Windows 7 piracy laws

[Coco]

I started 4 Months ago and doing part time work!!! It's School Holidays over here.

 

[Coco]

Okay, thanks C_C. In his post he stated he had the Enterprise edition.

My bad for not checking his specs. It's just most of the new posters never fill in their specs, so I usually don't check there.

Whats planet X? I'am on Planet E (Earth)!!!!!!!:lol:

 

[davehc]

Planet X is where all we Computer dedicated nerds live!! We don,t have a life out there - lol

 

[Coco]

We here on Planet E Earth (Have computer nerds here too)!!!!!!!:lol:

 

[Nibiru2012]

Whats planet X? I'am on Planet E (Earth)!!!!!!!:lol:

Well, if you're so curious, why don't you Google it and find out.

You might check out Wikipedia too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_x

You may be enlightened.

 

[mattweed9]

Coco, look dude, this is not a piracy forum.

It's not? What a complete waste of my time then. Guess I should shut down the IRC channel then and remove this link from all the .nfo files I've been including in my uploads.

 

[clifford_cooley]

It's not? What a complete waste of my time then. Guess I should shut down the IRC channel then and remove this link from all the .nfo files I've been including in my uploads.

Matt, piracy is not a joke. If you want to promote piracy, have fun hiding from MS.

And to backup Catilley's statement "This is not a piracy forum". This is a Windows 7 forum that does not tolerate piracy. I don't like locking threads but the topic of piracy should not even be allowed.

 

[mattweed9]

Oh, I agree. I just don't see how anyone could be confused that it was. It's pretty obvious that it's a forum for Windows 7 topics and help. No where on the board do I see anything that says different or would give me the impression that warez are here. I am a firm believer in "if you like it, buy it.".

 

[catilley1092]

I started 4 Months ago and doing part time work!!! It's School Holidays over here.

Coco, I realize that right now you're young, your age was 31 years ago for me. You're 16 years old and have a job in a computer shop. What a marvelous opportunity for you! At your age, I was flipping burgers and emptying trash cans. Had I had the job that you have, I probably would have been self employed years ago. You are in a great position to learn the computer business, if you want to. Too, you have started some good topics. Like the one about installing Windows 7 on older computers. You have potential and have shown some interest in the business. Stay in school, continue your part time job, learn as much as you can while you're there. Don't get entangled in rumors about the future of Windows. Things that you get from your friends friend don't always pan out. When change is approaching, you will know, it will be all over the net. Take all of the computer classes you can while you're still in school, keep your part time job, mabye it will turn into full time for you. There's no experience like hands on. That's how I learned my job in sales, hands on. In two years, I was an operations manager for a baking company. What little computing skills that I have, I learned the same way, with some forum help as needed. What I'm trying to tell you is, should you stick with this profession, in years to come, you'll want for nothing. There's plenty of work in your trade. It is truly my hope that you take advantage of it and succeed fully.

 

[Coco]

I'am planning on to going to TAFE (technical an further education) this year I did it last year as well and I'am with an imployment agency and the plans should be to have a full time job when I leave year 12. that's two years away.

 

[Coco]

I thought we are supposed to be helping one another not wasting our time.

With things like certain words that are not in the dictonary and fooling around with things that don't exist.

 

[davehc]

They were attempting to lighten up this thread, coco, more for your sake than anything else. Best option at the moment, coco, is to just gracefully ignore and drop out of the thread.
You made a comment and posed a question in your op. You have had the views and answers from several members.

 

[Core]

Here's a bit of tl;dr from someone who used to use software illegally.

I know someone here said that piracy shouldn't even be discussed. I don't agree with that. I think that to not allow threads in which people are encouraged or instructed to use pirated software is wise; however, to completely ban any hint of a piracy-related discussion is a capital mistake. Here's why:

Piracy laws, CD keys, and WGA programs don't effectively discourage piracy. They make it less easy, but only by a very small margin. Banning hordes of CD keys does not make any tangible difference when both activation and authenticity check can be easily overstepped.

