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See Full StoryIn a bizarre twist to the file-sharing fight in which the Recording Industry Association of America is using copyright law to pursue file traders, search engine Google pulled links to sites hawking unofficial Kazaa alternatives after the popular file-swapping service made its own copyright-infringement claims. The RIAA has used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act as the basis for more than 1,000 subpoenas served to ISPs in an effort to identify and possibly litigate against users of peer-to-peer applications and networks, such as Kazaa.
Re: Google Pulls P2P Links Over Kazaa Copyright Claims
Posted by: WRobN 2004-03-18 07:51:18 In reply to: Jay Lyman
I must say that i discovered a down side of the "war" against illegal downloading and burning.
Imagine yourself in a financial poor family. Just imagine...
If you have parents that can't afford all new cool games, programs, or whatever you can think of in software, and you are too young to make your own money, or you cant miss any money you earned, you have a problem.
No matter how much you like a specific game, you just cant afford it.
So if computergames are your hobby and your in this kind of situation, what would you do?
And what would you do if your friends regulary buy some games you like? Burn them? Mabey...
But what if your friends after a while keep complaining that you constantley burn their games whitout delivering them some games. Downloading some, (if you have a computer and internet) would be an option.
But how can you deny someone's hobby, just because its illegal to burn the stuff. For someone that really likes gaming it could be a heavy weight to supress their feeling and needs.
And look at it from a different viewpoint.
Someone has money to buy one game in a month.
What would he buy? Simply, he will buy the titles in wich he's familiar with, or he will buy a game wich is rated 10/10 and anybody is talking about.
Why? Why doesnt he buy a game that is less known?
The awnser is simple: The most shops wich sell games have a system that doesnt allow the customer to switch a game twice. (In case he buys a game and really dont like it at first play)
They say its a precaution that prevents illigal burning, because elsewise someone could buy a game burn it, switch game, burn, etc.
And of course a game is expensive.
So the big companies that have a higher budget and better name will have no problems with selling games (or they must produce crap to accieve that)
And the little companies? Well unless they put a great demo online, wich isnt often the case, they wont sell like big companies.
Its a shame that a unknown company "dissolves" because too little buyed the game wich is a direct cause of the uncertainty that it is good game or not. Many good games and companies that really have nice games are doomed, while if a bigger company released the game it would be a hit.
In a sort of way the high prices of a game, and the uncertainty of the quality of less known games/producers, delivers a heavy impact on small companys and keep the big ones rolling.
So i wouldnt be stunned if this "cat and mouse game" of the big companies keeps the prices high.
Why lower the prices when this is the one that keeps the idea with consumers that it is too expensive to try out less known games?
Now look at the programs. The price of Windows XP Home UK: E289,95 WinXP Proffesional Full version: E419,95.
Its a ripoff!!! How would Billy expect to sell a lot of it? Poor familys should be mad if thy buy it!
Would'nt he sell more originals if he lowered the prices to a level that anyone could afford? A level that lies on the threshold between the willing to buy and the willing to download.
So that it would be more interesting to buy the original in stead of downloading it illigal?
Now i want to give you an example of myself:
I am in a family that wasnt always abeled to buy these things. In fact we have since 1,5 years a computer now. But i was always interested in computers.
On school, by friends, it didnt matter.
Since that time i found out that this society isnt just quite right.
Bacause a spoiled rich kid gets all he wants, games, consoles, pc, etc.
And i got my first console after 1 year by being a paperboy.
But some things arent so simpley buyed like programs.
At first i didnt knew much about programming, and working with expert programs (for example: the difference between the standard Paint and Paint Shop Pro 8 or Corel Draw)
How do you learn this?
1. Download the too short Trail version and remain with much questions.
2. Search on the web untill you know it all and celebrate your 80th birthday.
Or you can try the whole program untill you know how it works and decide to use it or not.
Last one seems best, but where can you still try the whole prog whitout costs for a unlimited time?
Well, nowhere. It should be too easy to copy it.
So the whole point of this. I downloaded flash and cracked it. (why i did that? read and understand)
If i didnt did that i would never know what i know now.
And thats this: It seems i like to work with this kind of progs. And am seriously thinking of going to study for it, so that i learn to program, etc.
So in the future it could be possible that Macromedia (flash) has a new customer to buy there stuff.
And think of this: They wouldnt if i didnt firstley downloaded it.
And i must say that i cracked it because the 30 days time trail was too short for me to even understand the basics of flash. (remember, i didnt know anything of these progs and programming like C++, Java, etc.)
