[aklug] Re: BSA: Turn in your buddies: Cash prize!

I think the issue of piracy is more about preserving free speech (on an International
network.. meh..) and governing the Internet than it is about recovering loss right now,
however both apply easily.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/may/18/google-eric-schmidt-piracy

So what ends up happening is people interested in protecting free speech go for the roots,
trunk, leaves, anything they can reach out at where anti-piracy eventually resolves to or
assists restrictions.

Now for a rant on Licensing (rant implies impartial evidence and completely irrational
venting):

I don't really agree with an anonymous website where you can turn in your employer mostly
because the software that will be most pirated will be the operating system (Microsoft).
I see this one company as a majority shareholder of a Law.

Microsoft has crafted so many ways to distribute their operating system so that you end up
purchasing a version of it through OEM licensing.. and then having to purchase it AGAIN
when you replace a machine and somehow you end up pirating it in the process. Purchase a
computer with an OEM license.. pour milk down its CPU fan.. replace it with a used or new
computer with differently versioned OEM license. Attempt to use OEM license from previous
milk-fried computer. PIRACY!! YOU SIR ARE GOING TO HELL!

It becomes very difficult to want to jump through hoops and ladders to install a
Professional version of software on top of a machine that you just purchased (due to
warranty/service terms that are very attractive) that comes with the Home version. You
don't get a clean install when you purchase the upgrade.. you can't easily bootstrap
everything together like you could with a full version legally.. You end up finding
(through various other I.T. peeps) shared full versions of what you want and it is very
very easy to just assume that it will be perfectly legal to install and work off of as a
base now that you have two licenses. But that isn't really enough to pass the piracy
detector.

In another semi-entrapment scenario - Dell Windows XP OEM recovery disks work on pretty
much every single Dell that supports hardware identification without any sort of versioned
license protection. Install Home, Media, Professional without a key. In many cases it's
a "and why not" situation when mismatching them. You had to purchase most of their
products with a version of the OS you didn't really want in the first place if you went
through a local vendor, purchased used (reclaiming is good for the environment kids),
etc... There's no direct no bullshit and accessible path to contact most hardware vendors
in this situation and request a bunch of OEM grade very inexpensive full versions of the
OS you want for a specific machine with a shiny holographic license of authenticity. Why
pay full? You purchased through a company that made evil deals with Microsoft and you
should get a damned cut of the savings... but only if you jump through he hoops and if the
hardware vendor can even deliver what you want.. most can't.

Licensing blows me a way.. sorry. It is 'virtual' currency. It is like corporate
bitcoins that easily convert into dollars for them and only them.

As for illegal movie downloading, etc.. This is mostly a "law bypass' area. I have a very
difficult time defending it as legal since it's so damned gray even if you've somehow
managed to legally obtain copies of movies released to china then ushered to the UK
through some sort of treaty which was then aired and recorded on a tivo that eventually
went out to the Internet. That's just crazy amounts of loopholing. However I will NEVER
have a difficult time protecting it as freedom of choice and freedom of speech. Put
whatever you want on the Internet. It is for us to do exactly that.

Information is chaos as far as I'm concerned. Initiatives, agendas, secret covert hubbub,
etc.. is all at risk because of our ability to communicate.. however protecting that
information is solely up to the communicators and should not be so easily enforced and
restricted through governments. I understand that sounds treasonous given the topic.
However if we are involved in anything that requires that much security and is still
defeatable.. should we have even been invested in it? I have no idea... :)

(First line and last line.. right?)

- Shane

On 12/08/2011 10:27 PM, Jim Gribbin wrote:
> Somebody, I'm pretty sure the BSA, has been advirtising this for years.
> Since about 2001 that I seem to be able to find quickly.
> If it makes you feel better, you can do it through Facebook and Twitter now
> too ;-)
>
> That said, turning in criminals for cash rewards has been going on for a
> long time.
>
> I used to have a lot of issues with either people stealing products I spent
> time and money developing or wanting me to help them steal the product of
> others when I was in the jewelry industry. I had clients that would go buy
> one of something they liked and thought they could make money with and want
> me to help them copy it.
>
> Their excuse was generally along the lines of "Well they charge too much
> for it." or "They won't sell them to me at a wholsale rate unless I buy 12
> gross and I can't afford that". Well, just because you don't have the
> money, or don't want to spend the money does not give you the right to
> steal my product. Nor do you have the right to set my prices and decide how
> much money I should be allowed to make from my product. If you have issues
> with any of these things, vote with your feet and shop elsewhere or come up
> with your own. I did, and you probably were as well, when switching to
> Linux.
>
> One last thing. If you take mine, I have the right to go after you. Even
> GPL preserves that right.
>
> Jim G
> On Dec 8, 2011 6:46 PM, "Christopher Howard"<
> christopher.howard@frigidcode.com> wrote:
>
>> Forgive me for posting again the same day. (I honestly try not to hog
>> the list.) But I thought this was quite hilarious (in a sickening sort
>> of way):
>> https://reporting.bsa.org/r/report/add.aspx?src=us
>>
>> Now, the BSA not only makes it convenient to turn in your coworkers and
>> employers for "piracy", but it might even be profitable! "Submit your
>> report today and enter for a chance to win $1,000. No purchase necessary."
>>
>> I'm not sure how long the BSA has been running this "contest", but it
>> was the first time I noticed it. According to Wikipedia, they have
>> offered cash rewards before, but I haven't yet had the chance to review
>> the references.
>>
>> --
>> frigidcode.com
>> theologia.indicium.us
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Received on Fri Dec 9 08:45:37 2011