Do you Legally Purchase your software?

[K2]

Big_hed wrote

I just love that idea that companies sell software to pirate software/movies, yet get pissed when the pirate class they sell it to pirates their software.

I never thought of it really that way. Good point.


remember the forum rules " no warez"

[BJ_M]

that system for $5000 would have sold for $25,000 2 years ago ..

that system for $15,000 would have sold for (its a about 3-4 years old):

Spruce system software and decoder $25,000
Spruce encoder card $17,000
Scsi drives $4000
2x PC dual cpu workstation $15,000
Pioneer 201 dvd authoring dvd burner $4500
DLT 20gb (small one) $5000
monitors and misc hardware $3000

Total $73,500

which is pretty close to a full spruce or scenarist system lists out for 2 years ago ($75,000)..

[musher70]

I paid for dvd2one, does that count??

[spiderman2k1]

This is how i feel about it good companies that work hard in making a good pruduct should get there money but alot of companies have there product way over priced that alot of other people would be glad to pay for if it was like $50.00 dollars or so. Pinnacle is the worst company of them all my friend bought a Pinnacle capture card and for windows XP you had to pay $50.00 dollars to get the new driver's. Companies like DVD2ONE I think should get ever penny. They made a great peace of software. And so many MAC people want they ever made a MAC version. I'm not a MAC user i want to state that but the people at DVD2ONE care about there user's.

[pharries]

I buy software once I am sure it is the right product for me but I have still made expensive errors.
DVDit is the most expensive coaster I have ever purchaced. Their "support" is a joke! The only thing it did reliably for me was crash!
I believe lemon laws should apply to software. The product should be fully refundable if it does not reliably perform it's primary / intended function! Bells and whistles are another matter.
I am fed up with the arrogance of companies who steal from us by selling software that does not work!
Similarly I hold in contempt those who do not pay for good reliable software. Expensive upgrades are another matter however.

[tygrus2000]

When you purchase software, you buy into the corporate greed structure created by Bill Gates and his kind. There is a conspiracy to keep making bad or bloated software for two reasons:

1.) So you have an urge to continually upgrade and pay the little bit they ask for each time. Lots of the software is rushed to the market so they can keep a product cycle going all the time, then follow with the sensless upgrades.
2.) To keep the PC market moving so you think you need more speed, ram whatever. All MS products do the same damn thing they did 5 versions ago.

I am all for free market but should a handful of corporate leeches with the bank account of a small country keep sucking away at the consumer and controlling the system. I think not. Until quality software is made and not just a money grab on consumers, I will probaby keep getting mine the way I do now.

tygrus

[Marco33]

How about FREE software that is so good, you wouldn't mind paying for it.

DVD2DVDR comes to mind.
Bitrate viewer, yeah I know but, it doesn't have any bugs.

[jdizzy40]

Doesn't make sense, well to answer your question, yes I pay for it when I can't get it on-line. But, I'm a hacker, so I spend time looking around. I have a library of expensive software, but you know something, several companies' software look awful familiar. Maybe they do like the Russians did for years with our technology. In 1986 we took apart an airplane and found an avionics package that was the same system that was in the F-15 Strike Eagle. So I won't cry when a company doesn't get my money, they are making millions.

[jarroyo]

I teach my children that they are not responsible for other people's actions only theirs, and I live by that. I pay for every bit of software I use. I dont buy software I cannot try out first. If the company is slimy, I dont do business with them.

The bottom line for me is that if I were the programmer who developed the code, I would like to be paid for it. Its my livelihood. A days pay for a days work.

You don't have to agree with me. You asked. At night, I sleep well knowing that I did what was right in simple terms rather than having to rely on some convoluted rationalization based on my perception of the evil of corporate america.

