Tag: piracy

Categories
perspective

But wait… there’s more

It all started with the revelation that (under South African law) piracy is not a crime. That tied in oh so nicely with the declaration by the US government regarding the estimated cost of piracy. All within the same week. So what’s the real story?

How are we who copy songs from our friends (who may or may not have bought those songs in the first place) labelled criminals by the hyped-up media and propaganda campaigns while the multi-billion dollar industries who pillage and profiteer in the name of capitalism can be labelled victims of the same “crime”?

What does irk me is the untruthfulness of these campaigns. If the law did in fact make piracy (for personal use) a criminal offence then the campaigns would be legit and all would be well. But to lump it all together with the hardcore mass-scale pirates, blur it and then through propaganda make it seem like a legal precendent…

It’s no small wonder why we (and yes, we, not just me) are growing increasingly distrustful of large formal organisations and governments- they (ab)use their power to deceive the people who put their trust in them. Power corrupts…

Categories
perspective

Piracy is NOT A Crime*

I did not see one this coming. Under South African law, piracy is not a crime. Contrary to all those ads on the DVDs and the big screens sponsored by the DTI and all the talk and all the hyped media…

I’m no lawyer and like most people rely on the messages that are published by authorities to understand what we can and can not do. So my boundaries are then subsequently defined for me when I choose to assimilate those messages into my day to day life. It seems that one of the big lies has been: piracy is a crime. Ok, maybe not a blatant lie. But they certainly did their best to link the criminal element in. You wouldn’t steal a handbag….?

But all is not what it seems.

It does appear to me as if the spin doctors were doing their best on this one to, well, make or save a buck. And if there’s one thing I learned a long time ago, if you don’t understand who/what/why of any situation… follow the money.

* not a crime for personal use only. not referring to them that import thousands of pirated copies and then bootleg them on the street corner. that IS a crime.

Categories
Business Rants Technology

Crack My App

What do you do if someone asks you to do something illegal?

Of course (and i do sincerely mean and hope, “of course”) the first response is to just say “No”. But does it end there? Maybe it depends, maybe it doesn’t?

Well, I was asked by a company to crack some software. Everything was totally illegal and i declined, of course. But as i sit here thinking about it, revising my study module on business ethics, i wonder if just declining is enough? Should i actually report it to the authorities?

If someone asked me to go steal a car, i would definitely report that to the police, after carefully and probably politely removing myself from the company of the requestor.
If someone asked me to steal some money, even if it was money owed to them, i think i would also probably alert “someone”. But if someone asked me to crack software (because i can since i’m a programmer- or at least, that is the assumption), whom do i tell? Do i even need to? Nothing illegal has happened.. but just where does the line end?

Grrrr. Why do idiots want to crack stuff anyway? Just play by the book and it’ll be easier for all of us 🙂