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Pirated iOS App Store Site Shuts Down
SternisheFan writes with this excerpt from CNET: "Installous, a major portal for pirated paid apps from Apple's App Store, won't be around anymore. Development team Hackulous today announced the closure of Installous on their official Web site. As of today, the pirated app store no longer works, and only shows these errors: 'Outdated version. Installous will now terminate' or 'API Error. API unavailable.' For many years, Installous offered complete access to thousands of paid iOS apps for free for anyone with a jailbroken iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Think of it as being able to walk into a fancy department store, steal anything you want, and never get caught."
No free books and music
No free games
Wtf is wrong with the world
How do we get out rights back from these greedy a$$holes charging $.99 a game?
Honestly don't know how they were able to stay up for so long.
Would have been nice to see Apple focusing on shutting down services like these to protect their appstore ecosystem rather than using their patents to go after samsung, etc
Stealing $.99 games is clearly a right
Oh wow, the piracy / physical theft analogy. Looks like the first Slashdot troll of the year!
God, root, what is difference ?
I've never understood the desire to pirate apps iOS (or Android/WP) apps. If I'm paying over £500 for the device, then logic dictates that I have enough disposable income to pay the going rate for apps, particularly when most of the popular apps start at the ridiculously low price of 69p. Many of these are published by independent developers or small software firms, where every sale counts.
And seriously, who is so cheap that they would refuse to pay 69p for whatever game is popular at the moment?
Backup not found: (A)bort (R)etry (P)anic
>"Think of it as being able to walk into a fancy department store, steal anything you want, and never get caught."
a more accurate statement would be, it's like walking into a fancy store, pulling out a portable replicator, then making a duplicate of whatever you want.
If I had known this existed I might just have been tempted to get an iPhone. I just don't do paid software.
The article suggests Appcake on Cydia is a viable alternative.
Jailbreaking has never been about pirating apps, it's about making your device your own. Many jailbreak devs are likely cheering at the death of Installous as it has been a thorn in the side of the community for quite some time.
Now those former Installous users that were too smug in their free downloads to join the discussions about software prices will come down and add their crying to the hordes of brats that demand everything be free. All new games must be free to play, no more $60 discs for AAA titles, iPad/iPhone remakes of older, full-sized games can only cost $1 like all the crapware and Angry Birds, MMOs can never have subscription fees, nobody ever pays for MS Office or Photoshop anyway, why Netflix when there's BitTorrent, music should be pay what you think it's worth like Radiohead did, it's not theft therefore nobody is a victim.
Seriously, there's some justification for the above in specific situations, but as an overly broad brush stroke none of the above should ever be the only way of things or even necessarily the most common way of doing things. Some or even many programs can get away with it when they're built properly for those situations, but few of them can be applied across the board and expect to be successful. Some current pricing models do need to go, and those are pretty much exclusively the models that are designed to rip off the customer base in the same way that some free-to-play games are designed to rip off their customers with in-app purchases.
Where can I get it?
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
More like, "Think of it as being able to walk into a fancy department store, make a copy of anything you want, while leaving the original."
I have to admit, I won't pay for software either, but then again, I choose not to use it either so I'm not "stealing" it. The simple fact is that there is way too much free software that does 99% of what I need already and/or I really just DON'T need it and I'd rather spend my money on something else. Now, if a programmer puts in an "unobtrusive" advertisement in the program (e.g., top or bottom bar) I have no problem with this either, I realize everyone has to make money, and if it advertises things I am interested in I will even click those links. However, note that I will also have no loyalty to the program, something better comes along, I am hopping immediately.
To add another scary dimension to this, I have kids, and they all have computers and tablets, but they don't have a CC or will I give them mine, they don't have money, so for them, finding free (or trial or advertising model) software is the NORM to them, and I doubt that attitude will change once they get their first CC or Job either. My guess is that this young generation (those aged 13 now) will consider the idea of paying for software ridiculous and most will continue with the habits they learned as kid, to find a free version that will do the job good enough.... And since every highschool in my area has already implemented a computer programming course I expect by the time those kids hit 18+ they may have enough knowledge to put together their own software for specific needs as well, why pay when you can spend a few days to put something together yourself. Take quality, distribution, protection, and testing out of the question and it is amazing what can come out of a few day hackathon.....
