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Author Topic: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense  (Read 4119 times)

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Offline TrevTopic starter

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!@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« on: March 03, 2008, 09:55:38 PM »
I bid on an Amiga software tool on eBay, a tool I would have liked to use to do legitimate (perhaps professional) software development. 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.
 

Offline JKD

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2008, 09:57:49 PM »
What were you after?

I'm selling off 15-20 years of useful Amiga software I've used throught my Amiga career....although if you wanted StormC + Amiga DevKit...they're gone already
 

Offline Ral-Clan

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2008, 10:03:05 PM »
Quote

Trev wrote:
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.


I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but that's how I feel about the collectors who buy up all the PPC & 060 boards just to play a game or two, or do nothing with. Those boards could really make a difference to a programmer or artist doing CPU intensive rendering, video, animation, music, etc. (people creating something that might get the Amiga some recognition).
Music I've made using Amigas and other retro-instruments: http://theovoids.bandcamp.com
 

Offline TrevTopic starter

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2008, 10:28:53 PM »
@JKD

To be honest, it was probably something I can do without, as there are "free" alternatives available; however, most of the alternatives come with vague disclaimers like "this will probably only work with Exec V37 or later."

I'd love to have a complete and clean copy of SAS/C 6.50 if anyone's got one. (That's not what I was bidding on, but it's on my wish list.)

@ral-clan

I agree with you there. If the only ones with PPC hardware are consumers, there's really nothing for producers to do but move to other platforms.
 

Offline davideo

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2008, 10:54:05 PM »
Quote

Trev wrote:
@JKD
I'd love to have a complete and clean copy of SAS/C 6.50 if anyone's got one. (That's not what I was bidding on, but it's on my wish list.)


Join the EAB http://eab.abime.net/index.php and get SASC6.58 for free  :angry:

It's currently in 'The Zone' for download.

Dave G  8-)
 

Offline JKD

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2008, 11:38:38 PM »
Quote

Trev wrote:
@JKD

To be honest, it was probably something I can do without, as there are "free" alternatives available; however, most of the alternatives come with vague disclaimers like "this will probably only work with Exec V37 or later."

I'd love to have a complete and clean copy of SAS/C 6.50 if anyone's got one. (That's not what I was bidding on, but it's on my wish list.)



I have a complete set of original floppies *and* manuals for SAS/C that you are welcome to for $15.

The manuals were supplied without binders so I found some.
Steve
 

Offline weirdami

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2008, 12:06:13 AM »
@Trev

Quote
I'd love to have a complete and clean copy of SAS/C 6.50 if anyone's got one


My signature is selling that. I haven't tried to use the disks since 1998, though.
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Offline persia

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #7 on: March 04, 2008, 01:01:20 AM »
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.  Eventually the technology becomes an issue.  It's a competitive world.  What happens in 2009 when the US abandons NTSC for ATSC?  Or the PAL world becomes the DVB-T world?  How long will PAL and NTSC be supported before they drop them from the TVs all together?

I don't know about ASTC, but I've seen DVB-T and it is so much better than PAL that it won't be long before people switch once movies are available in it.  In 2019 Amiga collectors will be competing with old TV collectors for equipment.  It only gets worse as time goes by.  Amiga 2000s towers with horribly slow PPC cards go for more money than computers that are 4 to 8 magnitudes of power more powerful.  As the electronics become older the supply will contract, forcing prices further up.  How much money is a collector willing to spend?  
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Offline amigadave

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #8 on: March 04, 2008, 01:50:56 AM »
@persia,

All is not doom and gloom, just look at the possibilities that the Clone-A and Minimig projects provide for the future of Amiga.  Yes, the original equipment will still be a collectors world where the prices for working, pristine Amigas will continue to rise, but for those that just want the experience and possibly a project for future advancement, the Minimig and Clone-A may provide inspiration.

