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315 Comments
- Dignan666, on 02/28/2009, -0/+734The biggest joke is the anti piracy ads run in movie theaters. Hello? Morons? We ARE IN THE THEATER therefore we did not pirate the movie. When people make a cam of those movies and post it on the internet, they usually remove those anti piracy ads. I mean, or so I've heard...
- LiquidSpark, on 02/28/2009, -0/+414Good article. It just shows that DRM doesn't stop any Pirates, it just annoys the ***** out of legitimate customers.
- CUGI08, on 02/28/2009, -0/+376"Would you Steal a car?" ..... no but i would sure as hell download one...
- inactive, on 02/28/2009, -13/+265Is this torrentfreak or the consumerist? :P
- Orsenfelt, on 02/28/2009, -3/+206I think with the ease of pirating, it's really more of a sign that people are enforcing what they think something should be worth, rather than just accepting the price and handing over the cash.
If I believe an album shouldn't cost more than £5 and there are 2 options available. Free or £14.. well, I'm going for free aren't I
I don't think it's really a matter of being cheap either. It's just that society has matured and is no longer willing to get shafted by mega corporations and their absurd prices when the is a much easier option available.
I say if they dropped their prices to something reasonable, became a fair industry and offered up the content in ways we want it.. they'd do fine. Look at the gaming industry. EA are seen as an evil mega corp, they fill their games with DRM, they churn out crap year after year and they hike up the prices. They have some of the most pirated games in history on their books.
Valve on the other hand. Good prices for good content. They don't ship crap out the door. It's easy to buy and play, they embrace the community and love their games to be modded and improved, they make changes for the users, they constantly add to their games and send it out for free.. What do they get for all this? They are a very respected company who have much lower pirate numbers.
Sure, You could say steam is DRM, and you'd be right. However for the PRO's it brings with it, it's worth the odd problem (Like no selling of games..) - Konrad9, on 02/28/2009, -1/+188You know what I can't play with daemon tools turned on? My legal, purchased copy of Star Wars Empire at War.
You know what I CAN play with daemon tools on? Something I didn't get at a retail store. - poidh, on 02/28/2009, -1/+184The most embarrassing part of the film in the theatre for me is a "watch out for thieves" announcement in which a snake slithers through the cinema stealing people's belongings. It makes people feel so uncomfortable to suggest that those around them are going to steal their stuff.
Just ***** play the film. - ureshiidesuka, on 02/28/2009, -0/+150http://xkcd.com/488/
- ProjectGSX, on 02/28/2009, -3/+129Good article. DRM doesnt stop real pirates.
- inactive, on 02/28/2009, -1/+127DRM doesn't help the business, the consumer, or stop these so-called "thieves."
What you should be focusing on is how to turn these "pirates" back into "customers" - neonoodle, on 02/28/2009, -0/+105"Let's make people feel uncomfortable being at a theater! That'll bring em back!"
- inactive, on 02/28/2009, -0/+85That's why smart developers don't drop $200k or whatever on some anti-piracy features.
- MacEnvy, on 02/28/2009, -0/+78I don't care who it is, they're right. And the more people standing up for consumers rather than draconian industry practices, the better for all of us.
- Dauvin, on 02/28/2009, -0/+75is it sad that my immediate action was to look at my keyboard and say "...w ?"
- TheSkunkMonkey, on 02/28/2009, -8/+83Bah, turning someone into a pirate is easy.. watch...
What comes after the letter Q?
... ...
SEE! Your a pirate too! - Twelvevolts, on 02/28/2009, -1/+74The anti-piracy ads have so far stopped zero pirates, but had annoyed the hell out of millions of legitimate purchasers. Also watching film trailers for films you don't want to see rates as a huge annoyance.
- poidh, on 02/28/2009, -1/+69I watched a DVD on my computer for the first time in ages the other day, and was reminded why I don't do it more often.
Firstly, I had to sit through a warning about what would happen to me if I shared it with anyone else or made a copy. Not appreciated.
Then, whenever I paused it for more than 30 seconds, I had to eject, put back in and start again.
***** buying DVD films.
Then, I reinstalled BF2. I can't play it without the DVD in the drive, but often it won't work because the drive won't detect the DVD, so I have to spend time playing around with it untilit will. ***** DVD games.
It's downloads all the way for me, preferably legal ones but if not then no bother. - oboshoe, on 02/28/2009, -0/+67You really expect a business to shutdown while they wait on some tech support dude?
