Do you really buy that expensive recording software?

[fraserhutch]

Ah, I'm not argueing... I just put a different spin on it...

I see men standing around the magazine section in grocery stores reading the magazine while their wives shop... To me, that's the same as software piracy... Agree?

Not at all. That I compare with demos.

 

[Toker41]

I'm still not really sure piracy is a big problem. The people that use pirated software probably wouldn't buy the program if they couldn't swipe it. Since every pirated program I have ever used was buggy at best, and it seems most others report the same thing on this thread, I don't see any legit business using it. So where is the loss? Can anyone produce a study that shows a measurable loss of sales as a direct result of pirate software? A recent Harvard study shows P2P files sharing of music does not impact sales, I haven't seen any study showing that the same isn't true for software.

Before I get bashed with neg rep....I am not using pirated software. I use N-track, which I paid for, and highly recommend at $49.

 

[Zetajazz44]

No, piracy would be obtaining the magazine, copying it, and selling it or giving it away wholesale. Reading it and putting it back is auditioning. Is test-driving a car piracy?

Perhaps we're beating a dead horse here...but...

No, obtaining the magazine, copying it, and selling it or giving it away would be COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT, not piracy.

When you buy a magazine or newspaper, you're not just paying for the paper it's printed on, but the gained knowledge of it's printed content... I know if I bought a book and all the pages were blank, I'd be mad as hell...

SO, if you read it, you are gaining it's contents knowledge that you carry with you out of the store... Carrying out without paying for it, where I come from is stealing.

Now, test driving a car: When you buy a car, you are buying the car and it's use... It's use meaning to drive yourself to work, drop the wife off at Walmart, drop the kids off at soccer practice, drive to the beach for a weekend..etc... When you test drive DRIVE the car...down the street and back to the dealer... So you've actually driven the car, but not got any usefullness out of it besides the knowledge that the car does actually run, roll and brought you back safely without falling apart...

 

[thewanderer24]

I had no problem shelling out $300 for Sonar studio 5 this week.

I have heard reasonable arguments about who is really hurt by downloading music - whether it really hurts the artists or not can actually be debated.

I don't see how there is any argument with the software. Flat out, it's stealing. These companies can't afford to support or improve the product if they are giving it away. They put millions of dollars into devoloping and supporting these products. You take away the money, you can kiss the products goodbye.

 

[sloom]

Perhaps we're beating a dead horse here...but...

No, obtaining the magazine, copying it, and selling it or giving it away would be COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT, not piracy.

When you buy a magazine or newspaper, you're not just paying for the paper it's printed on, but the gained knowledge of it's printed content... I know if I bought a book and all the pages were blank, I'd be mad as hell...

SO, if you read it, you are gaining it's contents knowledge that you carry with you out of the store... Carrying out without paying for it, where I come from is stealing.

Piracy would involve copyright infringement.

Barnes and Noble provide couches and tables at which one can sit and peruse reading materials for the purpose of discerning whether or not one would like to purchase the book, magazine, etc., Of course you could read 50 pages of "How to Fix Your Computer" and leave "with the information", but the information is not really "owned" in the way you are inferring, since you don't get to keep the book, etc., ("knowledge") for review as a ready reference source. I think you have a highly focused idea of what stealing is, here. Not that it's wrong, conceptually, just stringent. B & N do this 'reading environment' thing because you, the customer, enjoy the relaxed environment and appreciate it; and they do a bang-up business. The potential loss is insignificant next to the gains that come with this 'loss-leader'. So my point, at last: The worries expressed in this forum about software companies being damaged are, I think, baseless.

[/QUOTE] Now, test driving a car: When you buy a car, you are buying the car and it's use... It's use meaning to drive yourself to work, drop the wife off at Walmart, drop the kids off at soccer practice, drive to the beach for a weekend..etc... When you test drive DRIVE the car...down the street and back to the dealer... So you've actually driven the car, but not got any usefullness out of it besides the knowledge that the car does actually run, roll and brought you back safely without falling apart...[/QUOTE]

The above of course suggests a silly scenario: One doesn't take the kids to the beach to see if the car runs and will likely be a dependable vehicle. But I'm no one's personal cop. This is getting arcane, and the horse is dead, yes.

