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Legal Issues Don't Bother American Downloaders
An anonymous reader writes "Ipsos-Reid has released its latest research on file trading. Bottom line, the great majority of users do not believe they are breaking the law. Only 9% feel there is anything wrong with their actions. With 40 million Americans identified as active file traders this is indeed stirring information, though not surprising. Another stat, 73% of US downloaders report that their motivation for trading was to sample music for later purchase. You can see the charts and original press release here."
Man, I would'nt want to be your kid. Geez. I would probably want to run off with some homeless preacher for a year just to be away from you.
...in other news, a new study by the FDA revealed that 99.9% of pigs can not program computers, and 80% of people think bacon is tasty. PETA picketed to protest this "nazi-esque" survey.
Repeal the DMCA!
I would have never paid for anyway -- it's not like making stricter laws is going to make me purchase things I couldn't have afforded in the first place.
I see the warez scene, and more recently the mp3 trading scene to be a lot like mixtapes in the DJ scene: it's a form of street promotion.
Compare the warez kids to DJs. The warez kids are the ones who collect all kinds of programs, and check them out to see if they're worth anything. DJs collect records, usually that they get as promos or through record pools, and distribute cut up versions of them to the public on tape -- usually to get the word out about the latest 'jam.' People buy the mixtapes, hear it mixed in with some other songs, then go buy a copy of their own . . at least that's what i always did. From every tape of course, there'd be maybe only one or two songs out of 20 or 30 that stood out.
There's countless games and programs that wouldn't have been nearly as popular if it weren't for the warez scene pumping it up, and then making the average individuals go out and buy legitimate copies, usually because they're not savvy enough to get it themselves. Whether they admit it or not, software companies need the warez kids to create street buzz.
If you really appreciate a piece of software, or an artist, you'll ultimately go buy it. If for nothing else because that 96k version you got off Kazaa sucks. Same thing with software. Case in point, I'm waiting every day for UT2k3 to come out for Mac. I could warez it, but it's not even worth the trouble, and I'd prefer to have a boxed copy and original CD.
You are on your way to becoming a talking head on television, or, if you are not photogenic enough, a speech writer for one of our representatives. Or, you can become a spokesperson for one of the big companies, proclaiming that toxic sludge is good for people. You are even more qualified if you (as seems likely) simply plagiarized your posting.