By the time NTSC and PAL TVs are hard to find will we really want them anyway???  Any serious work on the Amiga will also include scandoubled and flicker fixed displays.  And even video work done on such equipment as the Video Toaster/Flyer and mastered to DVD will be useful for a while.

What we need is a large group of Amiga developers to jump on to the Open Source Video Toaster code and help develop the Minimig or Clone-A into something amazing at the new TV display standards and resolutions.  (wishful thinking)
How are you helping the Amiga community? :)
 

Offline amigadave

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2008, 01:58:30 AM »
Quote

weirdami wrote:
@Trev

Quote
I'd love to have a complete and clean copy of SAS/C 6.50 if anyone's got one


My signature is selling that. I haven't tried to use the disks since 1998, though.


$100 for something that is available free as a download???

You must be joking if you think those binders are worth $100!

Donate them for free to a needy Amiga programmer that may produce something useful for all Amiga users.
How are you helping the Amiga community? :)
 

Offline TrevTopic starter

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #10 on: March 04, 2008, 02:02:11 AM »
@davideo

SAS/C is fairly easy to find "in the wild," but I don't recall SAS ever authorizing redistribution....
 

Offline freqmax

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #11 on: March 04, 2008, 03:31:25 AM »
Quote

persia wrote:
What happens in 2009 when the US abandons NTSC for ATSC?  Or the PAL world becomes the DVB-T world?  How long will PAL and NTSC be supported before they drop them from the TVs all together?

I don't know about ATSC, but I've seen DVB-T and it is so much better than PAL that it won't be long before people switch once movies are available in it.


You are confusing standards..
NTSC is a transmission and the coding standard. ATSC is a transmission standard. That use mpeg2 coding.
Same for PAL, it's a transmission and coding standard. DVB-T is a transmission standard.
And movies will not be available in DVB/ATSC, just as they won't be available in FM, QPSK, QAM etc.. They will be available in mpeg2 which is used by.. DVD discs.

So TV sets will likely come with DVB-T/ATSC antenna input. But the connector of interest is the DVI/HDMI one. Maybe analog VGA will hang along for a while but don't count on it.
So it's really: DVB/ATSC -> Receiver -> DVI/HDMI -> Display

So any future proofing focus better aim at DVI as any HDMI connector on the display will be backwards compatible.
HDMI allows digital audio interleaved with video aswell.

And it's at least in theory possible to drive a DVI/HDMI connector with Spartan-3E mode "LVDS_25".
 

Offline gdanko

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #12 on: March 04, 2008, 05:30:04 AM »
Maybe I will get flamed but here goes. While I have an A1200 with 030/40, 64mb RAM, and an 8 GB CF card sitting on my desk, I collect and do not feel ashamed for it. I work hard to find free or near free Amiga hardware so I think I've got the right to reap the fruits of my labor without guilt.
 

Offline darksun9210

Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #13 on: March 04, 2008, 07:24:28 AM »
plus we have our eyes open and ears to the ground, picking up machines decommissioned from companies, schools, universities, friends and family emptying lofts and basements, moving house etc. as if it weren't for enthusiasts like all of us, most of the machines we cherish, develop and use would have been consigned to the scrap heap long ago like last year's PC's & MAC's.

still not advocating piracy. if i could afford to, i'd pay Hyperion whatever they need to break even on OS4 just so amiga has a development house interested in the platform...
but i appriceate that a lot of software is now only available through "non retail" channels...


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Offline davideo

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Re: !@#% eBay or Why Piracy Makes Sense
« Reply #14 on: March 04, 2008, 08:13:13 AM »
Quote

Trev wrote:
@davideo

SAS/C is fairly easy to find "in the wild," but I don't recall SAS ever authorizing redistribution....


To be honest - I don't know.

All I can say is that the moderators on that particular board are quite keen on stopping piracy and remove anything that is not legal  :rtfm:

Which is how it should be  :-)

Dave G  8-)