So you don't understand that at best I am performing copyright infringement and there is no such thing as physical theft of an intangible object? Have you ever heard of "intangible theft" in court? No, and you never will in this lifetime or the next. Go ahead, keep labeling it piracy. I know how ignorant you are with that.
Go back to working for a media company, as it's clear you do. Calling someone a thieving fanboy shows you don't know anything about where technology is or is headed.
I buy only games that I warrant worth my money. I didn't say I reverse engineer them myself, I'm just good at find people/software that can do so for me:) The crafty people in the world are those who can find and recognize folks smarter than themselves:) If I want to try a game out, I'll usually try it at an EBGames or something first to see if I like it. How many do I still hold originals for? 4. How many did I buy? I lost track, but I can say that it's more than 4, obviously. However, would I download the game to try it or even if I liked it but not enough to warrant paying for it? Absolutely. I have no incentive not to.
Also, I hate consoles. Lived with it from oldschool atari through PS1, and my family got PS2s which I never bothered with myself. I really don't value something that I can't do what I want with as I see fit...tinkering with a PS3 or other device has both legal rammifications and is also a major pain in the ass (they do tend to cripple it quite a bit to prevent "piracy").
I don't know how I feel about your idea of lock-in. Since the costs are rather prohibitive I would say that yes, you are locked in. What you're referring to with single branded products that must be together isn't lock in, thats a monopoly.
Now as far as your argument against legitimate reasons, who says that the cost of a copy you purchase from (insert retailer name here) actually goes back to the developer? I'm sure you know where the money trail goes, and by the time you're buying it retail that money has already been allocated as well. Why would I buy a second copy of something just because it deteriorates? That's a waste of money. If I enjoy a game that much I shouldn't have to pay a "pirate tax" to get a double sided DVD/bluray disc to copy a game in its entirety. Additionally, why can't I back up a copy? Since when is such an illegitimate intent? I'm sure you remember the whole VHS vs Betamax debate.
The licensing thing, I suppose there are two sides to every coin. Everyone knows how RAND is not RAND to anyone other than the license holder regardless of if the licensee feels otherwise. However, I do agree that the cost difference of a huge established business vs new customer trying to break into the same field are a world of difference.
Perhaps the only thing I would feel like bringing up with your piracy argument is the study done recently by (I forgot the game company) where they found out that whether there was DRM or not the same amount of copies of a game was pirated, approximately. Not that "pirate" is even an appropriate or accurate term, you know. Nor is thievery, and you know it.
Marketshare has been an excuse for a long time. It's not the real reason they pick a specific OS. I'm sure when people start to actually dig deeper they'll see that it's more about where the vulnerabilities are laid out and how quickly they get fixed.
It's not that MS is popular. It's that you can probably take a 3 year old vulnerability and still exploit to today. If Mac had a crapload of vulnerabilities of that style, it would be a bigger target for virus writers.
Can someone please explain in layman's terms how this results in a decision, for those of us who aren't quantum mathematicians? I somewhat get the whole "indecision results in a decision" thing but seems to be a hard idea to wrap my brain around so to speak.
No, backups have nothing to do with my issue. I have none. I don't buy consoles, I buy PC's, and I run playstation 3/XBox360 via PC and reverse engineer my games as necessary (usually by finding existing software out there, I don't do it myself) to get them to run on it. I personally, have no qualms. Can't say the same for most people though.
I do appreciate the debate. Firstly, format is a form of consumer control. If you could only use X brand product for X purpose instead of X brand product any way you want, what does that sum up other than a lock-in? Lack of options is exactly what DRM truly stands for. It's not really "DRM" its more like "lack of choice/control". It's not longer DRM of a product but DRM of a consumer themselves. Format lock sounds like a small deal but it's the reason there can't be another company that makes better (possibly faster, different features, etc) versions of a console. It kills competition. Or do you not remember the SNES days prior when there were systems better than the OEM made because these locks didn't exist?
There are legitimate reasons other than accidental with which to make backups. Another is just flat out normal use. CDs, DVDs, etc do tend to wear over time from a multitude of reasons.
If your Nvidia graphics card in your PC goes bad, you can replace it, or do business with other companies. There is competition. Also, you can do it yourself. Not all companies get stupid PS3 firmware fiasco, but only with MS and apple are you stuck with what they've done until it's fixed. With other OS's you can regress back to other versions. Or shall I remind you of all the WGA problems that still exist due to changing hardware, etc?
With a console system, who else are you going to go? Nobody. They have a monopoly on every dollar you spend. You can't transfer games across platforms. Sure, you can keep it next gen and keep yourself locked into the same product, but not for more than a generation or two of that same system. That's how locked down it is. They don't need starforce, in purchasing one you signed up for a physical ball and chain DRM that is stronger and worse than starforce. Hell, you can't even choose your input device for games on a console. You are stuck with whatever they configure the game for! Try using a keyboard for GTA, or for old nintendo games on the wii. Oh wait, we have roms for that.
Hell, even cars are less locked down than consoles.
Console games "just work" the same way an apple does.
