On The Subject of Piracy...

Actually, yes, I bought half a dozen within the last couple of months. The only iTunes purchases were for music I can't easily get on CD. (Except one album where, mere seconds after I gave up and clicked "buy" on iTunes, I then found a new copy on CD, for a few bucks less even. Oh well....)

--Eric

 

I remember when I was a kid and the NES was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I saved and saved and saved to go to Toys R Us and buy a game. The game I walked out of the store with was 'Milons Secret Castle', which turned out to be one of the worst games ever made (IMO). But, that's the way things were done back in the day. I spent $50 on that game, and I felt cheated. $50 is a lot of money to spend on a game you've never played, especially when it turns out to be a stinker (and you're 9). Good thing most games in the app store are $0.99!

Bringing up the "tough economy" is a cop out for pirating games. No one (who can afford an iPhone or iPod Touch) has to be THAT careful with a buck or two...come on!

Using the defense "if you buy a lot of bad apps, it adds up" doesn't work either. First of all, you can usually tell if an app is bad (or maybe just not your cup of tea) by viewing the 5 screenshots and the short description on the app store (I can usually tell just by looking at the icon). If you're still on the fence about an app after seeing its screenshots, reading its description, and viewing its reviews (if any), then come here and check for a review, or go to AppVee, or go to YouTube. Come on guys, with the internet came an infinite source of information. Don't pretend like the only way to tell whether an app is good or bad is to pirate it :/

I really feel like I just wasted my time typing this up. This discussion has been going for 15 pages and nothing that anyone has said (or will say) is going to change a bootleggers mind.

 

I don't think this thread is about convincing anybody of anything. It is just an ongoing exchange of rhetoric.


P.S. Welcome to TA. You should join in a discussion that is more fun than this one.

 

Haha so true

 

LOL. Oh I've been browsing these forums for a while now. I didn't sign up specifically to reply to this thread I love me this site!


Thanks for the welcome!

 

If that study is correct and a similar assumption can be made about AppStore applications...then that would just reinforce what dorino has been saying all along about the effect of pirating apps.

I could be mistaken, but I honestly think you're in the minority here. Portable mp3 players have replaced portable CD players, and that trend is continuing to home theater systems and even car audio.

 

Well you can impiort the CD to iTunes.

 

True...but why wouldn't you just buy it through iTunes if you were going to do that?

 

Some people, not me, like to have the case and the booklet (I know some albums come with e-booklets) for their "collection" or whatever. Again, I suspect this is the minority.

 

mp3s are low quality by comparison. You may not notice a difference with headphones but nice speakers reveal the truth. Actually, I still buy records whenever possible. When compared to CDs, vinyl recordings have double the dynamic range.

 

I agree with both of you, but again I think that we're in the minority. I still have all my original jewel cases and booklets for all my old CD's. Regarding audio quality, I believe iTunes uses a format that is better than the standard mp3. Not CD quality, but most people are not audiophiles and are willing to take quantity over quality...otherwise mp3's wouldn't be as successful of a format as it is right now.

 

I have always been interested by this. You say the difference will become obvious when using good speakers over crappy headphones, what I have always wondered is if the differences are only really noticable to music 'connoisseurs' and simple folk such as myself would find it difficult to tell the difference? I mean I know that one is better than the other and that an analogue format such as vinyl trumps all, but I have always wondered if I hear two side by side I'd be able to tell

 

I have the same with games, that why I hate digital downloads. I really hope that for 360/ ps3 there won't be a digital download that replaces buying the games in the store.

 

Could be...probably...don't really care though. The point was that all my music tracks are purchased; where they came from is not important. Still waiting to hear why this is "impossible"....

--Eric

 

I love all the attempts at justification for stealing in this thread. Pirating is stealing, end of story. You might try to spin it a different direction when you talk to other people, but you know its stealing.

 

Well, those weren't my words, so I'll let someone else justify that

 

I know; it was RealRacer, who seems to be in time-out right now, so I'll just continue to wait patiently for a while longer.

--Eric

 

A 192 Kbps mp3 is not near CD quality. FLAC is essentally CD quality: that is why the 'L' stands for 'lossless.' You may as well encode your music with ALAC so you can sync with your iPhone/iTouch. And don't forget about the good old WAV.

Finding anything that surpasses CD quality is unlikely for the time, as most music online originates from a CD (though I have noticed the occasional SACD image.)

 

why does everyone always hate on EA?? they make great games and aside from the little things they make many people happy. lay off a bit. jeeze