I disconnected mine from the phone line when I switched from BT to cable about 1 month before the 12 month period was up and have never heard from them, so you might get away with doing that, but don't count on it.
Sky wrote to a colleague of mine, insisting that he stump up the extra charges, as his Sky box had been unplugged for 2 months before the 12 month period expired. He tried to argue against it, but Sky's terms and conditions nail you right to the wall. He ended up paying.
Heh, you're obviously not hardcore enough, mate. Try running it on Solaris 10 and watch it crash (by which I mean the entire application shuts down without warning) whenever you access any ASP pages.
Perhaps I didn't put it simply enough. I wasn't making a judgement, I merely meant that if you act in a certain way towards other people, then you have no right to complain when they act that way back to you.
I must say, that sounds a bit mercenary. I would never charge for the DVD/CDs I give people (they cost practically nothing anyway) and I certainly wouldn't pay for one with pirated material on it either. As for time, well the time is surely spent searching for and downloading the material for yourself? Additional DVD copies for others take seconds to produce and surely you get similar DVDs from friends and colleagues for free as well.
So If you really are only downloading material for others and charging for your time and materials, then I'm afraid you are one of those pirates the BBC article is referring to and you should perhaps consider your position.
I ranted about this sort of thing on my blog recently. What's happening here is simply that companies are failing to supply what consumers
want.
For example (and to wander ever so slightly off-topic), consider the recent debacle over the leak of Star Wars Episode III onto the newsgroups.
The only legitimate way to see that film was in a cinema/movie theatre, where one must endure people chattering away, texting their friends, munching on their popcorn. Not to mention that cinema projection technology is really showing its age now and you have to watch the whole thing in 24 frames-per-second stutter-vision! I HATE AND DREAD going to the cinema with a passion for these reason.
Many people now have huge widescreen TVs at home with Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS sound systems that can display a picture at an effective 100 frames per second (well, I have anyway). Suddenly all of the disadvantages of the movie theate have gone, but now you can sit and enjoy a beer or two while you watch your movie (and pause it when you need to pee)!
The current market model is old fashioned and needs to change to fill the gap between what people want and what companies will provide. Here's an idea. What doesn't the Lucasfilm website allow people to download all their movies, but in a format that is a little less than DVD quality?
As a side note, I wasn't originally going to see Episode III at the cinema at all, given the dreadful prequels that preceeded it. After downloading and watching the first 20 minutes of the famous timecode version, I changed my mind and ventured to the cinema. I still had to endure children in my row rustling sweet wrappers and constantly getting up to go to the loo. And the opening sequences gave me headaches, as I am used to the 100Hz display off my home TV. And the sound was rather weak too, despite being in a THX certified theatre. Since then, I have downloaded far better quality versions of this film and will continue to watch them at home in peace!
...You think the morals and customs by which you live are natural laws, and that there is something defective with anyone who does not follow them. While you and I do agree that certain behaviours are despicable... that they are atleast not behaviour we ourselves would engage in, I am willing to accept that fact that what I and the culture I was brought up in consider 'right' are not universals.
There is however one "natural" universal law - that it is illogical (and hypocritical) to act in a way that you would not wish to see reciprocated.
Therefore, if you steal from others, you effectively waive your right to complain when others steal from you.
You should remember this the next time someone, for example, breaks into your house and steals your posessions. Because then you will know what it feels like to be stolen from. If this does not bother you then, by all means, keep on stealing!
No matter how you put it - Software piracy is not theft.
Look up the word "theft" in the dictionary and see how that description matches with what you are doing.
You should find that "theft" is defined as "taking the property or services of another without consent" or similar.
Do NoWares Corp et al consent to you downloading their software for free? No. Ergo, the crime you are committing is theft.
Slashdot Mirror
I disconnected mine from the phone line when I switched from BT to cable about 1 month before the 12 month period was up and have never heard from them, so you might get away with doing that, but don't count on it. Sky wrote to a colleague of mine, insisting that he stump up the extra charges, as his Sky box had been unplugged for 2 months before the 12 month period expired. He tried to argue against it, but Sky's terms and conditions nail you right to the wall. He ended up paying.
Heh, you're obviously not hardcore enough, mate. Try running it on Solaris 10 and watch it crash (by which I mean the entire application shuts down without warning) whenever you access any ASP pages.
Yay... so now all the Windows users go back to being held to ransom by Norton, McAffee et al.
I think of all the ways to go out, being blown up in an instant would be my preference to a car crash or being murdered in some grisly way.
A common misconception...
Copyright Infringement == Theft of Intellectual Property
Read http://www.chards.co.uk/ebaycomplaint3921235886nor mawright.html about theft of online images for use in eBay auctions.
I'm sorry but "Copyright Infringement" is synonymous with "Theft of Intellectual Property" under bother US and UK law at the very least.
Which is exactly what you are doing when you download software that is intended to be paid for!
But I do agree with your point - theft of copyright would imply stealing the actual copyright itself, not the materials protected by.
Perhaps I didn't put it simply enough. I wasn't making a judgement, I merely meant that if you act in a certain way towards other people, then you have no right to complain when they act that way back to you.
I must say, that sounds a bit mercenary. I would never charge for the DVD/CDs I give people (they cost practically nothing anyway) and I certainly wouldn't pay for one with pirated material on it either. As for time, well the time is surely spent searching for and downloading the material for yourself? Additional DVD copies for others take seconds to produce and surely you get similar DVDs from friends and colleagues for free as well.
So If you really are only downloading material for others and charging for your time and materials, then I'm afraid you are one of those pirates the BBC article is referring to and you should perhaps consider your position.
I ranted about this sort of thing on my blog recently. What's happening here is simply that companies are failing to supply what consumers want.
For example (and to wander ever so slightly off-topic), consider the recent debacle over the leak of Star Wars Episode III onto the newsgroups.
The only legitimate way to see that film was in a cinema/movie theatre, where one must endure people chattering away, texting their friends, munching on their popcorn. Not to mention that cinema projection technology is really showing its age now and you have to watch the whole thing in 24 frames-per-second stutter-vision! I HATE AND DREAD going to the cinema with a passion for these reason.
Many people now have huge widescreen TVs at home with Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS sound systems that can display a picture at an effective 100 frames per second (well, I have anyway). Suddenly all of the disadvantages of the movie theate have gone, but now you can sit and enjoy a beer or two while you watch your movie (and pause it when you need to pee)!
The current market model is old fashioned and needs to change to fill the gap between what people want and what companies will provide. Here's an idea. What doesn't the Lucasfilm website allow people to download all their movies, but in a format that is a little less than DVD quality?
As a side note, I wasn't originally going to see Episode III at the cinema at all, given the dreadful prequels that preceeded it. After downloading and watching the first 20 minutes of the famous timecode version, I changed my mind and ventured to the cinema. I still had to endure children in my row rustling sweet wrappers and constantly getting up to go to the loo. And the opening sequences gave me headaches, as I am used to the 100Hz display off my home TV. And the sound was rather weak too, despite being in a THX certified theatre. Since then, I have downloaded far better quality versions of this film and will continue to watch them at home in peace!
There is however one "natural" universal law - that it is illogical (and hypocritical) to act in a way that you would not wish to see reciprocated.
Therefore, if you steal from others, you effectively waive your right to complain when others steal from you.
You should remember this the next time someone, for example, breaks into your house and steals your posessions. Because then you will know what it feels like to be stolen from. If this does not bother you then, by all means, keep on stealing!