Telling a person who uses an illegal copy of Windows that what they are doing hurts everyone does not work, because it isn't exactly true. It hurts you (assuming you paid money for your copy) and other legitimate customers, and certainly hurts the software giant that produced the product. It decreases the value of the product by increasing its price, but that hurts you - and not the person who did not, does not, and would not pay for it in the first place.

Well, it's illegal, there's that. So is jaywalking, underage drinking, and downloading mp3s without paying for them. I don't think they're nearly the same thing in terms of severity, but my point is, if someone is willing to ignore the law in order to acquire a product illegally, then it's not likely that they will be fazed by someone pointing out the illegality of their actions.

Use of illegal software is, the way I see it, more of a young man's game. I daresay that by the time a person gets out of college and gets their feet wet in corporate life, much less dealing with their own business or a mortgage, or other real-life responsibilities, they become more aware of things, including the true impact of software piracy. Once you see FICA take a chunk out of your paycheck to bolster up the government's vaults, you begin to feel differently about stealing from someone else.

If you want to be proactive about fighting piracy, stop pretending it doesn't exist. Stop pretending that everyone who posts in your computer forum runs a legitimate copy. Piracy should not be shoved under a carpet; it should be openly discussed. An open discussion does not automatically mean posting instructions on how to do it, but it can be a discussion about why someone does it, and what legal alternatives they are for them that are within their means.

Ten years ago, I could understand someone running a pirated copy of Windows. I didn't say I thought it was a-okay, but I understood. New computers aren't usually sold without an OS, so the way you ended up with a second-hand PC is if you bought it used. You buy used if you can't afford new. If you bought a $200 PC, maybe spending another $200-500 for a Windows copy would not be on the table for you. Red Hat confuses the hell out of you, so you borrow a copy of Win2k from a friend...

That's not the case nowadays. A copy of XP is under a hundred bucks. I've seen copies of Windows 7 for around 120, 150 bucks, which is considerably cheaper than what Vista was. If you can't afford that either, then you're not entirely out of options, as you can always go with Linux - which isn't a race between Slackware and Red Hat anymore. Not only that, but if you're in college, you can use the Dreamspark program (which is terrific) to access legitimate software. I paid $25 for my copy of Vista through my college. Didn't exactly break the bank.

It's hard to even try to justify using illegal software now when there are so many options, regardless of your financial status.

Discuss the problems relating to piracy openly and frankly. Create an atmosphere where someone who's using software illegally but doesn't want to anymore, yet doesn't know what else they could do, can speak up and get assistance. I've turned several friends and family members of mine away from using illegitimate copies of Windows, and choosing either different editions or, in some cases, Linux. Many found that pirating Windows and Office wasn't necessary for them, as they could accomplish the same tasks on Linux with OpenOffice.

That is not to say I recommended Linux for them because it was better. I just recommended it because it was better for them.

And that, in the long run, is better for all of us.

 

[catilley1092]

Here's a bit of tl;dr from someone who used to use software illegally.

I know someone here said that piracy shouldn't even be discussed. I don't agree with that. I think that to not allow threads in which people are encouraged or instructed to use pirated software is wise; however, to completely ban any hint of a piracy-related discussion is a capital mistake. Here's why:

Piracy laws, CD keys, and WGA programs don't effectively discourage piracy. They make it less easy, but only by a very small margin. Banning hordes of CD keys does not make any tangible difference when both activation and authenticity check can be easily overstepped.

Telling a person who uses an illegal copy of Windows that what they are doing hurts everyone does not work, because it isn't exactly true. It hurts you (assuming you paid money for your copy) and other legitimate customers, and certainly hurts the software giant that produced the product. It decreases the value of the product by increasing its price, but that hurts you - and not the person who did not, does not, and would not pay for it in the first place.

Well, it's illegal, there's that. So is jaywalking, underage drinking, and downloading mp3s without paying for them. I don't think they're nearly the same thing in terms of severity, but my point is, if someone is willing to ignore the law in order to acquire a product illegally, then it's not likely that they will be fazed by someone pointing out the illegality of their actions.