[LanEvo7]

I'm not for or against legally purchasing software. I do think people should be paid for their hard work and believe me, making a program takes a lot of time and effort, not to mention going through pages and pages of code. Then on the flip side, I really hate it when companies release unfinished software, and they know its unfinished. Just look at Windows, how many patches and updates were there since it came out. I mean, yea a minor error here and there is ok, but not to the point where its unusable or creates security risks. When windows xp came out, you had to apply the patches because there was a security hole in it. Also drivers conflicted with each other so it was a total mess. Many games that come out, have patches comming out in less than a week after its released. Sometimes the patches are over 50mbs each, thats a big file for people who have 56k.

[tygrus2000]

Then by that rational, a good portion of topics dealt with on dvdrhelp.com are based on "backing" up of dvds. That process is as illiegal as using pirated software. So is capturing from the TV and making a disc out of it. Where do you draw the line? Unless you have bought every piece of original software you have, including the expenive encoders and authoring packages and are using them to make original content, not dvd rips or tv captures, then we are all in the same boat. I would suspect that a tiny minority on this site havent done that.

tygrus

[nerdboy69]

Depends on local laws. In Australia I believe it is illegal to backup your originals even for your own use.

I heard a lawyer (who specialises in DRM/Media type issues) interviewed on a local radio station here and apparently by the current laws in place, you cannot even backup a music CD so you can use it in the car, or stowing the original in a safe place and using the copy for your kids use (which guarantees getting scratched to buggery).

Reality is that they don't enforce this on your average Joe.

PS
Very poor Poll choices.

Needs "Freeware" option, and an option which is relevant to me (and I imagine a few others), in that if there is no fully functional Trialware, I will find a cracked copy and trial it - then I decide whether it is of any use and will buy it if it is. Semi-functional demos do not give the full picture imho.

For some people I know, it needs a "I write my own", or maybe to make it authentic, "I wait for tgpo to write it".

[rhegedus]

that system for $5000 would have sold for $25,000 2 years ago ..

that system for $15,000 would have sold for (its a about 3-4 years old):

Spruce system software and decoder $25,000
Spruce encoder card $17,000
Scsi drives $4000
2x PC dual cpu workstation $15,000
Pioneer 201 dvd authoring dvd burner $4500
DLT 20gb (small one) $5000
monitors and misc hardware $3000

Total $73,500

which is pretty close to a full spruce or scenarist system lists out for 2 years ago ($75,000)..

According to ZDNET, the software was only $129.

http://www.zdnet.com/products/stories/reviews/0,4161,2815031,00.html

Regards,

Rob

[leebo]

Someone seems to be confusing Spruce with SpruceUp.

[rhegedus]

We're talking about SpruceUP DVD authoring software here, aren't we?

Regards,

Rob

[Hardcoreruss]

I purchase what I use, try to focus mainly on freeware though.

[Will Hay]

There is a very strong argument for using any software before buying, and by using I mean by any means possible/practical.
I wouldn't have an issue with anyone downloading software from P2P and evaluating it, if the offical download was limited in it's functionality.
Of course by suggesting this I appreciate I'm leaving myself open to all sorts of allegations of wrong doing, but in a world of mistrust I don't particularly care
If I was the kind to flout copyright law to such an extent that I downloaded everything possible, I wouldn't be using Pinnacle products!
Will

[Nitemare]

Freeware should have been included. I do almost all of my capturing with VirtualDub (freeware), TMPGEnc (freeware...certain parts), and VCDEasy (freeware). While other products may work as well, or even better (although I've yet to see any), these programs are perfect for the projects I'm doing. I have donated on occasion also... even for the freeware.

tygrus2000 has it right--"...keep the PC market moving so you think you need more speed, ram whatever. All MS products do the same damn thing they did 5 versions ago."

I still use my old 486-50 laptop for all of my "office" type stuff. All the old software still works fine and it runs on only 8 MB RAM. People's eyes roll out of their heads when they see me checking my e-mail in DOS!

Software companies are also notorious for killing their more useful features and putting in all kinds of "new features" (garbage) you don't need. For this reason alone I always pass on "free" versions of programs that are offered to me.

Fully functioning demos expire too soon. I don't have hours of every day to sit and put software through it's paces. I love the unlimited but "watermarked" stuff! I'm not above using cracked software for testing purposes, but this software is almost always deleted with extreme prejudice after I've tested it. If it isn't, I buy it.