Cricket sold me the phone for $400, and is about $15/mo cheaper than any provider (even with my work discount). Also, I don't have to worry about my kid running up a huge bandwidth bill. The service tends to be faster too, but that's just my area.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
This shows, once again, the folly of depending on centralized systems to manage the free flow of information. To spell it out: The operators are few, and human, and will therefore behave unpredictably, resulting in situations such as this shutdown.
Pirated software is chock-full of malware. Are modern users too obtuse to observe this simple fact? Consider that much of what you are paying for with proprietary software is the QA process from the software maker, and the assurance that the software you install won't turn your computer into some 4chan script kiddie's zombie. Anyone who would pay the kind of ca$h required to obtain and use a new iPhone shouldn't be trying to stick pirated apps on there. Pay your five bucks - don't be a dumbass. At least you get some level of confidence (however small) that the app you install isn't going to infect your device.
Or, a better alternative is to only use devices that allow you to install free, open source software, where the community of users and developers work together to carry out the QA process. Open source solutions exist for nearly every software function.
and yet somehow, to some people, it is still too much to pay.
If the developer doesn't want to take your money because you're still in high school, therefore under 18, therefore no credit card, then two bucks is too much to pay. If the developer doesn't want to take your money because you happen to have been born in the wrong country, then two bucks is too much to pay. In fact, that's where the expectation of free apps on Android came from: because Android Market launched with no paid apps in most countries, early developers had to make their programs ad-supported.
I thought because jailbreaking voided the warranty, it was more often done on devices whose warranty had already expired. I also thought that older devices were more likely to have a working jailbreak.
The simple fact is that there is way too much free software that does 99% of what I need already and/or I really just DON'T need it and I'd rather spend my money on something else.
Do video games as a rule fall into the "just DON'T need it" category to you?
I have kids, and they all have computers and tablets, but they don't have a CC or will I give them mine
Without a credit card, how did they buy the computers and tablets?
And since every highschool in my area has already implemented a computer programming course I expect by the time those kids hit 18+ they may have enough knowledge to put together their own software for specific needs as well
Until computer makers or operating system publishers start requiring the payment of an annual fee to run code you wrote on a device that you own. This is already the case for iDevices and for the Xbox 360 (where Apple got the idea).
we need 3rd party app stores not ones with Pirated apps but ones with say Content that is banded on other app stores, one that offer lower costs to dev's, one that let you have open-source software on them, ones with out API locks.
You can get firefox on Android but not on windows phone or ios.
"Think of it as being able to walk into a fancy department store, steal anything you want, and never get caught"
Thye figure if they keep using this analogy long enough, they will just hammer it intos
downloading a "pirate app" is not the same as stealing something from a department store.
Its the same as instead of buying something from a knockoff store, buying a rip off from china town.
I say, in return for this horrible misuse of the english language we associate the crimes of embezzlement, graft, corporate theft, theft by deception, false advertising, and illegally obtaining patents with rape and child molestation.
Its clear that Apple users do not want a walled garden, or limited to Apple store...or even that Apple does not have privacy, When an Apple developer attacked users recently, by naming and shaming them through their twitter posts, he also claimed a 75% piracy rate.
I'll amend my statement. "Average, non-technical computer users should assume that pirated software is chock-full of malware".
I can't tell you how often I would have had buyers remorse if I paid for an app that I tried first through installous. I see it so often in the reviews of so many apps, people regretting their decision, or demanding their money back. For me, it helped ensure that the developers who did a good job got paid, and those that put out a poor or deceptive product got squat. I'll be looking for a replacement...
Apptrackr is. Apptrackr shut down which made Installous pointless since that was the repository that Installous pulled from. As far as I understand they are/were owned by different people, but in either case, it's a case of Apptrackr being gone and the frontend made for it being useless.
Nobody cares what the CAPTCHA for your post was.
hence now apply your argument to the movie industry and MPAA around here. It really is sad around here that people complain and expect to be handed free, yet they put up the same old argument "well they're making too much money, crappy movies and greedy!!". People need to move on with your life because you couldn't get your free movie/game/app.
You got lucky to get a +5 Insightful, usually you get modded down into ovlivion if you argue against the status quo around here of free software/open source junkies. They mod you so low your comments don't even show anymore, its how they kind of filter out people they don't agree with but the readership around here is changing and the old guard is being pushed/modded out.
