Hello,
On Wed, Oct 30, 2002, at 06:19 PM, you wrote:
>
> > You can't justify software piracy to software developers
> > by saying "well I do it with SOME companies because they
> > make enough money anyway"..
> >
> > Theft is illegal no matter how rich the victim is. Just
> > remember that.
>
> I know, I know... I don't think this way, that's all.
>
> > WOW.
> > Fully functional Amiga software cheaper than the best
> > equivalent PC package.
> > You should be ashamed if you even thought about pirating
> > it.
>
> Humm, I registered even before being up to use it ;)
>
> My point was just : some products deserve more than others
> my registering them; registering some of them have more
> impact than others... Etc... That's why I buy as much Amiga
> software as possible (that is to say, no that much, but I
> don't pirate any), that's also why I never purchased any MS
> software (etc.). I know, it helps MS products spread....
>
> Anyways, let's think about music : exploring music requires
> to listen to many different things. If you couldn't get
> some free music, you couldn't really realize what you like
> the best and buy it. Do you get my point ? If you couldn't
> do that, everyone would buy the same records (the ones that
> are advertised the most) b/c they wouldn't know anything
> about the others. (that's what happens anyway :-/) But if
> you can "test" whatever you want, you can then buy what's
> better / what you prefer / etc... instead of getting only
> some madonna / coldplay / destiny child etc... I don't refer
> to "30 sec soundclips", but complete albums. I personnally
> need to listen at least 3 times to an album to make an
> opinion. Judging music by reading reviews etc. is extremely
> inaccurate; it's a personal quest (IMHO).
>
> I know it's illegal, but to me it's more *moral* : I want to
> give my money to people who deserve it, to those who aren't
> already extremely rich or well known, to those who support
> some nice causes, etc...
>
> - mahen
> --
All I can say, is, "Whoa! Hold your horses." You are
talking about several things as though they are one thing.
First, there is, SFAIK, nothing illegal about checking out
something, before buying. That said, there are various ways
to do that. Before I explain, I only know the following be-
cause I read up on some of it and I used some deductive and
inductive reasoning -- I am not a lawyer.
With computer software, there are two main, legal ways.
The first, is by getting freely distributable software, whether
shareware, demos, freeware, PD, or other. This is stuff put
out by the authors and/or publishers, purposely, allowing you
to try it out for free. The second way is to borrow someone
else's copy of software, to determine whether it meets with
your criteria.
In the case of the freely distributable software, the au-
thors and publishers expect you to use it, until you decide
that it is what you, regularly, need. Then, they expect you
to pay the fee and register. Therefore, it is not piracy,
when a person has not registered and paid, yet.
Borrowing someone's software, to test it out, also, is not
an infringement of copyright laws, because you will be return-
ing the software to its original owner. This is the same idea
behind borrowing books from a library.
When you start talking about music and full albums, that
can be an whole other thing. To begin, there are still many
radio stations which play all sorts of music. Some of these
are not "music stations." Chances are that you can listen to
a larger variety of music, by listening to one of these "gen-
eral stations." Other than that, the way, I can see you trying
out an album, is to borrow it.
I hope you noticed I was not speaking of the MP3 sort of
stuff. You have to be very careful when downloading that
stuff, because, it is one thing when a musical artist wants
his or her work to be freely distributable (samples, etc.),
and another when someone is trying to evade copyright laws by
sending out pieces which are copyrighted and the sender does
not have permission to do such, while the sender gets paid
from those receiving the works.
Anyway, all this is MHO.
Regards,
Julian.
--------------------------------------------------------
Author of "MSH Tutorial V. 3.0".
Found on Aminet -- MSHTut30.lha
Julian Aronowitz. Tel.: (718) 654-1681;
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
