Bah! Bill Gates, suck it.

[iago]

Incidentally, whether or not you have a pirated version of Windows you can still get security updates.  So this isn't going to cause more DoS bots or anything, it just makes it difficult to get DirectX or drivers, which aren't a security issue.

[trust]

I too am hypocritical when it comes to this. But Windows is something I use everyday, and I certainly wouldn't run an illegally obtained copy. For the amount of ease it gives the average user, the cost is next to nothing. You use it everyday, and it makes your life easier. Like it or not, Microsoft did an good job overall and it certainly has made a lot of peoples lives easier. They may not be making the majority of their money off of home users, but that really isn't the point.

I pirate movies without thinking twice, because I only watch them once. I do pay a monthly fee ($10) for a music streaming service though, and I do buy most of my games. I think if you're going to use something everyday (and Windows in many cases helps people MAKE money) then you should pay for it. It's like stealing a television, you guys don't want to be eNiggers do you?

[Screenor]

Newby -- would you pay $250 out of your own copy of Windows?  Or do you only have a legal copy because your parents bought it for you?  $250 is a lot of money for a normal person. 

I was about to say the same thing. Newby, I think you should stop bashing on people who pirate software. It's really hypocritical of you.

By the way, Screenor. Threads directly related to this one have already been posted. We know.

Yeah, I searched for it, found nothing myself, so I figured eh.

EDIT

Also, as far as Microsoft's security updates go, they really arn't all that helpful, considering they give them so late in the "game", if you will. Nothing against them, but they're not very on the ball about it.

[Tuberload]

Newby this seems to be a sensetive issue for you. If someone doesn't know there copy of Windows isn't a legit copy then something is wrong with that person. As far as lawsuits go, simple, give them a warning that in a week or so there copy will no longer work. It is not a very hard concept, but just making it so illegal copies of the software cannot be updated is stupid in my opinion. I support the idea of not allowing illegal copies to be used, just not the method of stopping it. You do not need to get so sensetive over a topic like this anyways, it is pointless.

[Screenor]

Newby this seems to be a sensetive issue for you. If someone doesn't know there copy of Windows isn't a legit copy then something is wrong with that person. As far as lawsuits go, simple, give them a warning that in a week or so there copy will no longer work. It is not a very hard concept, but just making it so illegal copies of the software cannot be updated is stupid in my opinion. I support the idea of not allowing illegal copies to be used, just not the method of stopping it. You do not need to get so sensetive over a topic like this anyways, it is pointless.

He just dislikes me, and will jump at the chance to prove me wrong (as far as I can tell). I know he wouldn't argue this with someone such as iago.

[Sidoh]

He's made that same statement in several other posts, screenor. It's not just you.

[Screenor]

Oh that makes me feel much better now.

Newby's anger put into songs

http://screend-productions.net/Music/  (I can't link directly to the directory for some reason, so meh eat me)

[Newby]

Newby, I think you should stop bashing on people who pirate software. It's really hypocritical of you.

"hypocritical" is a very good word.  Especially when you get that defensive about something that you do a lot of, it does reflect badly on you :-P

Meh. I find there is a big difference between pirating music (to show up the RIAA for being a bunch of capitalist assholes (I will write up a list of reasons later)) and pirating Windows (because you don't want to pay for it) (guess why the price is so high? they have to fight losses caused by piracy!), but that's just me. I guess technically I am hypocritical since I pirate software because I'm a cheap asshole, but there are some things I feel I wouldn't pirate (stuff I would use every day).

Infact, I can't think of one single piece of software I'm running right now on Windows that I don't legally own!

As for Quik and my "micro$oft freebies", I did indeed pay for them.

[Sidoh]

It doesn't matter, Newby. You hurt small companies more by pirating their $30 software than you do a massive corporation by pirating their $300 OS.

Regardless of your above justification, I still find your outrage towards people who pirate Windows quite hypocritcal.

I think everyone our age that shares the same ambition towards technology is a cheap asshole. I for one am not going to pay $300 for Windows XP Pro, nor am I going to pay $80 for XP Home. Though they may lose a large amount of profit due to piracy, they still aren't going bankrupt.

[Newby]

It doesn't matter, Newby. You hurt small companies more by pirating their $30 software than you do a massive corporation by pirating their $300 OS.

Regardless of your above justification, I still find your outrage towards people who pirate Windows quite hypocritcal.

I think everyone our age that shares the same ambition towards technology is a cheap asshole. I for one am not going to pay $300 for Windows XP Pro, nor am I going to pay $80 for XP Home. Though they may lose a large amount of profit due to piracy, they still aren't going bankrupt.

Outrage? I don't care if they pirate the OS. I wish they'd buy it, but then again, I wish I could afford the smaller products I used to pirate. I simply think that if they think they even deserve the slightest bit of help with their pirated copy, they can quite promptly fuck off. If I needed help with something I pirated, I figured it out on my own. If I needed security patches or the product was insecure, I most likely stopped using it.

EDIT -- Now that I think of it, one product busted me for attempting to use a "blacklisted" key. "This key has been blacklisted. If you are attempting to pirate our OS, <insert some really cruel mean things here about how I am an asshole and how it hurts their company>. If you are a legit customer, please contact technical support. Have a nice day." After it rebooted my computer, I promptly un-installed it.

[Sidoh]

Again, none of the above provides any proof what-so-ever that your claims that us pirating "ass holes" are no different than you.

How'd you find the key that was blacklisted? The internet, likely. Not much different than any of us.

[Newby]

I never called pirates "ass holes", I called pirates that think they deserve support for paying customers (even though they didn't pay) "ass holes".

[Screenor]

I never called pirates "ass holes", I called pirates that think they deserve support for paying customers (even though they didn't pay) "ass holes".

No one said anything about anyone who pirates software "thinking they need support", programmers are simply offering ways to the software pirates to continue receiving updates. No one demanded the programs that do so.

Same way people make hacks for games like BF2, WoW, GW, CS, Source, HL2, HL, D2, SC, WC, UT, and the list goes on and on. No one forces those programmers to make the public a few hacks, they just do it.

[Warrior]

Point is, a topic is started complaining about Microsoft's recent combat against piracy of thier OS which involved limiting updating to activating clients, if someone found a way around it then fine but don't start a topic about how Microsoft is in the wrong for wanting to protect software that they wrote.

Now on the topic of pirating. I obtained my copy of Windows XP legally (omg) but am not against piracy against it because I have done it myself (and still do it with Vista and Win2k3 ). However asking for support for something that was pirated or expecting security updates is plain stupid and I think Windows should have taken action much sooner and still think they need to take more action and secure this decision of thiers more.

[Ergot]

It's like a bum asking for a $100 bill. Beggers can't be choosers.