 

[fraserhutch]

im sorry for disrupting the forum with that. its not right, but i dont appreciate assholes on a forum. i like this forum a lot and i dont want to leave it because of a couple of dicks. but i would like to hurt whoever left me a bad rep point...

2 things:
1) Giving me bad rep for pointing out the obvious is sort of a lame exercise, especially when you have no rep power yourself.
2) same right back at you.

 

[Toker41]

I'm still waiting for someone to post a link to any study that has been done that shows the pirating software has had any measurable impact on sales of said software. Regardless of morals, I would like to know the numbers. I have seen 1 study done by Harvard that shows P2P music sharing does not impact sales, but never a study that has shown otherwise, nor have I ever seen ANY done on software piracy. Just a lot of talk, and hype, but no pudding.


Also, to the asshole that left me negative rep with the words "Blow me bitch", FUCK YOU. YOUR MOTHERS CU.NT STINKS.

...now the negative rep your coward ass left for me is merited. Next time how about your yellow, coward, pussy, bitch ass wait until I do something that deserves it. Until then, how about you just go back to blowing your father.

As I stated earlier, something needs to be done about policing the Neg Rep abuse by little pussy assholes like the coward bitch that just blasted me with one.

 

[DaveO]

We've got some weak, small minded cowards around here ...

Looks like someone is having too much fun with neg rep. I got one earlier this afternoon that says "Fuck you too then".

I have no problem getting negative rep, but I applaud those who are man enough to do two things. First give me an explanation of why you felt compelled to do it, with some specifics. Contrary to what the immature adolescent who left me this gem might think, "Fuck you too then" is not such an explanation.

Second, sign your name. Throwing out the F-bomb while hiding in internet anonymity shows not only that you're a little man incapable of coming up with and stating a coherent position, but it clearly shows you for what you are - a coward. There's an old saying that goes something like "You can learn a lot about a man by what he does when no one can see him". Well, your cowardly actions have nothing good to say about you..

The easiest way to fix this problem is to have the bulletin board automatically include your name in any rep you leave, whether positive or negative. I don't know if the software Dragon uses supports this, but that capability would end this nonsense once and for all.

 

[sloom]

The poster of the bad rep points has succeeded in usurping (stealing!) the focus! A bad apple run amok. A real Rumplestiltzkin, I tell ya, taking us all for a test-drive like that! Yep, there's no safer vantage point from whence to taunt and antagonize, like the seat in front of your computer screen. From inside your room... in your house... far away from anyone...

What're you gonna do... this is why the rest of us have to put up with rules. So it looks like we need some!

 

[usdn rep]

some asshole from this thread decided to give me a negative rep point. show your face fagget.. "fuck you, pirate this"... thats what you say to my opinion..

How bout i fuckin kill you.

get a life prick.

lol a man, we're in the same boat people actually give rep points and shit, but just roll wit them.........People act like pirating is the biggest sin in the world...........

 

[fraserhutch]

Looks like someone is having too much fun with neg rep. I got one earlier this afternoon that says "Fuck you too then".

I got the same one, but the poster had no rep so it came with a blue chicklet.

Timestamp and lack of rep power indicates it came from vschiano2008.

Surprise, surprise......

 

[usdn rep]

lol a man, we're in the same boat people actually give rep points and shit, but just roll wit them.........People act like pirating is the biggest sin in the world...........

lol @ somebody givin me a nother negative rep point after this post.........give'em to me all day, doesnt hurt me.....your waisting your time

 

[Zetajazz44]

So my point, at last: The worries expressed in this forum about software companies being damaged are, I think, baseless.

