I agree completely. Most Pocket PC software is in many ways so inexpensive I feel I should be paying more.
P.S. I love my Pocket Informant!
__________________ breley | Aximsite/Mobility Site Review Staff, Administrator | Judge, Smartphone & Pocket PC Best Software Awards 2008 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Does anybody know what website he was talking about? ;)
Just kidding, lets support developers, for some it might be a little good expensive with all the good apps there are around, but read the different MyPDAS and use the evaluation versions to try out the programs...
I think its right for people to buy from people who try to make a living off there software that they created them selfs but for microsoft to rip off everyone with Vista being £120 and more for the top editions it just makes me think well why should i work to buy software that is way overpriced and then to not have a guarantee that it will work correctly and efficiently without problems. Microsoft make something like $500 an hour the last i heard but its bound to be alot more than that, So why do they overprice Vista i will not buy Vista untill it is less than £60 and it probably wont even be priced at that so i will not buy it. When you use software that is created by a small company or one person it is pure robbery to download it illegally.
Ok, yes, the RIAA, MS, and others definitely have some issues, especially with RIAA using illegal methods to fight "illegal" downloading, but RIAA is another story in itself.
That being said, those things are ABSOLUTELY NO JUSTIFICATION of pirating software...none whatsoever. The very argument begs the question: If it is so bad, why on earth would you steal it and use it anyway? If a MS product is so lousy, here's an idea.....DON'T USE IT....BUY/USE SOMETHING ELSE AND LET THE MARKET DECIDE THEIR FATE. That's what capitalism and the free market are all about. Sheesh, you can often get better for free from the open source community than what MS doles out anyway. If you really must have it, then it is worth paying for. There really is no "third side" to the matter.
The thing is, especially with smaller companies, when you refuse to pay for the use of a software product, it's often like taking food from their or their families' mouths. If you came into my house and started taking food or possessions from my wife or kids, I would shoot you, and many of you would do the same without hesitation. So, how is it so acceptable because you aren't looking your "victim" in the face? Is every piece of pirated software a lost sale? Maybe not, but that is hard to distill and quantify. Basically, when it is pirated, it's NOT paid for and it has to be looked at as lost revenue.
Being a CS student, I have come to understand that a LOT of work goes into creating software. It's not just typing some lines into a compiler and voila! software! Not at all. In fact, a lot of work has already been done before a letter of code is ever typed in many cases. Software is ENGINEERED, not merely written. If you don't believe me, try it sometime.
Once upon a time, I did indeed use software that I had not paid for. While those days are long past for me, I regret and am ashamed of doing it. Why? Because I came to understand what I was doing to someone else. The fact that it is so easy does not make it OK. You may call me a hypocrite for my present rant. So be it. The truth of my words remain whether I am a hypocrite or not.
__________________
Sean
Pride is the consummate nemesis of clarity of mind.
I agree about vista, certainly I'm not going to pay twice as much for the using it because i live in the UK. (if you can find the top edition in a retail box for 120gbp then let me know). XP works fine for me.
And if i really 'need' a new OS then linux looks like a good move for me.
Retail Vista Ultimate is at £300 for the complete one not the upgrade edition. Linux is great for server OS's but on the home use side its not great if other people in your house are used to windows and not having to use command line to do tasks.
Wollombi, If there was an alternative to windows i would be using it but because there is no other OS that has support for games (other than linux with an emulator) i want to use windows. I have made little programs in C but thats just me not a huge group of teams, one team doing the start bar, another doing the shutdown options etc.
Sadly there are many people who want something for nothing in this world. To them software piracy is not theft and no amount of threats or sanctions will put them off.
I'm sure many people here remember when FAST was set up in the 80's and the announcements they made about ending software theft - it never happened, certainly not on this side of the water. Their successor, FACT, seem equally underfunded and unsupported and really are toothless against big-time fraud.
I think that it is time for developers to look at new means of protecting their packages. Alex says:
We don't use activation (we've thought about it), we don't lock our license to your user-name, we don't do anything to make licensing hard.
Maybe it's time developers did because genuine users would have no problems in meeting these checks. As I am not a developer I have no idea as to how practical / expensive this would be, all I know is that if piracy could somehow be curtailed then the end product that I use would develop quicker and there would be less "feature requests" and more features.
I fully agree with Alex. When I first started using PDAs, I used only built in ones or freewares, as I could not really afford some of them. Then they had sales and it was so inexpensive that I must buy them. I've never regretted buying those I needed -- PI, SKTools, Tweaks 2K2, Memmaid, Textmaker. They were bought during their sales which slash a big amount off retail price. I keep them updated by buying the upgrade, which are inexpensive also. I really find no reason to use pirated softwares. After all, there are freewares that are quite good -- TCPMP, Magic Button, Vbar, GSFinders+ etc.
I am all for supporting the software people. After all I do not want anyone to steal my things either.
Alex, keep up the good work. PI is a must have software for me. :approve:
As an IT professional I am fairly required or at least expected by my peers and coworkers to know how to use every program imaginable.
Over the course of years I have "experimented" with virtually every major program imaginable and many of the more common lesser programs as well. However, my NEED of the program personally is in many cases non-existant... How many people really need Photoshop at home? As such, most of them never last beyond a month or so.
That being said, my personal machines typically run only freeware utilities and many freeware productivity apps as well, except for my and my wife's personal pcs... of which we are members of MS' Home Use Program. If you search on aximsite you will find a freeware thread I started a year or so ago, just because I got tired of all the beggers that came around me looking for software.
