79% Of Americans Would Rather Download Movies Illegally Than Subscribe »

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  kriicket

  March 17, 2007, 4:09 p.m.

  that's because no one wants to pay the outrageous prices affixed to these movies !
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  Harbeas

  March 17, 2007, 5:26 p.m.

  Says a lot about our country and its views of right and wrong doesn't it?
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  entermyworld59

  March 17, 2007, 7:08 p.m.

  Its simple free will always beat paying, no matter how little one has to pay for something.
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  Aidenag

  March 17, 2007, 7:28 p.m.

  With how insane the prices on software,games,movies and music has gotten, its no wonder people pirate. Not to mention how often games and software go "Gold" and hit retail while still being pieces of crap, not ready for use. Its crazy not to pirate things at the very least to give then a test run...

  I pretty much dont buy any software or games anymore without first downloading it and seeing if its something i would use,watch or play. Personally i dont see the problem with this method. Without it, i sure wouldnt be buying $500 photo editing software thats non refundable if i decide it totally sucks within the first few days.

  When i go buy a car, i get to test drive it. And expect the same with other items i cant decide if i would want any other way than by trying them out for myself.
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  redLineRunner

  March 17, 2007, 8:55 p.m.

  It certainly does say something about our country and its views of right and wrong. Evidently, free doesnt trump paying, it trumps "right" as well.

  And Im sorry, but I dont buy the "test drive" justifications. First off, if you buy from a store that has a "no refund" policy, shop somewhere else. Buy it from the internet. Second, if I want to know about a game or piece of software, I can call up a dozen reviews, try the downloadable demo, or go read any number of magazines to find out about the features and all.

  Aidenag, you may "test" the software out then go buy the full version, but if that is true, you are in the minority. Most people will "test" it, then figure "why go buy it, Ive already got it."

  Its a sad state of affairs really.
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  Harbeas

  March 17, 2007, 8:56 p.m.

  The last two comments prove my point. We seem to a nation of if I can get it without paying for it I'm going to do it. These goods or services do not belong to you and by taking them without paying for them is stealing.
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  nu2007

  March 17, 2007, 9:18 p.m.

  Software can never be refunded! It is North American-wide policy, if not global policy. The only time it can be refunded is when the box is sealed and has never been opened. If it is sealed, how do you test it? Shareware is the only way to legally test the software but it is rarely fully featured. Of course the piracy issue is not really about "test driving" the software, but I must point out your wrong comment. Piracy is of course driven by greed, getting the best out of nothing. It is for sure an act of stealing. But the existance of this piracy issue is really traced back to the Law of Economics, the "Invisible Hand." Not to justify piracy, but the reason why piracy is so wide spread is because it is economically favorable. Software really should not charge that much. You can buy a laptop for $600, why you pay a software for $500?
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  Harbeas

  March 17, 2007, 9:20 p.m.

  So the price dictates whether you should steal or not? Sorry that argument is no good.
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  nu2007

  March 17, 2007, 9:35 p.m.

  Ok so you are buying the intellectual properties (IP) created in the software. Fair enough, it certainly is valuable. But what about hardware? Is it not a product of IP? A laptop probably contains 100's, if not 1000's, of patents. The facilities to manufacture CPUs, DRAMs, hard drives, etc. involves 10's to 100's of vendors working together to build, test, and ship the final hardware to the end customers. Not to mention 10,000 - 100,000's engineers, scientists, and manufacturing workers, as well as 10-100 billion dollars worth of machinary to mass produce a laptop. Just designing the layout of a CPU is as, if not more, complicated as the software code. What about DRAMs? What about hard drives? Well, don't need to redesign every CPU, neither do every software. Both are mass produced. Well, how about raw material cost? A laptop vs. a software CD/DVD, which one do you think cost more in material? So software can never be justified for such high premium on so many levels.
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  nu2007

  March 17, 2007, 9:50 p.m.

  Finally, the "Invisible Hand." Can a laptop be easily counterfeited? Can a software be easily pirated? A 3-year old can give you a no-brainer answer. The "Invisible Hand" also works on hardware that are priced based on branding, not material cost nor craftmanship. Women's apparels are good examples. An LV purse costs you $1000-$10000, but you know the raw materials craftmanship combined never costs that much. Add to the equation is the low barrier to counterfeit the purse with the same or even better quality. Based merely on the Law of economics, why people don't buy counterfeits? Software companies had been ripping you off for years with their high price tags, just that you are not aware of it. They had been stealing your money for years, don't you know?? So who is the devil? Both the software companies and the end consumers! In fact, the root of evil is money! Well, although it sounds really cliche, but it's true and always will...
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  nu2007

  March 17, 2007, 10:02 p.m.

  If subscription-based movie/software downloads with low price tags are long available BEFORE piracy comes to the picture, I am sure piracy issue would not be as wide spread as now. But since consumers have accepted by the concept of free pirated software, subscription-based service cannot easily recapture the critical mass anymore. Now you need laws to strictly enforce copyrights PLUS high quality subscription-based services, working as "good cop bad cop" to steer customers back to legal goods/service consumption behavior. It is not easy. It takes a lot of time, education, high self-control of morality!
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  Harbeas

  March 17, 2007, 10:06 p.m.

  You are going to continue to steal regardless, aren't you?
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  Aidenag

  March 17, 2007, 10:20 p.m.

  Harbeas, you own a legit copy of Windows dont you? hehehe
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  Harbeas

  March 18, 2007, 8:29 a.m.

  yessir!
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  hiscity

  March 18, 2007, 10:58 a.m.

  The solution is coming quickly. We already see it in software applications. A real time connection to the distributor or vendor that authorizes your use of the product during that session. All that's needed is dial-out calling, such as with a land line telephone, cell phone, or net connection.

  So in order to use the product legally, and be charged for it, you have to be able to connect to the source.

  Windows is headed in that direction. ESRI mapping products crash if you don't have a net connection keeping them alive based on their very expensive licenses.

  A vendor could provide keycodes for sell that change frequently (1/2 hour or even every minute) to decrypt their product.

  I'm definitely insensitive to trying to legislate solutions that cause an increase in the police state, lawyers, and civil suits. That's an attempt to make me pay for others "not locking their doors."

  So yeah -- the media producers and vendors can all get stuffed.
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  galilearusso

  Feb. 14, 2008, 8:20 a.m.

  An HTML attachment was scrubbed. http://emotator.info

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