miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
I remember about 9 years ago a friend gave me a bunch of software on a DVD. Thought nothing of it. Then later realized it was illegal cracks of software.
.................
Stealing $100 software and maybe making money from it is petty theft, but it is pathetic and lame laziness...
About 10 years back, at my IT day gig (which also involved a large theatre)...they hired a new stage manager, a real young guy, a 20-something "kid" basically.
One day I'm in the back with the theatre crew getting him all set up with his computer and all...and he then asks about installing some software that he had...'cuz our computer users do not have full admin rights to do all that on their own.
I asked him what software...and apparently he was into the whole audio recording thing, plus a couple of the other theatre guys were also into audio and/or doing some kind of music/band thing...so they're all checking out the software and the new guys is telling them, "if you want to borrow the discs to install some of that stuff at home, go ahead.
So I look at what he has...and it was full-tilt DAW applications, like Nuendo and Cubase, and other stuff, plus a bunch of other apps/plugs, etc...
...and I asked him how are they going to install it when that stuff has a key code or dongle, so it will only work per single installation...and he says he never had any codes, and was able to install it.
I'm like WTF?...and instantly realize it's all cracked software. I asked him where did you get it, and he says from some website (it was a cracked software website) and it was either real cheap, like $50 or some free. I proceed to tell him that Nuendo alone costs several hundred.
He kinda looked at me all puzzled...like this was all a surprise to him...but I knew he had to know that you don't buy all this stuff for pennies off some bogus website.
Anyway...I said to him...none of that shit was going on any work computer... and I told him he should destroy all the discs he had that were cracked, and not give them out to anyone.
I don't think he destroyed them...and then after about 3 months, he decided he didn't want the job and moved back to his home state...I think Indiana, where he got some kind of theatre teaching gig at a local collage. He probably passed out the cracked software to his students.