Ah Ha! I knew if we discussed it long enough there'd be at least one point we'd agree on!

 

[usdn rep]

Man, this thread is STILL going on??? I've never seen such a gathering of clueless fuckwits as the number I've seen in this thread......... unbelievable.....

PS - and the fuckwits know who they are....

oh shut up, everybody is a fuckwit to you.......everybody isnt gonna think like you or have the same standards.....Stop actin like your so above everybody who doesnt purchase software..........You contribute less than the people you disagree with.......

 

[sloom]

Ah Ha! I knew if we discussed it long enough there'd be at least one point we'd agree on!

So much wind, so few sailboats... Well, from one "fuckwit" to another, congradulations!!

(Excuse me now, if you would, I have to get back to my 'crack' of [insert favorite software manufacturer's latest offering]...!! )

Peace.

 

[dkerwood]

As much as I'd like to take the high road and say I've never done it, it's more truthful to say it depends. I have never pirated recording software. When I was too poor for the good stuff, I used Power Tracks which cost me $50. I figure that this is still a niche market, and that even the biggest of software companies making recording software is still pretty small. For whatever reason, that makes a difference to me.

Now, when it comes to other software, such as a very popular operating system that I'll just call "Bill" to protect the innocent, I have not been so morally clean.

I also have more than my fair share of audio CDs burnt from friends. This is really the exact same issue, and I wonder how many of those us who have never pirated software have a few burnt CDs in their collection. Again, size matters to me. I have no problem burning a Chilli Peppers or Rolling Stones CD, but insist on paying for smaller names.

See, I've never downloaded an entire CD. The most I've done there is copy a CD for myself when I buy one for my girlfriend or something. I figure that I bought the CD, and I can use its music how I want.

Now, when it comes to downloading, I usually just download a single song, and usually just for reference purposes, like if I'm arranging it. If I'm going to have an album, that usually means that I really like the band, and I will absolutely support them.

When it comes to local bands, I will buy CDs if I even remotely like the group, and will hope that they do the same with my CDs.

 

[dkerwood]

And as far as software goes:

I will never buy a graphic software program. I will muddle through using Paint before I shell out a penny for Adobe Photoshop. I mean, you can get so many excellent programs for free, I have no need for more expensive things. Thus, if I happen to acquire more expensive programs, they're not losing my business. They never had it to begin with.

If I want to make a webpage, I design it with HTML. When I decided I wanted FrontPage, I waited until I needed a new computer, and then bought one with FrontPage already installed. I will not ever buy a program - even once I've liked, like Swish or other Flash editing software. At this point in my life, these things are not worth their cost.

In the same way, I won't buy another recording program. Many years ago, I bought Cakewalk Guitar Tracks 2 for like $40. Yes, it is only 8 tracks. Yes, it is limited to six or eight realtime effects. This just forces me to think creatively on how I'm going to record. Now, I have been considering upgrading, and have been downloading demos to see what I would like. You know, it's nice to have infinite virtual tracks, and it's nice to be able to lay down effects until your computer completely freezes, but is it worth paying $400? Not particularly. Thus, I won't buy it. If I end up with a demo of these products that I continue to use (I used Cakewalk ScoreWriter demo for years to print music before I gained access to Sibelius at school), its usefulness doesn't mean at all that I would ever shell out the money for the full version (or just for the luxury of being able to save the project). I won't. The programs that I might use, legal or not, are a convenience, not a necessity. I can get along just fine on freeware and programs I already own.

I don't know. To me, it's rather like test driving a fancy sports car. I will never buy one, but it is nice to check out the features and pretend like I'm at a point in my life when I can use it.

 

[sloom]

Does a red square mean a negative rep point? Unsigned... Okay!

Jack the Repper strikes again!

 

[Havoc]

I mean, you can get so many excellent programs for free, I have no need for more expensive things.

There is a free alternative for almost everything out there.

 

[peritus]

There is a free alternative for almost everything out there.

I second this!!!