Games get broken all the time, have glitches, errors, etc. The only difference is XBOX360/PS3/wii are slightly less locked than their previous versions so you can fix some of that via software updates.
It cannot be reliably enforced. If there is a key, in any form, it can be cracked and someone can figure it out using a few copies and a keygen.
Trying to hide things in the code is a failure in all programming (you cannot hide things in the code to anyone who even knows stuff as basic as well, basic or pascal).
Meanwhile, nothing new, just fud and "oh my god piracy" spewing. Having a system that triggers when someone tries to leave a store with something stolen has been around for 20-25+ years. This isn't a creative idea at all.
Well yes, people are tied down. TCO is not something very accurate all the time, though.
This is why adoption of open source in businesses has not been as fast as it could be.
That doesn't mean however that businesses are blind to the option of not paying licensing fees and being able to fix software with their own dev team/make improvements aka using open source.
Your solution is a 1 step easy fix. It's called open office. open office is compatible with all MS stuff through 2007 and can save back into.doc as well with no changes. So you upgraded for nothing. As about 20 people have pointed out.
This, is why you have techie friends and don't try to do shit yourself if you don't know what you're doing: because you're wasting your money and will think things are problems that aren't.
Well, there is one side to this law that works out well.
Since it basically lets websites define their own criminal law, it will now be illegal for police/riaa/etc to go on a website that says "you agree you are not etc etc etc" meaning basically online piracy was just deemed legal.
So on one hand, this is completely fucked up. On the other though.
Well, I agree that they will try to shove this into the contracts.
However, I think that even the artists are going to say "wait, what?" when they see this. They may be stupid enough to not read fine print about fractions that they get of CD sales, but they won't be stupid enough to understand "I am going to lose my touring money" because thats how they started in the first place.
Or there's this "format the hard drive" thing and recover the data after a quick format (incredibly easy). Bios password locks are just as easy to bypass.
Really, this does nothing but enable you to be screwed if someone figures out the number.
Slashdot Mirror
So you don't understand that at best I am performing copyright infringement and there is no such thing as physical theft of an intangible object? Have you ever heard of "intangible theft" in court? No, and you never will in this lifetime or the next. Go ahead, keep labeling it piracy. I know how ignorant you are with that.
Go back to working for a media company, as it's clear you do. Calling someone a thieving fanboy shows you don't know anything about where technology is or is headed.
I buy only games that I warrant worth my money. I didn't say I reverse engineer them myself, I'm just good at find people /software that can do so for me :) The crafty people in the world are those who can find and recognize folks smarter than themselves :) If I want to try a game out, I'll usually try it at an EBGames or something first to see if I like it. How many do I still hold originals for? 4. How many did I buy? I lost track, but I can say that it's more than 4, obviously. However, would I download the game to try it or even if I liked it but not enough to warrant paying for it? Absolutely. I have no incentive not to.
Also, I hate consoles. Lived with it from oldschool atari through PS1, and my family got PS2s which I never bothered with myself. I really don't value something that I can't do what I want with as I see fit...tinkering with a PS3 or other device has both legal rammifications and is also a major pain in the ass (they do tend to cripple it quite a bit to prevent "piracy").
I don't know how I feel about your idea of lock-in. Since the costs are rather prohibitive I would say that yes, you are locked in. What you're referring to with single branded products that must be together isn't lock in, thats a monopoly.
Now as far as your argument against legitimate reasons, who says that the cost of a copy you purchase from (insert retailer name here) actually goes back to the developer? I'm sure you know where the money trail goes, and by the time you're buying it retail that money has already been allocated as well. Why would I buy a second copy of something just because it deteriorates? That's a waste of money. If I enjoy a game that much I shouldn't have to pay a "pirate tax" to get a double sided DVD/bluray disc to copy a game in its entirety. Additionally, why can't I back up a copy? Since when is such an illegitimate intent? I'm sure you remember the whole VHS vs Betamax debate.
The licensing thing, I suppose there are two sides to every coin. Everyone knows how RAND is not RAND to anyone other than the license holder regardless of if the licensee feels otherwise. However, I do agree that the cost difference of a huge established business vs new customer trying to break into the same field are a world of difference.
Perhaps the only thing I would feel like bringing up with your piracy argument is the study done recently by (I forgot the game company) where they found out that whether there was DRM or not the same amount of copies of a game was pirated, approximately. Not that "pirate" is even an appropriate or accurate term, you know. Nor is thievery, and you know it.
Marketshare has been an excuse for a long time. It's not the real reason they pick a specific OS. I'm sure when people start to actually dig deeper they'll see that it's more about where the vulnerabilities are laid out and how quickly they get fixed.
It's not that MS is popular. It's that you can probably take a 3 year old vulnerability and still exploit to today. If Mac had a crapload of vulnerabilities of that style, it would be a bigger target for virus writers.
Can someone please explain in layman's terms how this results in a decision, for those of us who aren't quantum mathematicians? I somewhat get the whole "indecision results in a decision" thing but seems to be a hard idea to wrap my brain around so to speak.