This isn't free software. Its software he paid thousands of dollars for.
Your damn right he can't wait a day or two and damnit, if they to continue to get money for their software, they will spoon feed him. Right now. - mrgeekguy, on 02/28/2009, -6/+66I'd rather them turn me into a ninja, cause I get seasick.
- twiztidsinz, on 02/28/2009, -0/+59Or
Turns customers into "criminals"/pirates by making them seek out ways to circumvent the DRM protection. - thecosmicpope, on 02/28/2009, -0/+59The worst at the moment is the new version of SecuROM, used on GTA4. To run that game you have to jump through hoops activating the game, and you can only do it X amount of times. The cracked version however requires no such problems, and you can install it and use it as much as you want.
Back in the day, pirating something was always that little bit harder than buying it. But now days consumers buy unfinished buggy crap (GTA4 for the PC is an absolute disgrace) and have to be treated like a pirate just to install it. It is actually easier to be the pirate now, and you won't get ripped off by broken unplayable trash. - MacEnvy, on 02/28/2009, -0/+53Yup. 2 years ago I bought a protected PDF e-book, and to open it I had to register with Adobe, enter personal information and create account credentials, and have it upload document properties to ensure it was genuine. It didn't work correctly on my MacBook at the time, and I ended up having to go use a different computer just to get it open. All I wanted to do was read a god damn book without going to a bookstore, and I figured I'd do it legally by using the system they set up.
Suffice it to say, I have no qualms about torrenting e-books these days. They definitely created a pirate that day with their terrible business practices. - EmperorAwesome, on 02/28/2009, -1/+53The only effect the comparison in that ad has on me is making me realize how easy it would be to steal a purse.
- m0deth, on 02/28/2009, -1/+52no *****, if they wanted to warn us about thieves at the movies...a mug shot of the concession manager selling those 15 dollar tubs of popcorn would have sufficed, or maybe a nice vintage shot of the founding fathers of hollywood holding up a copy of edison's moving pictures patent while just out of jurisdiction.
pot, kettle, cmyK baby! - Ne007, on 02/28/2009, -4/+55It was blockbuster screwing me over on late fees that did it for me. I vowed never to buy or rent another movie ever again...and seldom see any movie at the movie theater since they jacked up the ticket prices and the food prices.
And then for the music industry....they sued one too many disabled, elderly and dead people for me to buy anything from them ever again. Plus their dirty tactics they use and bribing judges to let them extort money out of people by sending them threatening letters...***** them...I'm not down with all that. - thatnerdygirl, on 02/28/2009, -9/+58pix or it's not legal
- inactive, on 02/28/2009, -0/+42Hell, I think Steam itself recently proved that the market is way off here, what with the half-off weekend for Left 4 Dead which resulted in a huge increase of profits. If the industry is really serious about cutting down on piracy, I definitely agree that one of the things they're gonna have to do is reevaluate their pricing scheme. In the case of IP, supply is infinite; demand is not.
- virtualonliner, on 02/28/2009, -4/+44***** THE RIAA!!
- Maddoktor2, on 02/28/2009, -1/+35If it doesn't have DRM, I purchase it.
If it does, well...there are alternative solutions... - inactive, on 03/01/2009, -1/+35You wouldn't steal a handbag. You wouldn't steal a car. You wouldn't steal a baby. You wouldn't shoot a policeman. And then steal his helmet. You wouldn't go to the toilet in his helmet. And then send it to the policeman's grieving widow. And then steal it again! Downloading films is stealing.
IT crowd. Go see it if you haven't. Uhm, legally that is... - inactive, on 02/28/2009, -3/+35How many times can you sell a song before people catch on? I started buying music in about 1965. So I buy a record then a eight track tape, then a cassette tape, then a cd. So I have purchased a song four times at least and I am still a pirate if I try to play said song on my computer or mp3 player?
- Lonewolfx77, on 02/28/2009, -2/+34DRM is such a waste of time and money. The only reason I buy cds is for the album art and because I like having the tangible disk. I hardly ever listen to it from the disc. The fact is that since I began pirating I've been buying MORE music because I've found so much music that I enjoy.
The problem is that these companies have been pumping out pure ***** for the most part, relying on people buying the game before trying it and realizing its a piece of crap. But now the playing field has become more level and people aren't blinding buying things anymore. I'll buy almost anything from Valve because time and time again they have come out with quality products that are worth their price. I didn't mind paying 40 bucks for HL2 (before the orange box mind you) because it's an awesome game that I believe is worth it. I don't mind paying 15 bucks for the latest Tool album because I love their music and believe them to be worth it.
