Slashdot Mirror
iWarez
asv108 writes "It seems that people are finding new uses for their iPod. According to this story in Wired, a Dallas area CompUsa employee caught a teenager transferring a fresh copy of Office for OSX to his iPod from a store demo machine."
it was improper labeling. the sticker said "don't steal MUSIC"...
I used to do this in the late 80s - the BBC Micro had a system where you could buy add-on ROMs. I didn't have the money to buy them, so I wrote a program to copy them onto a 5.25 inch floppy. Then I'd go into stores and copy what they had.
Glad to see some things haven't changed...
You're telling me that a CompUSA employee caught the kid and knew what the kid was doing? Did the employee still try to sell the kid the extended warrantee?
The person featured in the story witnessing the theft a computer consultant in the Dallas area at a local CompUSA? I don't think he was an employee of CompUSA, else he would have stopped the little bugger.
Isn't that wonderful though? Can afford a $399 iPod but can't afford Office vX? Heck, maybe the iPod was stolen too?
GPL Deconstructed
There are plenty of pocket sized firewire and USB drives on the market that could be used to do the same thing. The iPod differs only in that it's got a really cool interface and can double as a nice MP3 player.
Lee
A satisified iPod owner.
Yes. They shouldn't have used compusa as the password on the demo machine.
"What is the sound of one belly slapping?"
You could have fun putting files onto computers at the stores... nice goats.cx background or something... hell maybe someone will come up with a way to install linux from the ipod!
--
Some weasel took the cork out of my lunch.
According to the story, it was a computer consultant shopping in CompUSA who saw this.
It's irrelevant, I guess, since nobody actually reads the stories anymore.
From teh article: Webb watched the teenager copy a couple of other applications. He left the kid to find a CompUSA employee. "I went over and told a CompUSA guy, but he looked at me like I was clueless," Webb said.
Isn't that a misprint? Should it not read: I look at him as though HE were clueless?
Sounds about right... CompUSA loser is thinking, "Yeah man, sure... the kids stealing apps off out machines with his Walkman. WHATever... don't forget your tinfoil hat on that way out!"
Just another moron who doesn't know his products or their capabilities.
(It's not just PC workers, even today's car salesmen don't know their product. I went shopping with a friend who wanted to buy a car in the same model that I own. My friend is an informed consumer; he and I had to correct the sales guy on model names, equipment on each, engine size and wheel size on three different cars.)
SlashSigTheorem: Humorous, Political, Critical, Constructive- If you have a
Don't worry...there are no life forms aboard...
Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
Does that mean that iPod and computer stores should be illegal as they both allow to steal software?
Opus: the Swiss army knife of audio codec
Part of being an Apple zealot is going into stores and fixing the Macs up. I don't get why Apple can run such terrific retail stores themselves, but doesn't try to persuade CompUSA and Sears employees that, no, iMacs shouldn't have smoke coming out of them.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
...because he sure has some huge balls to just walk up to a demo computer and try that!!
It's interesting to note that the article mentions Disk On Key. A few weeks ago, my friend's place of business had a meeting, and basically the whole premise was that any visitors to the company had to have their keychains checked for such devices, as they were worried about people coming in to visit, and leaving with a copy of a database. I wouldn't be surprised if other companies start adopting a policy of searching for those types of devices either.
Insanely great? Goddamn. They're all Stevebots.
I can see the headlines now
SOME CONSUMERS ARE USING APPLE'S PORTABLE FIREWIRE HARD DRIVE AS A PORTABLE FIREWIRE HARD DRIVE
EXPERTS SHOCKED
Admit it.. you're just annoyed you didn't think of doing this first
Maybe computer stores should just hire people who know how to tell when people are copying huge quantities of files onto portable hard drives?
Were there problems in the 80s with people copying programs off of computer display models onto floppy disks? What about with zip disks in the mid90s? What did stores do about that sort of thing then? Why is this so urgent now?
Webb watched the teenager copy a couple of other applications. He left the kid to find a CompUSA employee. "I went over and told a CompUSA guy, but he looked at me like I was clueless," Webb said.
Unsure whether the kid was a thief or an out-of-uniform employee, Webb watched as he left the store. "I thought there's no point in getting any more involved in this imbroglio," Webb said. "Besides, this is Texas. You never know what he might have been carrying."
CompUSA representatives didn't respond to requests for comment. Neither did Apple officials.
So basically the CompUSA people had no clue what was going on. Typical.
Also note that nobody was caught as the poster claimed. The event was merely witnessed, nobody was caught.
Lasers Controlled Games!
