Are NI's plugins warezed a lot?

[masterhiggins]

It's not really a strong copy protection, there's warez of pretty much everything they did (except hardware, of course). However, they've become quite a big company so warez doesn't impact them one least bit. Keyword here - they make hardware, and there's a LOT of Maschine users out there. Can't warez that.

Correct. At that point it's referred to as counterfeiting.

[mutantdog]

The worst problem, piracy-wise, i think is with Kontakt libraries. As far as I'm aware a cracked Kontakt will load any library without restrictions, legit Kontakt will run as demo unless the library is authorised. This might not be much concern for NI but I'm sure it must be a problem for the third parties that pay a lot of money to have proper installable .nicnt libraries.

[TheKid]

One of the key aspects for me is the way of doing business. If a company acts in a kindly way, releases inspiring products and offers a frequent response with their customers, it will reduce piracy. Make a company loveable just like u-he, Hornet, Klanghelm, Valhalla dsp, xfer records did. Seeing these companies go out of business due to piracy would be a loss for me.

I used a badly cracked software when I was a minor (about two decades ago), then worked at local supermarkets for months to buy logic audio (for pc, shame on you, apple) and other stuff like a turtle beach audio interface. Since then I never had to deal with illegal websites, viruses, malware and bad working software (due to cracks) again.

Although a absolutely despise piracy today, I hate companies like pace/ilok/elicenser even more. On the other hand: without that very badly cracked Logic I never would have bought the original software and all the Logic hardware.

So to all guys out there using warez: just don't do it. It's not worth it.

[Karma_tba]

One of the key aspects for me is the way of doing business. If a company acts in a kindly way, releases inspiring products and offers a frequent response with their customers, it will reduce piracy. Make a company loveable just like u-he, Hornet, Klanghelm, Valhalla dsp, xfer records did. Seeing these companies go out of business due to piracy would be a loss for me.

I used a badly cracked software when I was a minor (about two decades ago), then worked at local supermarkets for months to buy logic audio (for pc, shame on you, apple) and other stuff like a turtle beach audio interface. Since then I never had to deal with illegal websites, viruses, malware and bad working software (due to cracks) again.

Although a absolutely despise piracy today, I hate companies like pace/ilok/elicenser even more. On the other hand: without that very badly cracked Logic I never would have bought the original software and all the Logic hardware.

So to all guys out there using warez: just don't do it. It's not worth it.

So what u are sayin' is.........do as u say....not as u DID ? A role model for the millennium.

[Sim.Sky]

though I don't know i could imagine that it's pirated a lot - but pretty much every piece of software suffers from that unfortunately. apart from what other people mentioned in case of ni (hardware etc.) i also think it's due to simple numbers of sales that they seem able to cope with the problem. even if there's hundreds of thousands illegal copies, there's surely also hundreds of thousand legal users out there. they have a huge range of products, which appeals to pretty much every group of musicians (djs, producers, musicians (like guitarists etc)) and i think that keeps the sales up high (enough).

[Burillo]

People are lazy. At some point they just prefer to spend money rather than looking for links, torrents, especially if the library / software weights gigabytes. Sure, kids probably still pirate everything because they dont have money, they usually have time. Adults have some money, but they have problems with spare time. At some point it's ... easier to pay than download via piracy websites

that's exactly how it happened to many of the people i know, including myself. when you got a job and not a lot of spare time, going legit is much easier than trying to hunt down working links while trying hard not to press a wrong button and get trojaned.

on a somewhat unrelated note, i still wish developers were offering torrent download options, as it's much more convenient and much more load-resistant than conventional downloads. in fact, torrent thrives under load - if a brand new library (i.e. Omnisphere 2?) is released, one could download it right away, FAST, instead of dealing with server outages when everyone rushes to download it. from a technical standpoint, torrent downloads are vastly superior to conventional downloads when it comes to spreading large amounts of data to a large number of users quickly.

[Karma_tba]

There's an undercurrent to this thread that suggests lack of funds somehow justifies piracy. A thief is a thief regardless of their financial status. I am constantly seeing products that are beyond my reach because I live on a fixed income (S.S.I. disability due to Stage 4 Cancer), but I have never used or sought out cracked products. I am not trying to be self-righteous, but two wrongs don't make a right.

[Burillo]

that's a straw man. there's a difference between explanation and a justification. just because it can be known why piracy happens, doesn't mean the explanation somehow justifies piracy.

[Karma_tba]

that's a straw man. there's a difference between explanation and a justification. just because it can be known why piracy happens, doesn't mean the explanation somehow justifies piracy.

You admitted to piracy yourself....your words not mine. If one is not guilty...no need for a defense or explanation.
Quote: "that's exactly how it happened to many of the people i know, including myself."
A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument which was not advanced by that opponent.
The so-called typical "attacking a straw man" argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition by covertly replacing it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and then to refute or defeat that false argument ("knock down a straw man") instead of the original proposition.

Sound familiar.....???

[Sim.Sky]

that's a straw man. there's a difference between explanation and a justification. just because it can be known why piracy happens, doesn't mean the explanation somehow justifies piracy.

