EULAs and Piracy
So I'm using Windows Vista (yeah, yeah, arguments about that can go in their own thread, I'd rather not see it here because that's not the issue at stake) and it's time to install Service Pack 1.
And then I come to the End User License Agreement, and lo and behold, I discover that if Microsoft suddenly decides I have pirated Windows (which it has done to various people on various occasions), I may have to actually START pirating Windows to be able to use it.
This isn't some sort of simple measure to make sure that people don't just casually distribute copies of the software. That's pretty simple. It's hard to describe why there's a demarcation line, but there is. At a certain point, copy protection ceases to become more effective by becoming more vigilant. This is because the people who don't have extreme tech smarts have all been weeded out, leaving only the people who are hard-core determined to pirate the software.
In addition, most users of Windows did not actually buy their copy, having had it distributed via a new computer and will next upgrade their OS by buying a new computer. So what we have left, ladies and gentlemen, is the simple fact that we have essentially reached the point wherein the level of copy protection serves only ultimately to force people TO pirate the software if glitches or side effects start showing up. For WGA it's a false positive. For StarForce it's your disk drive. For some people, it's other stuff.
I said this earlier in the post but let me highlight it here:
If Windows Genuine Advantage ever hiccups and tells me that my copy of Windows (which I own legally) is in fact NOT legal, the simplest, easiest, and cheapest solution is to actually make my copy of Windows illegal!
The only alternatives are to take Windows to trial, which would be ridiculously expensive, require good lawyers, and I might just lose, too, or else buy my copy of windows AGAIN.
And then I come to the End User License Agreement, and lo and behold, I discover that if Microsoft suddenly decides I have pirated Windows (which it has done to various people on various occasions), I may have to actually START pirating Windows to be able to use it.
This isn't some sort of simple measure to make sure that people don't just casually distribute copies of the software. That's pretty simple. It's hard to describe why there's a demarcation line, but there is. At a certain point, copy protection ceases to become more effective by becoming more vigilant. This is because the people who don't have extreme tech smarts have all been weeded out, leaving only the people who are hard-core determined to pirate the software.
In addition, most users of Windows did not actually buy their copy, having had it distributed via a new computer and will next upgrade their OS by buying a new computer. So what we have left, ladies and gentlemen, is the simple fact that we have essentially reached the point wherein the level of copy protection serves only ultimately to force people TO pirate the software if glitches or side effects start showing up. For WGA it's a false positive. For StarForce it's your disk drive. For some people, it's other stuff.
I said this earlier in the post but let me highlight it here:
If Windows Genuine Advantage ever hiccups and tells me that my copy of Windows (which I own legally) is in fact NOT legal, the simplest, easiest, and cheapest solution is to actually make my copy of Windows illegal!
The only alternatives are to take Windows to trial, which would be ridiculously expensive, require good lawyers, and I might just lose, too, or else buy my copy of windows AGAIN.
Sign in to comment in this discussion.
Comments
Heck, I parted out the old family used Dell, built a new rig and used the serial from the Dell.
Guess what? Its perfectly legal. I bought and own that copy of Windows, check. I use it only on one computer, check. I have my COA right here, check.
Because stuff was already set up the way we like, I connected the old hard drive to the new hardware, removing the chipset drivers from the Dell, and guess what? It says that due to "significant changes" in the hardware an immediate activation is required before Windows can be used again. Won't log in at this point. It will however open the activation dialog just like the one if you were to install the Windows for the first time. Activation over internet fails. I call the number provided, and in 5 minutes I have a working operating system. So yeah, just call them and they will get it done for you.
I'll keep my copies of Windows 95/98 and 2000 around forever(or at least until I got no PC that will run them anymore. Now I have two, and I could probably build three with a little extra hardware), but I won't buy something which forces me to call somebody and beg for forgiveness once I have moved a little bit too much hardware around. (I do it all the time!). That's against everything I consider to be my freedoms inside my own home. Heck, I found the old activation thingy with TTG bad enough, even though the new one hasn't nagged me one bit(it just works, it doesn't nag me about "You moved hardware, go back to start!")
Actually I hadn't had much of a conversation... It takes about that long to read the serial and activation both ways... Its not that bad really... If you actually own it.
I've been long done with Debian... Because of all segfaults and haunted builds...
Seriously though, you are talking about a free operating system... I wonder how the pay distros handle their anti-piracy business. I bet that too involves serials, accounts and activations...
Right, they don't trust me. Because of that, I don't trust them. I don't want something on my PC made by people I don't trust.