Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

by | Nov 4, 2008 | 0 comments

Lets take a view on software and software piracy for a while.
Companies state that they are loosing money on software piracy,
but what some of them (not, SOME, not all) doesnt tell the
media is that they are in a way also benefiting from the
piracy that flourishes on the web. This is where the
stalwart exclaim “THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE, IT IS LOST REVENUE”
But hear me out please.

Lets take an example in a product that we all KNOW
is being copied high and low and you can find on
almost every torrent site and DC hub there is.
Adobe xxxxxxx. I will be using it just because
it is named as the standard DTP program and most
people know an inkling of what it is.

No harm on Adobe, quite the
contrary, they have developed both a marvellous
piece of software (the thousands of downloads confirm that)
and they have also built a reputation for being the
leading software engineer for desktop publishing.

Companies that are keeping their own designers
and illustrators generally have xxxxxxx as a stock
application installed, why is that? Well, to some
extent it is that the company knows that the software
is good, BUT here comes the kicker, usually those
types of firms wants someone with experience WITH
those types of software. So, how does a teenager
afford to learn the type of xxxxxxx techniques that
companies today require without having very rich
parents that can buy a license for xxxxxxx?

Ok, you say there is a demo version? Yes there
might be, but demo is a nasty word to younger
generations, to an extent they mean “incomplete
and lacking functions” wich means that the young,
aspiring designer doesnt want to touch it, much
less use it for learning purposes.

There are also student licenses, of course, correct
me if I am wrong here, but arent those also to an
extent time limited and lacking functions?

What do we have left?

Well, theres always the internet, and trust me
its not even hard, heres a tip for you.

http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=softwarename+torrent&meta=

See? That was really really really hard, wasnt it?
I mean, everyone these days uses google or a different
search engine, and just by putting in the words xxxxxxx torrent
in google, I found where I can download it.

Ok, that was a little on how to find it, lets get back on
track. We have this talented teen who manages to download
a copy of xxxxxxx and more or less perfects is technique
and skill in using it. There are always more tricks, but
at this stage he has earned enough of a name online that
companies are starting to notice what he does. So, they
want to hire him. Fine, they hire him for design purposes.
I will give you 1 guess at what his first question will be.

Will I be able to use XXXXX?

If the company already owns a license, fine. If not
they will either A: buy a license or B: see the
guy walk off to another company, or C: wich is the worst.
Tell the guy that he can use another software in the
meantime while they wait for a xxxxxxx license.

What that will accomplish is that they will get a worker
that doesnt have the knowledge that they expected because
he will be operating out of his comfort zone, things that
normally take just a day will take a week because he simply
doesnt know how to do certain operations in the new software.

So, the company that hires him better either HAVE or should
be purchasing a license. In the extension, what will follow
is that when new versions comes out, this young man will
want to try new versions and hopefully the company will listen
to him and purchase more licenses.
That might generate a pretty steady income. The company
will also notice that adobe products keep a high class
and are easy to introduce to new co workers, wich in
turn might generate more license.

What is my standpoint on software piracy?
Well, I dont play that many games, I play Starwars galaxies
wich is a pay per month MMORPG, I play DiabloII online
on battlenet wich requires a purchased set of discs,
and I play a MUD, wich is free to play. So games isnt
really my cup of tea so to speak.

Regarding production software my philosophy is simple
and I tell anyone who asks me. I will gladly download
a piece of software to learn the basics of it, and if
i like it, I might keep it. I will also be letting
people know what I think about it, good aswell as
bad comments. If I ever make something WITH the software
that I make money on, I will purchase it.

It is as simple as that.

Now, here’s something that not many standard computer
users know about. If there is a popular software, chances
are very high that there are open source software that
does and behaves almost exactly the same. Case in point:

Adobe xxxxxxx -> The Gimp
Microsoft Office -> Open Office.org

Ok, the programs capabilities and behaviour isnt exactly
identical, but what you use the most is similar enough that
the transistion is close to seamless.

But really, if some companies have their way, copying
and using open source will soon be considered piracy
aswell.

For what its worth (note the sarcasm and irony)

by | Jun 17, 2008 | 0 comments

I am not sure that you know whats going around in sweden these days
but it appears that now encryption software is going to be a must to
keep even the semblance of privacy. Personally i have installed Tor
and I am running it 100% of the time. Not due to the fact that I am
engaged in criminal or terrorist activity. I am not constructing bombs
to place close to the capital buildings in washington neither am I
creating gas traps to place in the subway in stockholm.

Now, if you ask an american these days what he values the most
no doubt about it, he will answer “freedom” but doesnt freedom contain
the fact that you wont have to have someone looking over your shoulder
with every letter you write? Doesnt it mean that I can say pretty much what I want, as
long as it isnt racial slurring that at least according to swedish law is prohibited?

How can someone justify surveillance on an entire population with the remark
it MAY stop a possible terrorist attack. Talk about vague pretences.

So. Now comes the next step. If they are to analyze all traffic from foreign
servers, where will that data be stored? Can I have a shell account there plz?
If not, they can be pretty sure that I wont be paying for it via my taxes.
I mean, seriously, just this post alone is about 1k, at least I think it will
be before I have vented my frustration at this possible future law.
Now, I am prety sure that there are more then 10000 bloggers in sweden
and some of them isn’t what you would call close mouthed.

Most of those probably use “blogger” service or wordpress.com
and both are NOT native to sweden. Wich means that all that the bloggers
write, even stuff that they dont post to the general public, will be under
scrutiny from the FRA. Neat-o!

So now, anything that I receive from someone NOT living in sweden will
be stored and read. I dont like the feeling of this. Now, for the sake of
just confusing anyone thats checking traffic, I will be adding a few phrases
that doesnt mean anything. Though I am sure that the following sentences
will be of interrest to any authority since we all know that they are
completely without sense of humor and irony.

I will not bomb an airplane bound to fly above the white house or the pentagon
I will not send anthrax via the postal service to random officials
The jihad against General Boredom continues with big macs
and Allah is the god of muslims.

Enjoy trying to figure out a code thats not there.
-z-