In the realm of technology, what is right or wrong? Are the lines blurred, or is the distinction more important than ever? This Topic is for the discussion of any field of technology.

By Solenoid (Sol) on Unrecorded Date:

Confessions of a Software Pirate

A few years ago I was the member of a pirate software club which met
monthly near where I lived.

Imagine a large public hall with lines of tables running down the length of
it, and electrical cords snaking their way across the floor and along the
tables. Add to that picture more than 600 computers set up on the tables,
plugged into those snaking electrical cords, and all working. There were
laptops, desktops, towers, SVGA screens, CGA screens, green screens,
orange screens – everything from XTs to 486s (who would ever need the
power of a 486DX-66?). Beside each computer was a disk box or boxes
filled with software (hard disks were generally 80MB to 120MB those days,
with many 40MB or less). An operator sat in front of many of those
computers.

People would wander around, flicking through the titles on the disks in the boxes (if the owner was
there), looking through directories on hard drives with XTree Gold or similar. The wanderer would often
ask questions: “What’s this program like?”, “Any good games?”, “I’m looking for such-and-such a
program.” If there was something that the wanderer wanted, blank floppies would be produced and the
program copied. I remember one meeting where the big thing was to get a copy of the MS-DOS 5 beta
to replace the horrid MS-DOS 4.1 we were using those days (I said it was a few years ago!).


“The only real limitation on your copying was the
number of floppy disks you could afford!”

All this time the hall was humming with the chatter of a thousand voices while swaps were made and
stories told and re-told. It was exciting to be among the 'action', hearing the latest gossip and checking
out the new software releases.

When the wanderer had filled his floppies, wanted to look at his new acquisitions, or just wanted to sit
down and have a cup of coffee, he or she (yes, there were plenty of women and children there too) would
return to their computer and others would wander over. Often programs just acquired would be copied for
other people before they were tested, loaded, or even had an anti-virus check done on them! Not all the
wanderers had a computer setup in the hall, but it was considered bad manners if you were there just to
take and not to give.

The only real limitation on your copying was the number of floppy disks you could afford!

It didn't take me long to build a huge collection of top quality commercial programs and soon I had one
of the ‘better’ places to stop for a look. With my hard drive holding only 80MB, I had quite a few
diskboxes full of every imaginable program – 95 percent of which I would never use. I became a software
‘collector’.

I finally stopped going to that club (the software industry started prosecuting pirates and I was worried
about it being raided) and sometime later embraced the Christian faith, becoming convinced that it was
wrong to have these pirated programs. I then destroyed my collection. The newer disks I just erased,
the older ones (mainly 360kB and 720kB floppies) I burnt. It was a big fire!

After the destruction of my collection I was left with legal copies of MS-DOS 5, Windows 3.1 and a
horrible word processor my daughter had won at school. Some ‘collection’!!!


“I honestly believe that if I hadn't ‘given up’ my pirated software
when I did then none of these doors would have opened for me”

And then things started to happen. A friend from my dim dark past when I was a magazine editor turned
up on my front door with a bag literally overflowing with commercial software. He is a journalist in the
computer field and the offerings were from software he had reviewed (he was using Windows 95, I was
still stuck on Windows 3.1).

Being interested in computers, but having a limited budget, I started to check out the cover disks on
computer magazines, getting many freeware applications from them. A modem gave me access to the
local BBSs and, again, more freeware. When I went on to the Internet I suddenly had offered more
freeware than I could imagine! The CFS site was born out of that desire to collect good quality free
software and to get away from the frustration of downloading so-called free programs to find that they
were really shareware. I was back collecting software – but this time I insisted on it being legal as well
as free.

For a time I returned to freelance journalism and wrote software reviews for a major Australian
newspaper. This provided me with not just an additional income, but also some excellent commercial
software which has been helpful for web authoring. Many of these programs have no real equivalent
amongst the ranks of freeware and are outside my budget (eating is still necessary!).

I honestly believe that if I hadn't ‘given up’ my pirated software when I did then none of these doors
would have opened for me and I would not be receiving the benefits I am now. It was a matter of
obedience.

Jesus once said: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my
Father’s commands and remain in his love.” The Bible says: “The Lord will grant you abundant
prosperity – in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground...” Guess
that includes software too!


“Authors who sell their programs should not
have them stolen by otherwise honest folk”

The benefits I have received have not stopped at software. I purchased a 530MB hard disk a couple of
years ago when they were “all that was needed” but finances have been hard since and I have been
unable to replace it with a larger one. Of course, 530MB is much too small – specially for my current
collection of freeware – and my ‘prosperity’ has included being given three more hard drives, two 600MB
and another 530MB – all for nothing! I was also offered a free CD-ROM drive but, as it had to be
connected to one of the four IDE ports, I had to go back to using my old 2x one which connects to the
sound card. One day I will get a 4GB hard drive and will then be able to free up an IDE port so I can get
a faster CD-ROM. I will also purchase another 64MB of RAM.