I'n fact, I'm fairly sure that the average pirate isn't even aware that there are sufficient freeware applications athat are in many ways just as useful to the typical person... How many people REALLY need MS Word at home, open office would "suite" them just fine, were they to know of it.
That all being said, my PPC is just filled with licensed and paid for PPC applications by SBSH, SPB, and a few others. The typical PPC app is happily in the $10-$20 range which is perfectly reasonable for all the utility and functionality they provide
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." -- John Quincy Adams
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"Maybe it's time developers did because genuine users would have no problems in meeting these checks. As I am not a developer I have no idea as to how practical / expensive this would be, all I know is that if piracy could somehow be curtailed then the end product that I use would develop quicker and there would be less "feature requests" and more features."
I have to beg to differe here. It is extremely frustrating to have to jump through a ton of hoops with programs that do this type of validation. The biggest culprit for this issue for me: Microsoft.
I own a legal copy of Windows Vista. Unfortunately, I end up having to call Microsoft at least once every month or so about my activation running out. Does it get fixed? Every time. It's a legal copy. Is it convenient? Hell no. And the most annyoing part? It DOESN'T STOP the pirates. All it does is make my life more difficult as a legal paying customer.
The reason I am cosntantly messing with my OS? I build computers for a living, so I am constanly changing out my own processors, motherboards, and graphics cards in order to upgrade or test new products. These types of changes are significant in Microsoft's eyes and require a new activation. After about the 3rd time I make a change I have to call Microsoft for each and every little change. Hell, last time I changed out my DVD to try a SATA DVD, it was a 'significant' system change and required reactivation. An optical drive!!!
So, no, I do not want to see more software go down this evil road. It is not easy and simple for all the average users out there. It is painful and tedious to make the phone calls. Most important, I hate knowing that while I am jumping through 9 flaming hoops to get my legal copy to work, the thieves have already downloaded the program and got it running. it doesn't stop them. It just punishes the legal users.
__________________
“Everything is simpler than you think and yet more complex than you imagine.”
I too fully agree with Alex.
It's companies such as Web IS, SBSH, Lakeridge, etc that provide stellar service on their products, and it's because we support those companies by purchasing and recommending their products.
PI has been an integral program on my PDA since day 1, and is worth every penny and then some.
I feel the need to preface this with "I don't condone piracy".
While the majority of end users "stealing" Windows Mobile software is I imagine driven by having a certain moral flexibility, there are other drivers.
I for one absolutely resent shelling out for a PDA only to have to then go and purchase a whole bunch of software to make the thing functional.
I imagine that there are other people who feel the same resentment, and then go on to obtain software illegally to fill the void created by the Windows mobile platform simply failing to meet expectations out of the box. The moral impact of downloading cracked software would be lessened to some degree for these people, through feeling that they have been ripped off themselves.
Asking themselves: "Why is this a multi processing platform and yet there is no sensible task management?". "Why is the today screen useless?". "Why can I not CLOSE an application?". etc etc etc
The initial crappiness of the Windows mobile platform has encouraged an industry of excellent third party applications that turn it from being a paperweight into something truly useful. However, the onus is on the customer, who has already paid for it, to research the options and find the best way to do this.
Of course little can be done about this now, and it would certainly not help any of the third party app vendors if MS started producing a mobile platform that was worth a damn as a productivity tool, and who knows what kind of anti-trust events would occur if they did.
But my point is there... resentment can also drive this kind of behaviour, and there are those who would rationalise ripping someone off as being a direct result of being ripped off themselves in the first place. This does not make it right - hence the use of the word "rationalise".
You can rationalize all day long about being frustrated with your device's OS or whatever other lame excuse you can come up with. The bottom line is stealing is stealing.
If someone offers software, music or other information in electronic or pyhsical media for sale and you take it without paying, it is stealing. Arguing that everyone is doing it is like trying to get out of a speeding ticket because "everyone else was speeding". That argument won't fly in court and if the RIAA or M$ comes after you for stealing their products, good luck with your juvenile rationalizations.
The better approach is just not to steal in the first place. If you can afford a computer and web access, you can afford to buy your music and software........
This is pretty good, I just wished those that keep downloading the pirated SW would read this [they probably won't].
I look at software that I am interested in, and if there are trial versions I try those, and compare the different programs and the prices, and I look at freeware version.
If I like something that I think is too expensive, I just don't get that.
I either do without that software (like I have not bought any backup software) or find something freeware or less expensive that would do (even if not as well).
I took months of looking at pocket Breeze before I decided to buy it.
I don't have backup software, and I did try one (can't remember which) but I decided it was more than I was willing to pay, so I did not buy it.
(I have all my apps on my pc at home, with a document that contains any reg codes and particulars that need to be installed to main memory or any other comments.)
I would hope others only load SW that they actually buy, or just do without.
One of the things I enjoy about aximsite is everyone offering information on new software and the pros and cons they have experienced with it. This information helps in being better informed as to which software products to buy and which to avoid. I think most aximsite members are concerned about having good reliable software on their ppc and therefore use freeware or purchase software that others have recommended or commented on. I think this posting is like preaching to the choir----I would hope that most of the aximsite members are truely the ones that support the vendors mentioned in this posting and therefore are not using any pirated software. Posting like this one is a good reminder that $10 software is really a good buy!
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If a MS product is so lousy, here's an idea.....DON'T USE IT....BUY/USE SOMETHING ELSE AND LET THE MARKET DECIDE THEIR FATE. That's what capitalism and the free market are all about. Sheesh, you can often get better for free from the open source community than what MS doles out anyway. If you really must have it, then it is worth paying for. There really is no "third side" to the matter.