That's a fair point, but... how do you reconcile it with requiring that Apps be signed by an Apple-controlled developer key to prohibit malware from tampering with executable code, that Apps be denied to use private APIs that can potentially change without notice, or -- perhaps even more importantly in the future -- that Apps be denied to be bloated with spyware?
Think of it as being able to walk into a fancy department store, steal anything you want, and never get caught.
That's a poor analogy that has been used for decades now to describe software, movie and music piracy. It is not valid because shoplifting from a store involves taking a physical product that detracts from the store's and manufacturer's supply, resulting in an obvious loss. This is not the same with intangible digital copies, as there was no physical product and no loss of actual property or resources.
Who is to say, if piracy were not possible, that all the pirates would actually purchase the music/movies/software instead? I know for a fact that an instance of piracy is not the same as a lost sale. In my youth, I downloaded a lot of software and music because there was no possible way for me to afford to purchase most of it. (I still purchased the music I liked most, as I do to this day) Had Napster, IRC, etc. not been there for me, I simply would not have had those products, and would still not have and could not have purchased them. So while I am NOT advocating piracy, I think it is important to call bullshit on comparisons that equate a case of piracy to stealing from a "fancy department store." In the case of my own piracy, the net loss to the rights holders was zero, and many other "pirates" tell similar stories.
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
Not sure how the above comment, at a base score, is overrated.
Only on slashdot can you be modded overated for a pro-developer stance and for taking the argument "If I make something and chose to sell it for money, then people who take it without paying are negatively affecting said developer".
Remember, -1 mods are not synonymous with "I disagree".
Copying is not theft. Copying is not stealing. It is NOT the same thing.
Back in 1985 a man named Dowling was prosecuted for the Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property for selling infringing copies of Elvis records. U.S. Supreme Court in DOWLING v. UNITED STATES, 473 U.S. 207 (1985) http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&court=US&case=/us/473/207.html struck this down because copyright infringement is not theft. You have to deprive your victim of the item in order to steal it from them. Making copies doesn't deprive anyone of what is being copied, therefore its not theft.
Does it go on forever?
The term "theft" is the one that is not "legally" always associated with copying. The term "Piracy" has been associated with copying since the 1600's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement#Colloquial_terminology.
Turn on airplane mode
start up Installous and you can use it to manually install pirated apps you download onto your phone via Safari download manager in Cydia. Save IPA's to the Installous/download folder then when done downloading turn on airplane mode, turn on Installous go to download tab and install downloaded app, then turn off airplane mode and go back online
Or as alternatives there are new installous like apps now available.
VShare - go to this site and DL the app there. http://v.appvv.com/en/
Appcake- add this repo to Cydia and DL it after http://cydia.iphonecake.com/
Zeusmos - add this repo to Cydia and DL it after http://repo.uhelios.com/
BiteYourApple - add this repo to Cydia and DL iPASTORE http://repo.biteyourapple.net/
http://www.sinfuliphone.com/showthread.php?t=10012446
Except, unlike shoplifting, "stealing" a piece of software didn't deprive anyone of anything. Unless of course you've bought into the propaganda that "intellectual property" is real property.
Liberty in your lifetime
Thats like Demonoid going down, put such a dent on the torrents.. /sarcasm
-- I Dont Deserve A Sig I Have Bad Karma
"Those are seriously your only two MORAL choices. Everything else is equivocation about how cheap a bastard you are."
In most cases, especially for useless stuff like iPhone games, yes. But I can imagine a case where violating a person or a company's so-called "intellectual property" is the MORE moral thing to do.
Imagine someone has developed a drug that can cure a zombie epidemic, and imagine that that person charged $1M for the cure. Would you pay up? Or would you just acquire one sample by foul means or fair and reverse engineer the formula? A less frivolous, more realistic scenario: some 3rd World countries, such as India, have passed laws allowing for the manufacture of "generic" versions of drugs for common diseases like high-blood pressure. Not all of these drugs are based on lapsed patents.
I don't have a Google link for examples of such technically "illegal" drugs, but just look back at last year's anti-ACTA protests. IIRC, one of the provisions of the proposed treaty dealed with the confiscation of "counterfeit" drugs simply because they were not manufactured by the company that owned or had a license to the relevant drug patents. The provision covered shipment of drugs that were merely in transit to a third country and not destined for the market of the country that seized the shipment.
