================================================ Subject: Re: Excel registries and changing favorite Creed song (Weathered album) From: "Debbi R" To: Date: Sun 10 Feb 2002 21:07:04 -0800 ================================================ And the answer to your last answer is, it's illegal. IP law is pretty clear. You have a license to use the software. You don't own it. Oh I forgot. This is all about putting another dollar in Gate's pocket. Nevermind, you're absolutely right. Steal away! -----Original Message----- From: Creed Discussion List [mailto:CREED-DISCUSS@WINDUPLIST.COM] On Behalf Of Joe Earles Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2002 8:56 PM To: CREED-DISCUSS@WINDUPLIST.COM Subject: Re: Excel, registries and changing favorite Creed song (Weathered album) I'm not of the "two wrongs somehow make a right" mindset, but I'd love for someone to explain to me where the right is in me buying a piece of software, taking it home and installing it on my machine and being precluded from making too many changes or upgrades to my hardware or else I have to pay for it again. That pretty well describes the XP Home edition. If you swap out your mainboard, hard drive, NIC and CPU guess what... BillyBob decides you have a new PC and you get to pay to install XP again! Now if the motivation behind that isn't greed I don't know what it is. Why, pray tell, am I restricted from upgrading my system if I want to keep my OS? Now granted the possibility of THE AVERAGE END USER making that many changes to one system is next to zip, but the chances of a certified PC technician trying out new stuff just for kicks is feasible. The notion of that same tech having several PCs is also feasible. Now I have to pay for the OS four times to run it on each machine on my home LAN? Look, if I do the right thing even when I know that I can get the product for nothing that ought to afford me the right to do with it whatever I please, so long as no one else is benefiting from it. To spin it around to an argument that holds water here, let's say you go out and buy a copy of Weathered. It plays fine on your PC, but if you want to play it on your stereo's CD player you have to send Wind-Up records $15 more...and if you want to play it in the car, again you send them $15 for the privilege. Would that piss anyone but me off just a little? Sure, you can make the argument that the software companies suffer when you pirate their stuff. All right. That argument has to hold *some* merit, of course, but I can't help but realize that there are scores upon scores of pirate copies of the earlier (9x/Me/NT/2K) operating systems out there and Bill Gates continues to be one of the richest men if not still THE richest man on planet earth. Simply put, he doesn't have to worry about people pirating software because he'll never have the time to spend all the money he has now. The motivation behind the one user, one license thing is nothing more than greed and that, as far as I'm concerned, is on the same level as the one who pirates the software. Are the software developers worthy to make profits for their effort? Absolutely. But once they have my money, what business is it of theirs what I do with the product? This question and the lack of a logical and forthright answer is the biggest motivation behind software piracy. To unsubscribe or change your preferences for the Creed-Discuss list, visit: http://www.winduplist.com/ls/discuss/form.asp