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Author Topic: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense  (Read 4117 times)

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Offline JKD

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #29 from previous page: March 05, 2008, 06:02:34 PM »
Dude, it's fine with me...it's only $10 after all..I thought there was some value in getting the manuals and disks together is all..if Mike can get you it for free, more power to him and you :D

Personally, I don't condone piracy hence my huge CD, DVD and software collection. I have been given copied games i the past but found I didn't value them *at all*...there's no enjoyment in stealing something for me...

I am still a hypocrite though...I do have a few 'stolen' Blu-Ray DVDs...but now the format war is over I'll be fixing that by buying a player and the disks :D
 

Offline TrevTopic starter

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #30 on: March 05, 2008, 06:12:52 PM »
I think everyone missed my point. It wasn't about losing an auction--I bid what I was willing to pay, didn't win, end of story. It's about supply and demand, as noted, and the lack of any other determining factors. The point would be moot if companies like SAS would make legacy, largely unprofitable software freely available and distributable. Also note that it doesn't take a genius in deductive reasoning to see that the person that initially outbid me was a collector/hoarder (or possibly a reseller).

On another note, did anyone read the new Amiga Anywhere SDK terms? Sure, they've "waived" the fee (no one would actually pay $400 for it, after all, even if they were given the opportunity), but you have to grant Amiga, Inc. permanent, nonnegotiable, nonrevocable, exclusive distribution rights to your software, without knowing to whom, what, or where your software will be distributed. Ummm, no, thank you. And from what I hear, the SDK lacks supports for any kind of network connectivity, so it's really not good for anything other than yet another Bejeweled clone. (That's a gross generalization, I know. But come on. When you're competing with Apple, RIM, and Microsoft's in house products, lack of network connectivity just isn't going to cut it.)
 

Offline arkpandora

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #31 on: March 05, 2008, 09:48:12 PM »
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I was outbid by a collector who will no doubt put the box on a shelf and forget about it. That's one less new project from me in the future.

And so there you go: further evidence that so-called collectors are killing the Amiga for legitimate users.

I just felt like griping, and I know at least a few people here can feel my pain.


In the narrow psychological sense of the word, a collector is someone who tries to move away the perspective of death by becoming absorbed in an activity that unlike life has no temporal limit, and consists in amassing objects which like the human body are of a same "genetic" nature, but unlike the human body may be infinite and not limited in space.  This definition may be blunt, but I can tell from experience that it is sometimes close to reality.  When it comes to collecting video games or other works of art or mind output, one consequence of this behaviour is that the same collector's shelf may mix the best and the worse - a masterpiece and some vulgar product.  By letting this happen, such a typical collector isn't aware of his items' intrinsic value, or he would have made choices and would no be a typical collector.  For such a collector, an item's monetary value is first associated to the rarity rather than intrinsic value.  If this item is not produced anymore, on every marketplace, whatever the pricing heights, the one who's looking for this item out of love and interest for the work and intrinsic value will always compete with the collector that doesn't care much about the work but just want one nice item to complete a collection.  If the latter wins, I think too that griping is legitimate.      

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Like it or not the Amiga is now a collectors item. One by one the serious users have moved on as the gap between current technology and Amiga technology gets bigger.

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The amiga is now a retro machine and nothing else.


I can't agree with that, as I suppose that everyone will agree that the power of a computer is not technical specifications, but performance.  To my knowledge, no more recent system produces perfect mouse pointer animation or allow any user to understand the role of every system file, therefore on such regards even an Amiga 500 is still more powerful than any newer system.

In addition I still haven't managed to display Amiga animation decently in emulators, so that using a real Amiga is still for me (as well as most people I suppose) the only way to play some of the only interesting video games I have seen in my life, therefore the only way to meet some works of art and even masterpieces : such an observation goes far beyond the narrow world of mere computing, as it makes of the physical Amiga computer the condition of these works preservation.
 

Offline hardlink

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #32 on: March 05, 2008, 10:21:32 PM »
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Rabbi wrote:

Can you tell us what the s/w tool is that you're looking to legally purchase & what s/w you're planning to develop.  If you told us, some of us might be interested in your project & even help you out.   :-)

Inquiring minds want to know!  :lol:


I have to agree with Rabbi on this. I don't like to see Amiga things go into a landfill, so I sometimes have more than one legal copy (hardware and software:). Come to think of it, I shipped (at my expense :-/ ) a OS 3.5 developer an A4000 to develop on.
 

Offline SACC-guy

Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #33 on: March 05, 2008, 11:36:34 PM »
@JKD
Sorry, Didn't mean to un-do your very fair deal/sale.
but since Trev said he will honor your deal.

Everything's fine.

Michael,
just rather give it away then let him pirate!!!

BTW @Trev
What was the item you bid on? Maybe I have it and can let you have that instead?
 

Offline matthey

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #34 on: March 06, 2008, 12:45:51 AM »
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hardlink wrote:
Come to think of it, I shipped (at my expense :-/ ) a OS 3.5 developer an A4000 to develop on.


Thank you and bless you. If we had more like you in the Amiga community, the Amiga would rise again.

@all
I use a real Amiga and for more than just games and nostalgia. The hardware is expensive but retains it's value well and there is some very good productive software for the Amiga that is cheap. I don't see using abandoned ware as pirating but I try to support the Amiga software developers that still support the Amiga. I don't see Amiga developers as wasting their time as most developed software can or could be run on AmigaOS4 with minimal changes. I keep investing in the Amiga and what I invest in has a habit of becoming very valuable. Don't give up on the Amiga.
 

Offline gdanko

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #35 on: March 06, 2008, 01:10:14 AM »
For all that I have collected for free, I have tried to give back to the community as well. I gave good friend of mine a CyberStorm MkIII for his 3000T because he uses it on a pretty regular basis. I also gave a full loaded mint condition A2000 68040 to a friend of mine who used to work for Amiga, Inc... he got rid of everything out of anger when Gateway screwed Amiga over but saw my stuff and wanted to get back into the scene. You give a little and get a little. And do not fault those whose desire is to restore and collect.
 

Offline matthey

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #36 on: March 06, 2008, 04:23:20 AM »
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gdanko wrote:
...I gave good friend of mine a CyberStorm MkIII for his 3000T because he uses it on a pretty regular basis...


That's Amiga saint hood right there! Most Amigans would give their left arm for one. I just clocked mine up to 80 MHz tonight. The 68060 is a pretty nice processor after it gets up to speed.

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I also gave a fully loaded mint condition A2000 68040 to a friend of mine who used to work for Amiga, Inc... he got rid of everything out of anger when Gateway screwed Amiga over but saw my stuff and wanted to get back into the scene.


Too many good people and developers have been screwed over and lost money with the Amiga. It's too bad because if we all worked together we would all benefit.
 

Offline gdanko

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #37 on: March 06, 2008, 06:24:47 AM »
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That's Amiga saint hood right there! Most Amigans would give their left arm for one. I just clocked mine up to 80 MHz tonight. The 68060 is a pretty nice processor after it gets up to speed.


Thank you. I feel that if someone shows me an act of kindness (give me free Amiga gear) then I should return that act of kindness to the community.

Unfortunately most people are out to make a profit. The love of money is the root of all evil, they say.. and I believe this to be true. Very few folks in the community are willing to share from their overflow. On the other hand there are a few who do and I find that most commendable. If we all practiced this sort of kindness we'd have a much more fulfilling community.