Great news for the offshore. Charge every downloading American .99 cents, give .70 cents to offshore semi-cheap developers, and give .20 cents to the apple store and leave .09 cents for developers before taxes and before apple charges developers $20 to withdraw the money. Just great. Good thinking. When all this pirating ends criminals will not feel satisfied and will start robbing and stealing in real life again and crime rates will rise again. Americans waste too much time playing games and not learning anyways.
"Think of it as being able to walk into a fancy department store, steal anything you want, and never get caught."
That might be accurate if you were able to walk into a department store, steal anything you want, yet the inventory never changes. I really wish people would stop comparing theft that represents a physical loss with theft that only represents the potential for a missed sale on a zero-replacement cost product.
Can you imagine the insanity that will be created once we figure out matter replication? Will they try to send people to jail for saying "Computer, Porsche 911, Red." Do they honestly think that if we had the ability to do that, that it would represent a loss? I can't afford a fucking Porsche, but if there was a machine I could walk up to and replicate one, I'd most certainly do it..and I wouldn't feel like I'd walked into a car dealership and stolen something that someone had put effort into producing, yet they'd still be going nuts trying to make it seem like I'd done just that.
A Star Trek episode where Picard gets a cease and desist letter from the DMCA for stealing all that Earl Grey tea would be great, and might shed some light on how utterly stupid some of these business practices are.
Except it's not stealing, it's copying. Until understanding the difference, /thread.
I have been writing software for many years now, been involved in the design and planning stages of lots of projects big and small. People who are not in the software industry find it hard to believe how expensive it is to write software. It takes lots of hours, lots of skills and lots of coffee. The programmers/designers/analysts/grapics artists all have to be paid for their time (it's called a salary). Then there is office space, electricity, furniture, computers, servers, etc. A top end server to run a popular website can cost millions, and they are usually in a server farm so there is more than one. Some of the bigger projects take years to complete, even with a large team. Credits in games now run like credits in a movie (long ass list). Pay for your software, it costs money to make it (yes even crazy birds) and the people who make it should be compensated for their time and effort. Sure I pirate the odd program and game, but only for programs I am going to use once and then never use again, which does not make my pirating right, it does make me a thief, no matter how you try to rationalize it.
There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
No... think of it as looking over someone's shoulder at a book full of numbers and then writing a few of those numbers down in your own notebook.
install0us is still alive!!!
hackulo just closed there cydia repo.
who writes this crap ..... sack them
...in this summary at the end there that we are provoked a response for people to discuss. Congrats /. your puppet master wins again. If I were a conspiracy theories nut, I would of thought that /. was in league with the anti-pirating organizations and would dox all the people who are speak up for piracy.
For one, it is not available in his region. That it is available elsewhere does not mean it is available to him.
How does it "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts" to make a work unavailable in a given region?
Did it ever occur to you that perhaps they do want his money, but that they need to modify their app to comply with local laws?
If this is the case, why hasn't the author published the reason that the work would need to be modified on the author's web site?
Or maybe they're investing the time, energy, and finances to offer his country a proper localization of the app?
Or maybe they're not. In a lot of these cases, the copyright owner has announced an explicit lack of any plan to bring a particular work to a particular region.
The problem, however, is that we cannot easily discern those cases from one another, and if it is a case of the release simply being delayed for some reason, that justification would not be valid.
Rights come with responsibilities, so why not add a copyresponsibility? I propose that if a copyrighted work is not published in a given country within five years of its having been published in another country, the copyright owner would lose the privilege to ban imports of copies of that work that were lawfully made in another country. If the work has to be customized to comply with local censorship laws, those local laws can be enforced against importers. If the copyright owner has plans to make an official localization, why can't it do so within five years? I chose five years as the length of a typical video game console generation, and I chose it to be far longer than the staggered regional release of U.S. films and television shows.
ok, lets say i take your identity cards, your credit cards, your checking account information, your email password, all the data on your computer, and copy it and put it on a website with your name as the url. also all the info on your cellphone, all the pictures, every text youve ever sent, every electronic store purchase youve ever made... and on and on and on.
then would you start to believe in private property? ??
i mean, after all, who are you to stop me from using your information? if you dont want it out there, dont have any cards, dont use email, and dont use a phone. its about freedom.