What's the difference between pirating a movie, watching it once, hating it, and never buying or watching it again and going to a friends house and watching the dvd of the same movie, hating it and never buying it? - wwwluckyro, on 02/28/2009, -2/+31It doesn't stop noobs either from typing thepiratebay.org
- deathyepl, on 02/28/2009, -2/+30I must just be lucky, I've never had a problem with Steam.
- lysdexic, on 02/28/2009, -0/+28If only that was the developers' decision to make and not some stuffed shirt who doesn't really understand software or their customers' needs.
- DJWilsonX, on 02/28/2009, -7/+35Even with DRM, most of the games and music aren't worth paying for or even torrenting nowadays. Where's my Sega Genesis?
- RedS0x, on 03/01/2009, -3/+31Very, you had to look at your keyboard?
- Ev3nt372, on 02/28/2009, -1/+27Steam games should not be compared with Console games. Most or every other PC game cannot be resold due to the mess with serials and activations. Steam is a step above those since all your purchased games are now linked to your account and thus can be redownloaded whenever you want. This is such a great service that I actually prefer to get steam versions of games than to pirate them. Also it would be nice if Valve could expand the number of thirdd party games that can be added to ones steam account via inputting the CD key so you can purchase a hard copy and use the game on steam.
- oboshoe, on 02/28/2009, -0/+24@ufia
None of your questions matter.
1) Customers do stupid things.
2) Customers pay money for software.
3) Vendors rely on money.
4) If vendors want money, they accommodate customers.
5) Vendors without money, layoff employees and close their doors.
- LilRabbitFooFoo, on 02/28/2009, -3/+25YOU'RE = you are
- inactive, on 02/28/2009, -3/+25My thoughts exactly :P
- MacEnvy, on 02/28/2009, -1/+23Hey look everyone, someone who doesn't have a job where people depend on him.
It must be lonely digging those ditches. - MisterMajusty, on 03/01/2009, -0/+21PLZ SEED!
- Mothrog, on 02/28/2009, -0/+21Dunce, when you're in the real world in business, sometimes a day or two of waiting means canceled orders and lost clients. Why should he have to wait to renew a product they depend on when their silly techniques do nothing to prevent piracy?
- inactive, on 02/28/2009, -0/+21This ***** has happened to me.. owned a legit copy of some software.. rebuilt a pc.. couldn't install because I had too uninstall it on the old PC which it no longer existed as half of it had become part of the new pc.. so I had to use a pirate version of the legit version to get it to work. I shouldn't have to jump through ***** hoops to get something I own ***** working on my pc period. ***** DRM and defective by design. You reap what you sow companies..
- venomoushealer, on 02/28/2009, -0/+21I think you missed the entire point of the article. It was about how someone DID go to the store, bought the CD...and then had a problem.
- CUGI08, on 03/01/2009, -1/+18actually it is legal in the uk for pregnant women to use a policeman(person's) hat to uh relieve themselves.
- mollysue111, on 02/28/2009, -1/+17It's the same with DVDs, if you buy one they annoy you with a sometimes un-fastforwardable (new word) annoying notice about pirating.. you know the one that goes "you wouldn't steal a purse, you wouldn't steal a car..".
Worst part isn't even that paying customers are being made to watch it, but it isn't even logical! If you steal a car or a purse, the previous owner is now without that car or purse. If you download a pirated copy of a movie or song, the original owner of the song doesn't "own" it any less, it's just being duplicated and distributed, something you can't do with an object like a car. - gubatron2, on 02/28/2009, -0/+16somebody translate what he said
- BRODEL, on 02/28/2009, -1/+17@ufia
I love the fact that your argument is basically saying expect all applications to be ***** and fail on you. I'd rather use a vendor and an application that will work well without some DRM ***** bogging me down.
I can't tell you how much money we have wasted on servers just because the software we need or upgraded to (because of vendor lock in) required some dumb ass USB key to keep running. We spend thousands of dollars on an application just to have the vendor say ***** you we don't trust you so you must use this USB key and have a server dedicated to just OS \ software.
When it comes to looking at apps we aren't locked into, if one requires a USB key and the other doesn't, even if the one that doesn't is a little more pricey, we go with the one that doesn't have the stupid key.
USB keys are just one example, but lately it's the one that irritates me the most at my job. -
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