Use of illegal software is, the way I see it, more of a young man's game. I daresay that by the time a person gets out of college and gets their feet wet in corporate life, much less dealing with their own business or a mortgage, or other real-life responsibilities, they become more aware of things, including the true impact of software piracy. Once you see FICA take a chunk out of your paycheck to bolster up the government's vaults, you begin to feel differently about stealing from someone else.

If you want to be proactive about fighting piracy, stop pretending it doesn't exist. Stop pretending that everyone who posts in your computer forum runs a legitimate copy. Piracy should not be shoved under a carpet; it should be openly discussed. An open discussion does not automatically mean posting instructions on how to do it, but it can be a discussion about why someone does it, and what legal alternatives they are for them that are within their means.

Ten years ago, I could understand someone running a pirated copy of Windows. I didn't say I thought it was a-okay, but I understood. New computers aren't usually sold without an OS, so the way you ended up with a second-hand PC is if you bought it used. You buy used if you can't afford new. If you bought a $200 PC, maybe spending another $200-500 for a Windows copy would not be on the table for you. Red Hat confuses the hell out of you, so you borrow a copy of Win2k from a friend...

That's not the case nowadays. A copy of XP is under a hundred bucks. I've seen copies of Windows 7 for around 120, 150 bucks, which is considerably cheaper than what Vista was. If you can't afford that either, then you're not entirely out of options, as you can always go with Linux - which isn't a race between Slackware and Red Hat anymore. Not only that, but if you're in college, you can use the Dreamspark program (which is terrific) to access legitimate software. I paid $25 for my copy of Vista through my college. Didn't exactly break the bank.

It's hard to even try to justify using illegal software now when there are so many options, regardless of your financial status.

Discuss the problems relating to piracy openly and frankly. Create an atmosphere where someone who's using software illegally but doesn't want to anymore, yet doesn't know what else they could do, can speak up and get assistance. I've turned several friends and family members of mine away from using illegitimate copies of Windows, and choosing either different editions or, in some cases, Linux. Many found that pirating Windows and Office wasn't necessary for them, as they could accomplish the same tasks on Linux with OpenOffice.

That is not to say I recommended Linux for them because it was better. I just recommended it because it was better for them.

And that, in the long run, is better for all of us.

I agree with some of the things that you point out, especially the fact that some will pirate, no matter what or the penalities of doing so. And these things are NOT swept under the carpet, but to have a clean forum, piracy MUST be discouraged. We don't want to be a safe haven for pirates. While you're probably right that some members could be running pirated copies of Windows, they don't brag about it. If they do, they get no help, except to be advised to buy their software legally. If that is not a viable option for them, run a Linux distro. I don't want to lose Windows customers, but the ones who run pirated copies are not customers to begin with. And you are right, it's better for them to be legal, than to be pirates. We do not pretend it doesn't exist, but would rather not base our forum around it.

 

[clifford_cooley]

I have no complaints with an open discussion as long as there is no support for piracy within the discussion.

Joking about piracy would only confuse the issue and then some would wonder if it really was a joke.

 

[davehc]

There is another aspect to this,maybe not entirely related to this hread. If you are an enthusiastic helper, it can be sometimes difficult to pinpoint a problem, when that problem has arisen from manipulating an unlicensed copy of a product. (Dtae fixing etc). for the poster to come clean and admit the origin, or possible reason for the fault, puts that person immediately into the pirated category. Another point here, as legitimate users know, is that, in many instances, it is easy to spot if a poster is using a pirated copy.It is up to the members whether they wish to continue to help. In my own case, call me prudish if you will, I choose to back off the thread. At the same time, remember we have some good moderators on this site. It is there prerogative to close the thread, with a polite added comment perhaps.

 

[Coco]

You guys yesterday I found my friend with a copy of windows 7 screwed edition. What is it and is this one elligal

 

[Core]

You guys yesterday I found my friend with a copy of windows 7 screwed edition. What is it and is this one elligal

I'm gonna take a wild guess here and suppose that Microsoft doesn't release "Screwed Editions" of their operating systems. Not even of Vista.

 

[Coco]

where has the Screwed Edition come from along with Virus edition and Pirated Editions.

 

[Nibiru2012]

where has the Screwed Edition come from?

I think that was done by the hacker group known as: Tap & Dye