You admitted to piracy yourself....your words not mine. If one is not guilty...no need for a defense or explanation.
Quote: "that's exactly how it happened to many of the people i know, including myself."

i see your point, but i really think it's no ones intention here to justify piracy or stealing software, to be precise. it just happens, how bad it is, and it always depends on the moral attitude of the individual user whether to commit this crime (or even considering it as a crime that is...) or not.

personally i think those things are important to be discussed, and there shouldn't be any restriction on talking about them. in fact, some of the points mentioned in this thread might even be valuable to the companies because they could perhaps help them dealing with the problem. take the financial thing between kids and adults for instance - this could be an indicator that special discounts like for students (no matter if school or university), which cannot afford every piece of software at its original price may prevent at least some of them from downloading illegaly, but buying it properly. as i said, this wouldn't be an all-in-one solution for sure - if someone just doesn't see why it's always better to support the stuff you like, even special prices won't keep them from stealing. but simply beat on the statements of other people in this thread, criticizing them by saying it's always a bad thing wouldn't bring anyone any further - because (most) people actually know that it's a bad thing, there's really no need to insist on that every time someone doesn't point this out explicitly...

[Karma_tba]

that's a straw man. there's a difference between explanation and a justification. just because it can be known why piracy happens, doesn't mean the explanation somehow justifies piracy.

You admitted to piracy yourself....your words not mine. If one is not guilty...no need for a defense or explanation.
Quote: "that's exactly how it happened to many of the people i know, including myself."

i see your point, but i really think it's no ones intention here to justify piracy or stealing software, to be precise. it just happens, how bad it is, and it always depends on the moral attitude of the individual user whether to commit this crime (or even considering it as a crime that is...) or not.

personally i think those things are important to be discussed, and there shouldn't be any restriction on talking about them. in fact, some of the points mentioned in this thread might even be valuable to the companies because they could perhaps help them dealing with the problem. take the financial thing between kids and adults for instance - this could be an indicator that special discounts like for students (no matter if school or university), which cannot afford every piece of software at its original price may prevent at least some of them from downloading illegaly, but buying it properly. as i said, this wouldn't be an all-in-one solution for sure - if someone just doesn't see why it's always better to support the stuff you like, even special prices won't keep them from stealing. but simply beat on the statements of other people in this thread, criticizing them by saying it's always a bad thing wouldn't bring anyone any further - because (most) people actually know that it's a bad thing, there's really no need to insist on that every time someone doesn't point this out explicitly...

Would you accept this view point if a perpetrator robbed YOU? You are treating this as a victim-less crime. Illegal is illegal .........pure and simple. The problem is people think they are entitled! Should I go steal a car because the dealership does not offer discounts for the disabled?
Please. You are glossing over the real problem. The reasoning for the O.P. are questionable to begin with.

[Burillo]

You admitted to piracy yourself....your words not mine. If one is not guilty...no need for a defense or explanation.

not sure what you meant by this. are you implying i don't feel guilty about me pirating software at one point?

Quote: "that's exactly how it happened to many of the people i know, including myself."
A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument which was not advanced by that opponent.
The so-called typical "attacking a straw man" argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition by covertly replacing it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and then to refute or defeat that false argument ("knock down a straw man") instead of the original proposition.

Sound familiar.....???

yes, sounds familiar. to what you did. i offered an observation on why piracy happened, including first hand experience. you all but accused me of "justifying" piracy, when this is clearly not what i was doing. i never said anyone was justified in pirating just because they didn't have any money or had a lot of time on their hands to hunt down pirated software. i never said anyone was right in doing so. that you have imagined, and then happily refuted with your "two wrongs don't make a right". yeah, they don't. no one said they did. hence, you knocked down a straw man that you yourself have constructed.

[Karma_tba]

You admitted to piracy yourself....your words not mine. If one is not guilty...no need for a defense or explanation.

not sure what you meant by this. are you implying i don't feel guilty about me pirating software at one point?

Quote: "that's exactly how it happened to many of the people i know, including myself."
A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument which was not advanced by that opponent.
The so-called typical "attacking a straw man" argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition by covertly replacing it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and then to refute or defeat that false argument ("knock down a straw man") instead of the original proposition.

Sound familiar.....???

yes, sounds familiar. to what you did. i offered an observation on why piracy happened, including first hand experience. you all but accused me of "justifying" piracy, when this is clearly not what i was doing. i never said anyone was justified in pirating just because they didn't have any money or had a lot of time on their hands to hunt down pirated software. i never said anyone was right in doing so. that you have imagined, and then happily refuted with your "two wrongs don't make a right". yeah, they don't. no one said they did. hence, you knocked down a straw man that you yourself have constructed.

You call it an "observation".....I call it an excuse. You exposed yourself...your comments were not solicited.

[Karma_tba]

Regardless of what anyone says my conscience is clear and my hands are clean. If you live in a glass house you shouldn't throw stones!

[mutantdog]

Would you accept this view point if a perpetrator robbed YOU? You are treating this as a victim-less crime. Illegal is illegal .........pure and simple. The problem is people think they are entitled! Should I go steal a car because the dealership does not offer discounts for the disabled?
Please. You are glossing over the real problem. The reasoning for the O.P. are questionable to begin with.

I can think of plenty of "victim-less crimes" that are illegal and shouldn't be, meanwhile legal loopholes allow people to commit acts that have a direct negative impact on others without punishment. The legality of something is not necessarily the same thing as the morality of it.

The "stealing a car" analogy is flawed since you are referring to a physical item made of stuff of which a finite number exist. Piracy is much more like not paying for a service you have received, which is also immoral and wrong, but economically different.

All this aside, no-one here is justifying piracy. Nevertheless, there is value in understanding why people commit acts we disagree with.