>Well, maybe I'm just extremely 'anal' in regard to my software, but I >know where EVERY installation CD is and have them carefully stored. I >have NEVER in my 18+ years of using PC's and Macs lost a CD or set of >installation floppies. I am of the opinion that if I buy a piece of >software or OS that I should protect that investment. Whenever >somebody says that they 'lack' a certain disk it raises a warning flag >that they might not have actually purchased that software.
Not everyone is like you. I have more software then I know what to do with (all legit I might add), and I can't account for every manual and set of install disks. Mostly because they are in not necessarily organized piles spread among at least 4 locations. So if I'm looking for something, I may or may not be able to locate it easily. And so I definitely sympathize with someone who says they have part of a CD set, but don't have all of it, as I have been in that situation many times myself. I also have a number of items that have been damaged or destroyed. Because I'm NOT 'anal' about my storage (rolling over a CD with a chair does wonders for making it unusable). Some people are like me, some are like you, most are probably somewhere in between (ie: they have things carefully packed away, but they have no idea which box in a pile of boxes in storage contain their carefully packed items). > My point is that software prices are >high because these companies have to make up for lost profits because >certain individuals who think it is OK to lend and borrow without >having to pay. This is not entirely true. Show me the study that indicates that pirated software actually accounts for significant lost sales. Sure, the software industry makes claims of billions lost every year to piracy, but those figures ASSUME that every pirated copy would have otherwise been purchased. There have been informal studies (I consider any magazine or web site poll an informal study) that indicate that an overwhelming majority of software that has been pirated WOULD NOT have been purchased if the person was forced to buy it to use it. The fact is, people pirate BECAUSE of high prices and BECAUSE they have no intention of purchasing a program. If they couldn't get it illegally, they wouldn't get it at all. So software companies would not necessarily see increased sales if piracy stopped. If the software industry LOWERED prices, they may very well see a significant drop in piracy. >I am a regular in the Mac or PC chat room on AOL and >people come in all the time asking for serial numbers for this piece of >software or that piece of software. We NEVER help them and tell them >to go buy it! And I agree with you. That is the right thing to do. If someone comes to me and asks for a serial number, I'd tell them to bugger off. Once I KNOW that a user is a pirate, then I would not help them. But we aren't talking about someone that is a known pirate, or has asked for a serial number, or really, in any other way indicated themselves as not being a legit owner. In fact, I just pulled up their original email... it says as follows: >I still have the OS 9.2.1 >my iMac came with, but I dont' have the original OS X >disk Humm... well, he specifies 'my iMac came with'... I'm not sure you can get any more legit of a copy then that. Since the question was solely regarding getting OS 9 installed, that is pretty clear that OS 9 is a legit copy. And since MANY iMacs came with OS 9 and OS X CDs, I read that as, "I have the OS 9 CD, but lost the OS X one that came with the iMac". OS 10.2.8 that the user now has installed DID NOT come with an OS 9 CD in the box. Apple stopped shipping OS 9 with OS X as of 10.2. So your (rather rude in the light of the facts) assumption that he stole the software has a much more plausible explanation. He purchased Jaguar, and now wants to get OS 9 installed so he can use Classic apps. He has the legit OS 9 CD that came with his iMac, but was simply unsure if he needed the matching OS X CD that also came with his iMac. OS 9 not being bundled with the copy of Jaguar he purchased, he wasn't sure how to proceed. >Theft of software hurts all of us by raising prices. Wrong, see my statements above. Crappy software and greedy publishers are what hurt us. Paid bug fixes in the form of version upgrades hurt us. Planned obsolescence hurts us. > Encouraging or >aiding them in their theft is a thing we should all avoid. Cavalier >attitudes like yours don't help. When did I encourage theft? I'm sorry, I guess in the future, to make you and your opinions on software piracy happy, I will request a copy of the program's serial number before answering any support questions. Just to be sure it really is a legit copy. Oh wait, I can't do that with the Mac OS, it doesn't have them.... humm, I guess I'll ask for a photocopy of the CD to be faxed to me, and until someone can track down a CD that they don't need anyway, I guess they have to wait for a response. >Pay for your software and then you won't be in the situation described >by the original poster. Or, at least, if you DID pay for it....be >responsible and store it in a safe place. No, actually, here you are 100% wrong. A paid version of Jaguar (OS 10.2.8) does NOT include an OS 9 install. So legit or not, he STILL will not be able to install OS 9 without using a separate OS 9 install CD. And he clearly specifies that the OS 9 CD came with his iMac, making it legit. So a fully legal, purchased copy of the OS would still have left him in the situation he is in. At no time was this person ever in a situation that having a legit copy of the missing CD would have solved his problem. And as for being responsible and keeping the software in a safe place, sure, that is good advice, but really, that's up to whoever bought it. If they want to spend $600 on Photoshop and then use the CDs as wind chimes, that's their choice. And lets face it, we STILL don't know why the person doesn't have the OS X CD (or if they are referring to the 10.2.8 CD they just installed, or to an older version of OS X that came with their iMac... since they JUST installed 10.2.8, I think it is a safer assumption to think they have that CD on hand, and are missing a different OS X CD... maybe they had a fire, maybe they recently moved and don't know which box it is in... maybe they gave it to someone else after buying Jaguar in the store. Maybe they are helping with piracy and loaned it to a friend... we don't know. I'm just not as ready to crucify someone as you appear to be.) -chris <http://www.mythtech.net> -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