[Update to the previous paragraph: an unknown relative died and left me sufficient to purchase 80MB of
RAM. I also received a taxation refund check sufficient to purchase a 6.4GB hard drive. Both allowed
me to exceed my desires, and neither was expected!]

When I first started on the Internet I had an aging 14.4k modem which finally ‘died’ and put me off-line.
A friend who works at a PC hardware distribution company got me 33.6k voice/data/fax modem to keep
me going, saying that I could have it for the wholesale price and that the invoice would follow. After 18
months I am still waiting for the invoice...

So that is the reason for the ‘Completely Free Software’ site, and the reason why it only has completely
free and legal software. No ‘free downloads’ with the ‘don’t worry, it doesn't have a nag screen and it
doesn’t stop working after a certain time’ attitude we find so prevalent on many sites. Authors who sell
their programs should not have them stolen by otherwise honest folk.

If you are interested in learning more about why I gave up pirated software and what the Christian faith
can do for you, then please e-mail me now. You might also want to click on the ‘key’ below. The life you
save will be your own!


This guy now has a huge freeware website... check it out!

Completely Free dot Com

By Solenoid (Sol) on Unrecorded Date:

PS - previous link has free WingCommander software... Secret Ops I think...

By The One Known Only as (Greyfox) on Unrecorded Date:

Huh? I think the reason this guy became so prosperous wasn't because he gave up his software, but because he had made so many contacts with other computer enthusiasts during his time with the piracy circle. Yes, he gave up his collection, but even if he still had his collection, the friends he spoke of would have l given him all the items he mentioned. Software isn't repelled by older software, trust me--I see closets full of old stuff stacked right next to new stuff... Archives are great. I really, honestly, can't see where this guy's coming from. Help me?

By Solenoid (Sol) on Unrecorded Date:

Is it wrong to steal software? Is copying a disk (or audiocassette for that matter) really stealing? Where is the line drawn?

By Solenoid (Sol) on Unrecorded Date:

More here on Warez

By Bryan Cummings (Houdini) on Unrecorded Date:

What would be the moral implications of someone developing a true sentiant Artificial Intelegence?

One that actually sees, thinks, and feels like a human?

Would this be a good thing or spell doom for humanity?

By Funk Sol Brother (Sol) on Unrecorded Date:

This is a very tricky question. The answers would stem from the goals of the AI - what does an AI consider to be most important? Certainly, a computer would move toward its goals with utmost efficiency... if it suspected that making money was good, it would probably become a very efficient money-making machine. If it sought communication as the highest good, it would be very social. If it sought justice, it would fight for that. You can usually narrow a person's beliefs into a few statements... narrowing an AI's beliefs into a few statements would give an idea of where it would go after creation... of course, all personalities are capable of growing and changing...

By The One Known Only as (Greyfox) on Unrecorded Date:

I just re-read the software-pirate-guy-turned-christian post, and I have come to the following conclusion: Any person can apply the teachings of any faith to every day life, and can interpret any otherwise-explainable actions as being 'divine intervention' or faith-driven with enough exposure to that faith.

I still think this guy would have received everything he did, whether or not he kept his 'pirated software'. To be honest, I don't know of anybody nowadays who still has copies of that old stuff, anyway. It's part of the industry: obsolescence is part of the game. OK, so the guy decided to burn all of his stuff because he was worried about the feds coming after him. If the feds wanted him, they could have come at any time, including after the stuff was destroyed (but they never did, did they?)

If he was concerned about the wrongness of having the software by claiming the commandment "Thou shalt not Steal" then he should have been concerned about the 'gifts' he received from his associates... Especially that CDROM where the guy promised an invoice, but never got one? Hmmmm... Stolen merchandise comes without invoices, yet he claimed it as good fortune since it was FREE. Should his christian guilt have kicked in there, too? Why isn't he concerned for the possibility his friend stole the hardware, and then maybe lose his job because of it? So he could have a free CDROM? Or that guy who was testing that bag full of software... All of that was purchased for evaluation purposes, yes, but for ANOTHER COMPANY... This guy stole a bag full of company software for personal use.

He insists on all his software being free and legal. No problem. I applaud him. I just think he should re-evaluate the circumstances of his new collection, compare it to his old collection, and he will see that the means by which they were acquired are actually very similar, only he has removed himself from the process, instead relying on associates to get the stuff for him... He shouldn't chalk it up to 'mana from heaven' or other gifts through the grace of God--he only claims these as reasons since his conversion to christianity...

I am in no way belittling any religion, especially christianity, through these statements. I only question the "Blind Faith" theory so many people have when they decide to accept a religion/faith to guide their morality. Faith is great, just try and temper it with some common sense and reality...