ethics of warez ad nauseum (was: "to John Cooper")

[musquash]

i really dont understand you guys - you can do what you want but it seems you feel forced to buy big expensive products. i dont need speakers for $2000 each, if some for $300 do the same job, so why should i buy expensive stuff, if there are cheaper alternatives which do the same job?
it's just the bernoulli effect: if you think the software isnt worth the money it costs, then you dont need it (or you dont really want it). there is so much share-/freeware out there and many just dont realize this (wonderful) fact.
it seems like you all needs the top of the top software.. and of course you need a ferrari, a castle and your own big isle in the caribics... it is a pain in the ass you cant get a crack (or better: a "patch") for this stuff
and dont say "i cant make good music with cheap software", thats the most stupid thing i ever heard, sorry

[kensuguro]

It's kind of interesting to realize that cost/effect ratio is totally messed up especially in the field of musical equipment.. mainly because the effect has a lot to do with your own ideas and tiny tricks..
Not to say that everything can be realized with cheap equipment, but it's possible to do quite a lot with them. I went on a vacation to visit my friend this summer and I ended up composing a song for a 10 minute performance... all on his notebook! I had no samples, no software, nothing with sound generating capabilities, and I still ended up with a composition.. all I had was a mic and an MD player, and cool edit. (well, I got some sounds off sound blaster too) The challenge was really fun, and I'm very content with the result...
Ever since then, my attitude towards software and price and all the mush about capitolsm changed. It's sometimes good not to have a certain function within what you already have. It only gives you a good chance to get to know someone who has something that can do it.

But I also realize the fact that if music is what you sell, this ain't always the case... sometimes it's a "get it done by tomorrow" and that won't be a good time to find out that you software couldn't do so-and-so...
Makin' a living is tough..

Ah... I wondered off topic.. Anyway, just thought I'd share the story while the "cheap software" fad is fresh.

[garyb]

confusion reigns.

[ozinga]

One thing strange
I use legit Cubase since Atari and I know Cubase have cracks since than.
If piracy puts companies out of business,Steinberg should be first to go.
But they are one of the biggest. This is just a dilema for me and nothing to do with what i'll say later on.

My thoughts about piracy are,
This piracy thing has nothing to do with being rich or poor. I've been in best studios which had a full blown PT rigs and crack plug ins.Its just morals.

Like you can not steal a Korg Triton to prove you do great music or to do better you can not use illegal software.


Problem with soft is, companies do not respect you enough for what you do.
I've waited 3months for my Sounddiver3.0 upgrade. While people were using the cracked version for that time period. Again I ve waited months for getting a new serial for my reaktor software. I have the cd have the enigma file but not enough I have to have the serial that I ve lost. NI resisted to give me a new serial which takes 10 sec to find one working on internet.

They keep things hard for legit users.
I want to use my recycle prog after a long time since my last use,I launch it no
please insert the cd go find the cd now.

EXS24 this soft will expire in blah days.

I have pulsar1+2 boards.All my plugs reg to pulsar1 its broken now and i have to wait for creamware to transfer them to my p2 board
Asked for a replacement breakout cable
Can't get it for the last 6 months

Whatever they do people crack it. So at least find an easier solution for legit users.
Your solutions only cause probs to legit users not protect your soft being cracked.


Ozan

[at0m]

I've probably used every crack that exists So I do not mind using warez, I use them as described in the manual; not because it's in the manual but because it's my justice feeling If I like it (that's when I re-install it after a format or so) I'll buy it. Any price, from 20-2000$. If it's good for me, I buy it.
I would never have gotten into music if I had not experimented with warez. In the mean time, I've bought for like 2 times my annual income in music soft/hardware!

Every good soul will agree on that and shall not rip-off programmers or their companies.
Sponsor the ones you like and pay them. If you like them all, get a job that pays well

a t m i c

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: atomic on 2001-11-12 18:15 ]</font>

[garyb]

wow, a coupla reasonable replies to this thread inna row........

[braincell]

"Do you really expect people to work hundreds of hours on creating and playing music and then let you to use it for free??"


Yes this is what I expect. People have put hundreds of thousands of man hours into creating Linux and it is free.

I don't think any musician worth his salt is working to make music for money. Great composers create music for the love of it.

[garyb]

tell that to mozart. of course great musicians make music for the love of it. they also make music to make money.without money bad things happen.(like starvation)

[Robert]

Hey, not just great composers make music for the love of it, a lot of 2nd and 3rd-rate composers do too!

Robert

[garyb]

and they need money too!!!!

c'mon don't be greedy,spread it around.
this money or art thing was started by those who don't want to pay for anything,but like to have everything.artists, liking to feel superior as well,like idiots bought into it.in a world where you must have money, everybody needs some.give it to them you meanies!get some yourselves but don't be greedy,there's a lotta money around.it takes a whole buncha time to make music or whatever.time that coulda been spent making money,so of course it must be love.still ya gotta have money so pay up!don't be mean!where's tha love my brothers and sisters?

[braincell]

Not many people are aware that Uncle Sam requires us to pay taxes on bartered items!

Some laws are just too stupid to obey.

[RedSun]

Ok, I'm going to a bit of the devil's advocate for this message.

I seriously think that cracks have many good uses. Most of them related to the small mindedness of some companies.

To illustrate my point, I will give 3 examples.


1. Configuration based serial keys:

As I have said in one of my previous posts, I use Acid Pro 3 on some of my projects. While I have paid for it and have the CD/BOX/Invoice to proove it, I prefer to use the cracked version. Because of my work, I used to change my computer parts very often to test new features. It's too much of a hassle to explain every time(to the company) why I need a new key generated. I also believe in privacy and in my opinion, those companies simply do not have the right to keep track of my computer configuration.


2. Dongles:

This is just plain stupid(my opinion, of course). They're too easy to loose(like the USB dongle for Reaktor3), can disable functionnality(parallel port dongles) and can cause compatibility problems in other software(all of them).


3. Software with no usable demo:

There is no way that I'm going to spend 100s of $ on something just because someone(or a magazine or whatever) said that it's "The Best Thing On Earth(tm)". However, I will gladly do so if I intend to use it and it does what I need it to do.


I do not in any way promote theft of software. I am very aware of the legal issues, having been responsible of software license compliance in a previous job. I also work full time with software developers and fully support them. It's just frustrating that in some cases, the legal versions are crippled by desing.