Wait, a front page story on slashdot is a front page story on Wired that's entirely hearsay. A computer consultant says he saw a crime, CompUSA didn't believe him, and that's news?
Here's a suggestion: Physically block the fucking I/O ports on display models. Put a locked metal bar across them or something. Cheap, quick, and effective.
-- kwashiorkor --
Leaps in Logic
should not be confused with
Jumping to Conclusions.
"Copy an entire CD worth of music in 10 seconds or a $459 office suite in under 3"
The difference is that with an iPod, you can finish the download and leave before the store closes for the night.
If it ain't broke, you need more software.
While this was just a kid trying to steal some software, it's clearly a symptom of a MUCH bigger problem. Now is the time to act on this sort of potential, before the full scope of ramifications become clear.
1) We must legislate mandatory copy-protection into all commercial software. Perhaps all software, in fact.
2) All storage devices most especially portable ones, must have a double license verification check on all copy operations. If you copy a file from one device (a computer) to another (an iPod), _both_ devices must independently verify the vailidity of copying/running that software on both machines, through a central license authority.
3) Legislation must be introduced to require all new file formats to incorporate licensing checks. "Free" files (however you want to interpret free) must be so marked within the file.
4) All new applications will be required to write only in approved licenseable formats. Within five years after the introduction of these formats, new pplications should no longer read old pre-license formats.
5) Hardware must be legally required to support this licensing and copy-protection scheme. All non-compliant hardware will have to be turned into the appropriate depots for disposal, after a similar 'sunset' period (five years again, perhaps).
Only in this way can we foster software innovation, encourage development, and drive technology forward. Guaranteeing security for developers in this was is a necessity, and the only way we can prevent computer piracy.
Arresting criminals doesn't work--if it did, we wouldn't have crime anymore! What we have to do is eliminate any possibility of crimes being committed in the first place, at any cost.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
Depending on the CompUSA you go to, you can get some free entertainment. In the one in Roseville, Minnesota, there's this older guy behind the "good stuff" counter(all the smaller merchandise that can be shoplifted, etc) this guy will berate any computer-clueless customer that dares to ask him a question day in, day out. Sometimes I just stood near him pretending to look at the PDAs and listen to this guy drill into ma and Pa kettle explaining the difference between USB and FireWire. This guy IS the comic book guy of computers.
"...copy this folder to your hard drive"
.dmg of the Office X CD from Hotline or Carracho, and registration keys are easy to find for almost anything online.
That's what it says on the Office X CD. You copy that folder, and when you launch an Office app for the first time it checks to see if that other stuff isn't there. If it's not, it copies it there to complete the install.
From the article: When installing Office, users simply drag and drop the Office folder to their hard drive. Everything is included, including a self-repair mechanism that replaces critical files in the system folder.
Chances are, just copying the Office folder worked like a charm. If not, it's not like he can't grab a
~Philly
It makes me sad to see stores limiting this kid's ability to innovate.
JET Program: see Japan, meet intere
The clueless salesman reminds me of the joke:
Q: What's the difference between a used car salesman and a computer salesman?
A: The used car salesman knows when he's lying.
About 10 years ago I used to hang out in the mac lab at a local university while my Mom went to classes. I used to have a 2GB external HD the pluged in to the wall and used a huge scsi cable to hook up to the back of the Mac. I had copies of everything and they (computer lab guys) watched me do it, and said nothing. Times have changed (a little)and I became an adult. Yes you can get in a significant amount of trouble *if your caught*. It is very easy to steal anything regardless of how you physically do it, thats why we laws that say if your *caught* you will be punished. If you are over 18 and you pulled this stunt, *I* would have no problem reporting you as a shoplifter. this kid is the reason/excuse we have for crappy laws like the DMCA. IMHO if your moral standards are such that you *know* your stealing from someone and say its ok because they didn't lock it up good enough, then your sliding down a very slippery slope. (but I'll still visit you in jail when you get caught)
"Get them before they get....
Even more interesting is the question of whether or not the iPod, or the binary data contained on the device, is subject to confiscation or seizure if they believe that you downloaded a copy of Office onto it.
.
Nothing's missing . . . do they have the right to seize all those 1's and 0's?
You could make decent arguments for both sides . .
CompUSA eh? I'm surprised they even knew it WAS a Macintosh. Honestly, I've gone into that store to look for accessories for my mac and had them try and sell me a Compaq. Hello? Dumbass? I *HAVE* a mac, and I'm trying to purchase accesories for it. I don't want to buy a third rate PC with an updated "model number."
