds, or thousands of developers working on their products. If they gave away their programs hoping people would donate, they'd have to lay off 90% of their employees, and production speed and quality would plummet. People just aren't generous enough to fund a major software company's development costs with donations. Most people wouldn't donate a cent, and the ones who did donate would give way less than the program is actually worth.