This is a good example of what could be done though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4drucg1A6Xk
While basing a film on a videogame is rarely a good idea I would like to think that the source material has enough in both setting and game mechanics that it would make an interesting feature.
I agree with the above comments on the misuse of the word evil. Critiquing Microsoft vs Apple, or OSX, Windows, and Linux is ultimately fairly futile given that each provides very different usability to different customer bases. Having used computers running all three systems, I would say that they are all very good and useful at what they do. Apple provides a very simple, user friendly, highly compatible interface which is quite stable. Linux gives amazing access to everything, and in that regard is great for people who know what they are doing - coders, web designers and the like - there is a massive amount of freedom, but for people unfamiliar to the platform there is a steep learning curve, and there is more work to have devices integrate. Windows sits between the two, offering a good amount of flexibility and access to the core systems, but still an accessible user interface. It does have it's security, stability, and bloatware issues though.
Regarding the 'evil' side of things, both Apple and Microsoft have some quite ruthless and sometimes ethically questionable business tactics, but this is different from evil, and not that different from any number of multinational corporations. It just seems like Apple is moving in a direction that fans of Apple don't like (myself included), and therefore undeservedly earns the 'evil empire' badge.
Has no-one else noticed how this far too similar to a wacky super-villain plot? A giant magnet, capable of destroying all life... Or, with a little creative engineering, tearing out all the fillings of the Swiss...
Sorry - perhaps got off on the wrong foot. I simply think that there are a huge number of creative projects - public as well as private - that would not have happened without software piracy. I think that if someone makes money using your software then that money should go to the developers, definitely, however there are many people who contribute to non-profit community projects etc. with the aid of pirated software. Where this does not have an impact on the profit of the developer I cannot see how it is wrong, and where people are contributing back into the community I cannot see how it is leeching of the work of others.
Just a question for any software developers out there -
does your pay go down when people use the software you develop without paying for it?
Are your developer friends forced out of work?
Do the companies you work for go out of business?
Can you say for certain that the people "stealing" your software would have bought it anyway?
If you answered NO to these four questions, then where is the problem? You get paid, your company does, everyone stays in work, and many people who couldn't afford the software (and sometimes it is well out of the price range of people who earn $200-$300 a week - ableton live for instance costs about $650)get to try it out.
As those people get richer, they are 0.25% more likely to buy the software for every 1% increase in wealth, so by letting people - who would normally just overlook the software as a luxury - use it, you have more probability they will buy yours in the future.
oh... and a study has found no correlation between music piracy and a drop in sales. This is one of several to do so.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070212-8813.html
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This is a good example of what could be done though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4drucg1A6Xk While basing a film on a videogame is rarely a good idea I would like to think that the source material has enough in both setting and game mechanics that it would make an interesting feature.
I agree with the above comments on the misuse of the word evil. Critiquing Microsoft vs Apple, or OSX, Windows, and Linux is ultimately fairly futile given that each provides very different usability to different customer bases. Having used computers running all three systems, I would say that they are all very good and useful at what they do. Apple provides a very simple, user friendly, highly compatible interface which is quite stable. Linux gives amazing access to everything, and in that regard is great for people who know what they are doing - coders, web designers and the like - there is a massive amount of freedom, but for people unfamiliar to the platform there is a steep learning curve, and there is more work to have devices integrate. Windows sits between the two, offering a good amount of flexibility and access to the core systems, but still an accessible user interface. It does have it's security, stability, and bloatware issues though. Regarding the 'evil' side of things, both Apple and Microsoft have some quite ruthless and sometimes ethically questionable business tactics, but this is different from evil, and not that different from any number of multinational corporations. It just seems like Apple is moving in a direction that fans of Apple don't like (myself included), and therefore undeservedly earns the 'evil empire' badge.
Has no-one else noticed how this far too similar to a wacky super-villain plot? A giant magnet, capable of destroying all life... Or, with a little creative engineering, tearing out all the fillings of the Swiss...
Sorry - perhaps got off on the wrong foot. I simply think that there are a huge number of creative projects - public as well as private - that would not have happened without software piracy. I think that if someone makes money using your software then that money should go to the developers, definitely, however there are many people who contribute to non-profit community projects etc. with the aid of pirated software. Where this does not have an impact on the profit of the developer I cannot see how it is wrong, and where people are contributing back into the community I cannot see how it is leeching of the work of others.
Just a question for any software developers out there - does your pay go down when people use the software you develop without paying for it? Are your developer friends forced out of work? Do the companies you work for go out of business? Can you say for certain that the people "stealing" your software would have bought it anyway? If you answered NO to these four questions, then where is the problem? You get paid, your company does, everyone stays in work, and many people who couldn't afford the software (and sometimes it is well out of the price range of people who earn $200-$300 a week - ableton live for instance costs about $650)get to try it out. As those people get richer, they are 0.25% more likely to buy the software for every 1% increase in wealth, so by letting people - who would normally just overlook the software as a luxury - use it, you have more probability they will buy yours in the future. oh... and a study has found no correlation between music piracy and a drop in sales. This is one of several to do so. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070212-8813.html