Incidentally, I'd like to point out that the ease with which you can pirate software from a Macintosh raises an interesting point with Apple's vision. You install OfficeX by copying it where you want it...similar to the way you installed software on PCs before the invention of the "install wizard." Somebody realised that a single motion (drag program to applications) was easier than clicking through a dozen confusing menus. Somebody realized the time to ask for a serial number was when you tried to run a program, not while the install CD was in the drive.
Oh, and I'd like to mention in this anonymous forum that I steal bandwidth from the Apple store all the time. That lovely open (well, i consider 128bit WEP pretty open) Airport network is perfect for chilling in the mall with my palmtop, comparing online prices to b&m.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
Not in English. A criterium is a bicycle race.
Webb said. "Besides, this is Texas. You never know what he might have been carrying."
now that is reasurring... a Mac user packing heat.
Now if every computer user carried a weapon, you think the RIAA and MPAA would be fucking with us?
:)
Anyone know if there is a way to quickly reset the ipod? If you get caught borrowing software, it would be nice to be able to quickly and easily delete all the evidence.
In my own case last week I was visiting my parents, Dad wanted me to burn a bunch of pictures to a CD for him to send out to relatives. Now, he's got an iMac without a burner and I live 6 hours away in another country. I could have sent them online (we've both broadband) but with the rate caps it would have taken many hours to send the 300-some MB of files and the AppleTalk IP I've got running on my wintel boxes is a bit unreliable for big long slow stuff like that.
The solution? We both have Canon PowerShot cameras (S100 & S110), both with their shipped small CompactFlash cards and both with 3rd party 128MB CF's we've each added. Grabbing his CF's and clearing mine out I was able to load everything onto the CF's though the cameras, bring them home and burn to CDs.
Worked fine, the CDs have been sent out and his CFs are in the mail on the way back to him loaded with some mp3s of radio shows I know he and Mom will enjoy listening to. Now I'm looking at investing in one of those small USB "hard drive" devices for storing my emergency software/system tools on. Easier to carry then a CD, hand it off of the keychain and pull it out whenever I've a need for a PGP key, repair utility or favorite bit of software.
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
Kinkos has always been the best place to get software. Sure, you have to pay by the hour, but their Macs are/were equipped with zip drives, later CDR drives, but this new Firewire thing is a real boon for getting bloatware.
What I'd like to know is if the iPod can play music while you're getting your copy of Office. If Apple used Linux or Darwin in the iPod, that would be a no-braner!
"Only in their dreams can men truly be free 'twas always thus, and always thus will be."
--Tom Schulman
I needed to buy a replacement Lexmark printer, because they're cheap and I do a lot of printing in b/w format, and did some shopping at Best Buy and CompUSA for price comparisons.
At one Best Buy, they had a Z52 as a store display, as Z53s had just come out. There were no more Z52s left, and they had yet to receive the Z53s for their stock.
Asking a manager, I got the price reduced to almost half the retail, and still got their crappy service plan thrown in for a year. When they opened it up to check for any products inside in case I was trying to smuggle them out, the cashier removed the ink cartridges and ran them across their demagnetizer.
Why? Because they put anti-theft tags on the cartridges. People actually walk into stores and try to swipe open inkjet cartridges which have been used quite a bit as demonstration products, and are already open.
So they're aware that people try to steal innards, but as to how far they can go, who knows? RAM may not be protectable in these methods, but other items could be.
Human nature is the same everywhere; the modes only are different. -- Earl of Chesterfield
I mean to be forced to get his warez at CompUsa instead of getting a copy from a friend... He probably has no internet connection either since he could have easily downloaded office if he had. This is a very sad story.
True warriors use the Klingon Google
Here's a suggestion: Physically block the fucking I/O ports on display models. Put a locked metal bar across them or something. Cheap, quick, and effective.
It's already done. I saw the I/O ports on some computers at Fry's Electronic blocked with chewing gum. Obviously, Fry's is more clued than CompUSA.
I installed MS Office on my iPod two weeks and Excel still doesn't work. No matter how many times I jog the dial. But I've got to admit, the talking paper clip really does have a beautiful singing voice.
This is why we've taught our cat to use Morse Code. Short "Merp" like sounds are dit while anything that could be described as a caterwaul is dash. Unfortunately, we found out that she perseverates on the same seven messages:
Hah! I *knew* it. Once I saw how many slashdot posts you'd made today, I could tell you were trying to avoid correcting papers. Myself, I'm putting off writing the review that was due last week. The stack of papers isn't due until Monday. :-)
Babar