No, backups have nothing to do with my issue. I have none. I don't buy consoles, I buy PC's, and I run playstation 3/XBox360 via PC and reverse engineer my games as necessary (usually by finding existing software out there, I don't do it myself) to get them to run on it. I personally, have no qualms. Can't say the same for most people though.
I do appreciate the debate. Firstly, format is a form of consumer control. If you could only use X brand product for X purpose instead of X brand product any way you want, what does that sum up other than a lock-in? Lack of options is exactly what DRM truly stands for. It's not really "DRM" its more like "lack of choice/control". It's not longer DRM of a product but DRM of a consumer themselves. Format lock sounds like a small deal but it's the reason there can't be another company that makes better (possibly faster, different features, etc) versions of a console. It kills competition. Or do you not remember the SNES days prior when there were systems better than the OEM made because these locks didn't exist?
There are legitimate reasons other than accidental with which to make backups. Another is just flat out normal use. CDs, DVDs, etc do tend to wear over time from a multitude of reasons.
Here's the diff.
If your Nvidia graphics card in your PC goes bad, you can replace it, or do business with other companies. There is competition. Also, you can do it yourself. Not all companies get stupid PS3 firmware fiasco, but only with MS and apple are you stuck with what they've done until it's fixed. With other OS's you can regress back to other versions. Or shall I remind you of all the WGA problems that still exist due to changing hardware, etc?
With a console system, who else are you going to go? Nobody. They have a monopoly on every dollar you spend. You can't transfer games across platforms. Sure, you can keep it next gen and keep yourself locked into the same product, but not for more than a generation or two of that same system. That's how locked down it is. They don't need starforce, in purchasing one you signed up for a physical ball and chain DRM that is stronger and worse than starforce. Hell, you can't even choose your input device for games on a console. You are stuck with whatever they configure the game for! Try using a keyboard for GTA, or for old nintendo games on the wii. Oh wait, we have roms for that.
Hell, even cars are less locked down than consoles.
Console games "just work" the same way an apple does.
Games get broken all the time, have glitches, errors, etc. The only difference is XBOX360/PS3/wii are slightly less locked than their previous versions so you can fix some of that via software updates.
Examples of console fiascos:
physical (xbox red ring crap)
software: PS3 update problems : http://www.technewsworld.com/story/63690.html?wlc=1228202794
Remember, "just works" also means "you can't fix the problem/nobody outside of the manufacturer can", as well.
It won't.
It cannot be reliably enforced. If there is a key, in any form, it can be cracked and someone can figure it out using a few copies and a keygen.
Trying to hide things in the code is a failure in all programming (you cannot hide things in the code to anyone who even knows stuff as basic as well, basic or pascal).
Meanwhile, nothing new, just fud and "oh my god piracy" spewing. Having a system that triggers when someone tries to leave a store with something stolen has been around for 20-25+ years. This isn't a creative idea at all.
Consoles are the ultimate locked down DRM. Ever tried to make a back-up copy of a console game?
Well yes, people are tied down. TCO is not something very accurate all the time, though.
This is why adoption of open source in businesses has not been as fast as it could be.
That doesn't mean however that businesses are blind to the option of not paying licensing fees and being able to fix software with their own dev team/make improvements aka using open source.
Your solution is a 1 step easy fix. It's called open office. open office is compatible with all MS stuff through 2007 and can save back into .doc as well with no changes. So you upgraded for nothing. As about 20 people have pointed out.
This, is why you have techie friends and don't try to do shit yourself if you don't know what you're doing: because you're wasting your money and will think things are problems that aren't.
Well, there is one side to this law that works out well.
Since it basically lets websites define their own criminal law, it will now be illegal for police/riaa/etc to go on a website that says "you agree you are not etc etc etc" meaning basically online piracy was just deemed legal.
So on one hand, this is completely fucked up. On the other though.
Still won't be vista capable.
Well, I agree that they will try to shove this into the contracts.
However, I think that even the artists are going to say "wait, what?" when they see this. They may be stupid enough to not read fine print about fractions that they get of CD sales, but they won't be stupid enough to understand "I am going to lose my touring money" because thats how they started in the first place.
I love how they claim that they'll make their money from concert tickets, which is where the artist makes the majority and not the label.
Whoops!
Make sure this gets mainstream press coverage. Be sure to sensationalize it and compare it to the RIAA. Watch them back down quickly.
That sounds pretty contradictory.
Agreed :)
Or there's this "format the hard drive" thing and recover the data after a quick format (incredibly easy). Bios password locks are just as easy to bypass.
Really, this does nothing but enable you to be screwed if someone figures out the number.
I don't think the recovery is the issue here.
Or you could try having a sense of humor as the OP did. *WHOOSH*
Sounds like you weren't watching the movie then. Maybe your problem was a crappy movie?
Are you sure? It wasn't marked Vista capable.
heh an interesting aspect of the name I didn't think of. Maybe we should have a browser named journey, at least it'd be better than the band.
If I understand right (not trying to straw man this) you're saying our choices are ruled by enterprise or give up the choice to rule?
I'd say that contrasts with all modern society?
What are you talking about? You can uninstall chrome, and you know what I mean by that comment.