I can live without Vista, and I don't really care for it.
But I can't live without Pocket Informant or Pocket Breeze. I paid and willing to paid more for the next version. They're good people trying to make money and providing an excellent service to their customers.
Piracy is wrong. But looking at the music record company and the piracy downloaders, I'm not happy with the out come of either side.
I am against piracy, but I still pirate - take Adobe for example. They have monopolised a market and have thus priced any younger or poorer people out of using their software.
People argue "but it is worth it" - Microsoft sell entire operating systems for less than Photoshop, so not much of an argument there.
There are alternatives to a lot of SW that is too expensive.
I would not buy Adobe Photoshop, mostly since it is too expensive, but I also don't need most of what it does.
I use Gimp, and do well for everything I need. It also does tons more than I need, and I don't know how to use most of it. (I also was not using Photoshop, so I don't know if it is difficult to move from Photoshop to Gimp.)
As for SW on my Axim, I have bought a bunch of different things.
Things I want but don't think are worth the asking price I have done without.
I have won some games, and another utility (but it wasn't worth it, so I deleted it). I have also watched for deals on software, I think I got eWallet and TextMaker on sale.
The one thing I am doing without is backup software. I have my own process set for backups, so I'm OK for now.
I have completely rejected SW because the ability to preview it was horrible, no trial or too limited of a trial (or one of those stupid demos instead of a trial), and the web page with no good previews and details on capabilities. So, I'd rather not support a company that is not user friendly at least on the marketing side (kind of like they are saying they don't want my business).
I am a SW developer. I have been since before warez sites existed.
The software I develop is embedded, so noone sees it or really thinks about it. There is no sense in stealing what I work on, becasue it is make for specific hardware and it is shipped on the HW.
But, I understand the costs involved in development (since my SW goes into cars, it probably goes through more development and testing so it takes more money to produce). But, there are fundamentals that must be done, minimal things that make SW development costly.
We also have a few different groups that are creating this SW we are discussing.
Some hobby developers, they may offer their SW for free, or maybe a couple of bucks.
Semi-Pro developers, in that it is a very small shop without a budget for marketing, just a couple of SW friends that like tinkering with SW. This may be free, or sold for a low cost.
Both of these are probably not making a profit.
Then you move into small businesses, which I would classify as not quit having their own office; working out of their houses. These would be Open Source or selling to make a profit, and either close to making money or making a little money.
Then, would be bigger companies, with real offices, making a steady profit, reliable updates, and probably more people than just SW developers.
Think about who wrote the SW you are pirating, and where they are at; each group put a bunch of effort into their SW, and each NEEDS to get paid (where they are not offering it for free) to keep building their business and move forward.
I am against piracy, but I still pirate - take Adobe for example. They have monopolised a market and have thus priced any younger or poorer people out of using their software.
People argue "but it is worth it" - Microsoft sell entire operating systems for less than Photoshop, so not much of an argument there.
Sorry, don't take it personal, but it pisses me off when people are trying to find moral justification for stealing software (or anything else).
Adobe, M$, etc. didn't force anybody to use their software. They monopolized the market ? Hell no. There are plenty of alternatives to Adobe PS - GIMP being one, and it's free, too. It's not as good as Adobe ? Well, that's why Adobe is so darn expensive. And even if Adobe was the only game in town - well, that's still their software, not yours. It's not like they denied you one of your essential rights, or some basic aspect of your life, like water. It's a professional tool, and if that's too expensive for you, too bad.
Now you may steal it - and I will be the last person to pass judgement on you. You're a grown man, I assume, and as long as you don't interfere with my life I have no intentions to tell you what to do with yours. But please, cut the cr#p, stealing is stealing, and there's no moral justification for it.
It's like saying, "well, I can afford KIA but it's a sh@tty little car, and Mercedes is too expensive - so I'll steal the Mercedes ! It's all Daimler's fault, for making it too expensive ! I want to drive fast and with comfort, why do I have to shell out so much money ?"
I like the car reference. Maybe some people think it is OK to pirate because software is not as easily seen.
To the folks who think the Today screen should come with more, don't speak for me. I don't use any today plug ins. It's not because, I don't want to pay for them. I have paid for pocket breeze, contact breeze, I launcher and more. I use none, Just PHM tray launch. (free). I have bought more things that I don't use, especially when I find a smaller free app I like better. But just because I have un-used commercial software doesn't mean I would steal something I might like and then rationalize it some how.
I also hate the so called demo -ware. When I find out that I have downloaded some, I refuse to buy it. How am I supposed to be assured that the main feature of the product works if I can't try it?
Finally, please don't advocate making software "a butt to activate". I had such difficulty trying to convince one developer, that my axim wasn't a phone and therefore didn't have this IMEI number he wanted to activate the product. And yes, it was marketed to work on a ppc AND the smart phone. (The latest free upgrade still wants this number and doesn't work for me). Gee and I wonder why I don't buy more of his stuff
In short, I don't have an
answer, but like door locks, they only keep out honest people.
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Tiggerr
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We don't stop playing because we get old
We get old because we stop playing
Something I don't think a lot of folks consider as a variation of this is using 1 purchased copy of software on multiple machines.
I've switched machines before, the old one was no longer used. Some company's license may not have a problem with that, others do. Obviously, if there's activation, they would.
Now that I bought a second-hand x51v and will be using it & my Ipaq, comparing them and probably not "mothballing" one... Looks like I've got some more copies of stuff to buy. Ouch? Yes, but IMHO the right thing to do
the soul of the pirate, a little bit every time. The pirate doesn't care, but society as a whole suffers from the loss of good people.
the employee of the destroyed company, who now has to find other work to help pay the bills. If the ex-employee can't find work, then unemployement insurance may be used, which affects every tax-payer, so again society as a whole is affected.
the paying end-user of good software created by a good company that was destroyed by pirates. No more good software. Kiss your investment goodbye.
I am sure there are additional good arguements, but I can't think of any more right now...
Honestly, he wasn't kidding that you can get his software for free legally. Handango offered their flexmail software in their anniversary celebration.
Small developers with big ideas and solid products, esp those who price reasonably, need to be nurtured. If we don't support them, which reputable dev will develop the next Argentum, the next Pocket Informant, the next big thing?
Anyways, i'm wondering if we can have a donation drive at aximsite, split it up among the developers who are partners with us? Just as a thank you for your hard work and a token of appreciation for your suffering from this community. who knows, maybe one of them will make the app that keeps the axim indefinitely up to date with CE OSes ;)
Alex and Chris,
I know the feeling, people can justify any behavior they want. I recently shot a wedding for a couple, 5 hours of work, 40 hours of post processing, and gave them a proof disk with lo-rez images. They decided they could not afford to pay for any portraits from me at this time. I went over to their house to pick up a sample album I had left with them. The groom met me at the door and gave me the album but would not invite me in. I looked past him into the room an could not believe they had my pictures on the wall.
I left, knowing it wasn't worth the legal hassle to pursue their thievery.
Not the amount of money youh ave lost but...
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It is better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
Mark Twain
and gave them a proof disk with lo-rez images. They decided they could not afford to pay for any portraits from me at this time.
Maybe if your low-res pictures on the proof disk also contained a watermark or imbossing of your business's logo, top-dead-center, just like Corbis does.
Then if future "cheap" clients decide to not pay again (but go behind your back and print the low-res pictures anyways), their friends and neighbors who see the pictures will know what is going on. You may even get you some free publicity if your logo is recognizable... :)
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