Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!pepper!cmcmanis From: cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Those reconditioned 1000s Message-ID: <29305@sun.uucp> Date: Mon, 28-Sep-87 14:58:59 EDT Article-I.D.: sun.29305 Posted: Mon Sep 28 14:58:59 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 29-Sep-87 06:28:02 EDT References: <5244@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Sender: news@sun.uucp Lines: 103 Summary: I disagree, so whats new? In article <5244@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>, (Randy Spencer) writes: > I don't get it. Here we are, a LARGE collection of individuals, who, for > several years there, owned a 64 and PIRATED our little hearts out (Sorry, > I don't mean "pirated", I should have said "Collected Software":'). Where do you get this 'we' stuff paleface? :-) I went from the S-100 world to the Amiga world and never stopped of in C64 land! Anyway, I think that two things are changing. One, more regular people understand why it is a bad thing to pirate software. A friend of mine used PC-Write for a year and then forked over $200 for Microsoft Word 3.0. Why I asked? "Because," she said, "I've seen how much support $75 bought me, versus the $200 Microsoft charges, and I can get my questions answered by Microsoft." This represents at least some understanding that what most software publishers are selling is not an overpriced floppy disk, rather it is a service, where half the service resides on the disk and the other half is still back at the publisher. They have no motivation to pirate software because they want that other half. Second, manufacturers are realizing that investing in copy protection is simply making cracker's lives more fun (more challenges you see) and their support peoples lives less fun. Let me relate a short conversation I had with a company of a well liked game. Me: "Hi, my game disk just died it can't read anymore." Them: "Oh, thats the copy protection, your running an original arent you?" Me: "Of course, and it wont boot." Them: "Ok, send it back with $10 and we will replace the disk." Me: "How about if you replace it and I keep the $10." Them: "But there is a handling fee!" Me: "Well if you hadn't copy protected the disk I would have been using a backup and would not be calling you. Since it's your fault that I can't back it up it's also your responsibility to keep it working." Them: (Sound of coffee being sent through nose) "That's the most preposterous thing I ever heard." Me: "Well, you think about it, and then ask yourself if it is the most preposterous thing a lawyer or the Attorney General ever heard." Them: (pause) "What's your name again? Did you send in your registration card?" Me: "Of course I sent my card in, I get fliers from you every quarter about all of the wonderful MSDOS games your writing." Them: "Send it back to my attention, I'll see what I can do." While it is not clear that I could have really sued these people I was ready to try. I will probably also send a letter to my congress critter to see if we can make a law that states what I said above about responsibility for maintenence. > [stuff deleted about how Amiga owners are different] > Well, there are alot of strange things about the people who buy Amigas. > They Band together more than most computer users No more than the Mac users did at the outset. Ever notice how similar Commodore and Apple are in this regard? Both companies were running on an outdated by extremely successful 8 bit line, and then they brought out an advanced 16 bit machine which attracted a lot of excited programmers? If your listening Commodore you can skip the C64-GS. > They are addicted to the machine and try to convert others All computer users do this to a greater or lesser extent. > They can't seem to communicate exectly "Why" the machine is better > than all the others out there, they just know that it is Some of us can :-) But thats another message in a non-existent newsgroup. > They love the machine even though *no one* has yet to come out with > any professional software for it. I disagree, Word Perfect, MaxiPlan Plus, Aegis Draw+, DP II. These are all 'professional' software packages. > They tend to be programmers or hackers The first ones certainly, early adopters always are (even for the IBM PC) Lets see the mix on the next 300,000 before we generalize. > Well, now that Commodore/NotAmiga has released the "Mass Market" > version of the Amiga (The C64 of the 90's), will that magic still be > there? Will it convert the vilest of those "First Generation" > computer owners also. (By "vilest" I mean, they were like we were, > stealing software and all, and then we grew up, and they had to wait > for C64 version of the Amiga, like they will feel more at home there, > oh, boy). A couple of pirates (some even on this net! :-)) Were so excited about the challenge of programming the darn thing that the challenge of breaking CP paled by comparison. It is apparent that more than a few have been turned away from the "dark side" of the force. But in anycase a percentage of the user base will be pirates, and that number goes up with the expanding user base. So chances are you'll meet a few, the best defense when one of these budding crackers shows you how easily they 'cracked' the latest game, is to show them "The Dream Goes Berserk" or Bspline and say "Yeah, cracking stuff is easy, even 9 yr olds can do that, but can you do THIS?!" The user community of the Amiga isn't impressed by crackers, and thats what the game is all about, egos. Every time you're more impressed by Leo's hacks than with breaking a new CP scheme you add incentive to create. --Chuck McManis uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis BIX: cmcmanis ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.