Usually NONE of this is necessary. You can get everything you need from the freeware offerings, and I usually do because I'm cheap! ... but I'm not a criminal.

I see more and more posts in here lately from obvious NARCs. (or maybe they're "marketing specialists"... which is even worse) Quit it. You need to try and bait stupid people... there are very few of them here. In fact... it's pretty much just YOU. duh!

[mats.hogberg]

I'm currently in the middle of one of my many Linux fits, so the poll is really not relevant to me. In LinuxLand, (almost) all software is free - the price you have to pay is time spent configuring the system, hunting for libraries, compiling,,, I'd say that Linux still has some way to go before the average Windows Joe will feel comfortable! But on the other hand, using a system with 100% free software gives me a nice warm feeling inside, something I can't say I feel when I boot to my WXP partition...

/Mats

[Jasse]

I support Digimec and his software DVD95copy

[q1aqza]

Another option missing is buying illegally copied software from Ebay !!

Someone I know (who doesn't have Broadband for P2P downloads) has bought copied versions of Premiere 6.5 for £20, DVD Workshop for £12, Media Studio Pro for £15 off Ebay. Not a bad little bundle for the money. 8)

[BJ_M]

We're talking about SpruceUP DVD authoring software here, aren't we? :oops:

Regards,

Rob

i was refering to spruce maestro above in the ebay links -- but as i said i see spruce up on still many installation cds


big diff between spruce up and maestro

[daesdaemar]

Most of my non-video software is legally bought. However, since this is a video forum, much (if not all) of my video software is freeware with a few questionably obtained copies. Here's my rationale: None of this software works as advertised. Many work-arounds and added steps need to be employed to do what you need to do. If a software product did as advertised and did it consistantly well, then I'd be happy to buy. Nothing worse than buying software that doesn't work.

[rhegedus]

i was refering to spruce maestro above in the ebay links -- but as i said i see spruce up on still many installation cds


big diff between spruce up and maestro

Yeah, about $5000 by the looks of it!

Regards,

Rob

[tommyoz]

The guy who started this may be a jerk as someone mentioned earlier but look how much he's got people chatting.

To answer his question that everyone seems to be avoiding by adding there own ideas.

I say YES, i have not bought a piece of software or a music CD for that matter or a movie (ok maybe 1 or 2 movies) since this all started.
I'm still experimenting.

[minchjp]

I usually download an "Illegal" copy and try out all the features and If I like it, buy it.

[BJ_M]

i was refering to spruce maestro above in the ebay links -- but as i said i see spruce up on still many installation cds


big diff between spruce up and maestro

Yeah, about $5000 by the looks of it! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Regards,

Rob

new - about $24,850 diff

[mysterio1]

I havent purchased software in 6 years except for a couple.

[pacmania_2001]

Depends on local laws. In Australia I believe it is illegal to backup your originals even for your own use.

In Australia it is legal to make backups for your own personal use provided you own the original. This also applies for DVDs/CDs/software.

From what I have read from various sources it seems that Australia (thanks to the ACCC) has one of the better policies in regards to backing up products than other places such as the US (DMCA, yeech!).

Anyway, back to the topic.
If a product does the things it says it can do (consistently) then I have no problem with buying it. Before I buy software though I like to fully test it so I have no qualms with 'removing' any limitations before hand. If the software does the job, it gets my money. If it doesn't, it goes straight to the Recycle Bin.

[jgcarp22]

I purchase software that I use over and over and want to keep.

Anyone else find it somewhat ironic that after all the "end of the world" babble from anti-piracy soap boxes, the company with an owner that is the richest individual in the world, has had its products pirated, lifted, copied, stolen, etc... millions and millions of times over since the late 80's?

On the flip side, take a company such as Enron. To my knowledge that downfall did not occur because of theft by potential customers. That's where the tax payer jobs are lost. That is where the investment market is affected. That is what makes the news and produces fear.

How many companies, (documented), have gone out of business solely because of illegal pirating?