But to end it, its all about how people use the possibility to download, the ones that use it bad like selling illegal copys are the ones that spoil it all. There are too many reasons to tell that downloading, even illigal downloading, has good sides too.
And it is to you to decide whats wrong or good.
Rob N. (WRobN)
Imagine yourself in a financial poor family. Just imagine...
If you have parents that can't afford all new cool games, programs, or whatever you can think of in software, and you are too young to make your own money, or you cant miss any money you earned, you have a problem.
No matter how much you like a specific game, you just cant afford it.
So if computergames are your hobby and your in this kind of situation, what would you do?
And what would you do if your friends regulary buy some games you like? Burn them? Mabey...
But what if your friends after a while keep complaining that you constantley burn their games whitout delivering them some games. Downloading some, (if you have a computer and internet) would be an option.
But how can you deny someone's hobby, just because its illegal to burn the stuff. For someone that really likes gaming it could be a heavy weight to supress their feeling and needs.
And look at it from a different viewpoint.
Someone has money to buy one game in a month.
What would he buy? Simply, he will buy the titles in wich he's familiar with, or he will buy a game wich is rated 10/10 and anybody is talking about.
Why? Why doesnt he buy a game that is less known?
The awnser is simple: The most shops wich sell games have a system that doesnt allow the customer to switch a game twice. (In case he buys a game and really dont like it at first play)
They say its a precaution that prevents illigal burning, because elsewise someone could buy a game burn it, switch game, burn, etc.
And of course a game is expensive.
So the big companies that have a higher budget and better name will have no problems with selling games (or they must produce crap to accieve that)
And the little companies? Well unless they put a great demo online, wich isnt often the case, they wont sell like big companies.
Its a shame that a unknown company "dissolves" because too little buyed the game wich is a direct cause of the uncertainty that it is good game or not. Many good games and companies that really have nice games are doomed, while if a bigger company released the game it would be a hit.
In a sort of way the high prices of a game, and the uncertainty of the quality of less known games/producers, delivers a heavy impact on small companys and keep the big ones rolling.
So i wouldnt be stunned if this "cat and mouse game" of the big companies keeps the prices high.
Why lower the prices when this is the one that keeps the idea with consumers that it is too expensive to try out less known games?
Now look at the programs. The price of Windows XP Home UK: E289,95 WinXP Proffesional Full version: E419,95.
Its a ripoff!!! How would Billy expect to sell a lot of it? Poor familys should be mad if thy buy it!
Would'nt he sell more originals if he lowered the prices to a level that anyone could afford? A level that lies on the threshold between the willing to buy and the willing to download.
So that it would be more interesting to buy the original in stead of downloading it illigal?
Now i want to give you an example of myself:
I am in a family that wasnt always abeled to buy these things. In fact we have since 1,5 years a computer now. But i was always interested in computers.
On school, by friends, it didnt matter.
Since that time i found out that this society isnt just quite right.
Bacause a spoiled rich kid gets all he wants, games, consoles, pc, etc.
And i got my first console after 1 year by being a paperboy.
But some things arent so simpley buyed like programs.
At first i didnt knew much about programming, and working with expert programs (for example: the difference between the standard Paint and Paint Shop Pro 8 or Corel Draw)
How do you learn this?
1. Download the too short Trail version and remain with much questions.
2. Search on the web untill you know it all and celebrate your 80th birthday.
Or you can try the whole program untill you know how it works and decide to use it or not.
Last one seems best, but where can you still try the whole prog whitout costs for a unlimited time?
Well, nowhere. It should be too easy to copy it.
So the whole point of this. I downloaded flash and cracked it. (why i did that? read and understand)
If i didnt did that i would never know what i know now.
And thats this: It seems i like to work with this kind of progs. And am seriously thinking of going to study for it, so that i learn to program, etc.
So in the future it could be possible that Macromedia (flash) has a new customer to buy there stuff.
And think of this: They wouldnt if i didnt firstley downloaded it.
And i must say that i cracked it because the 30 days time trail was too short for me to even understand the basics of flash. (remember, i didnt know anything of these progs and programming like C++, Java, etc.)
But to end it, its all about how people use the possibility to download, the ones that use it bad like selling illegal copys are the ones that spoil it all. There are too many reasons to tell that downloading, even illigal downloading, has good sides too.
And it is to you to decide whats wrong or good.
Rob N. (WRobN)
