Posts Tagged ‘Really’

Do antivirus companies really prosecute? Or does compliance merely appeal to conscience?

Licenses for antivirus programs may range from 3, 5 or more computers. Most of them, however, can use one active code to operate the trial program. So virtually, you can activate as many software copies as you want. If one exceeds the legal requirement, do these antivirus companies really run after you? Would they be able to detect?

Bootleg Movie Download: Are Bootleg Movie Downloads Really Worth It?

Ah, everyone wants a freebie or two, and since “everyone is doing it,” this gives us justification for ripping off movies from distributors and movie outfits alike. The Movie Picture Association of America or MPAA is not particularly happy with this turn of events. Millions of dollars are lost in potential revenues for the film corporate giants like: 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures Viacom / DreamWorks, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. If you are thinking that these giants are making too much money anyway, a little bootleg movie download should not hurt their money making ventures, then you ought to think again. Some of these big named studios are experiencing the pinch and though that sounds innocuous, this is a state that basically sends many of its production workers jobless and packing for home. These corporate giants are after all, employment providers that seek out the services of many blue collar personnel. Not only that, but medium to small time movie production outfits like: independent movie makers, or out-house editing companies, or independent special effects developers, are not making even marginal profits anymore. Many of them have to close shop too, if they are lucky. If not, most of these establishments end up in the bankruptcy list because they could not pay off their operational bills. These are the real long-term effects of the rampant practice of bootleg movie download. Other effects are still too miniscule manifest on the big-time scale, which is why many of us do not really feel the effects of what we consider “a little film pirating on the side.” Sure as shooting, it is the littlest people who feel the consequences of big movie outfits tightening their belts. We are not even covering the losses and potential losses of other film productions outside the US. Smaller countries have a hard enough time maintaining a film industry, and piracy can certainly take a larger toll on them. And just to make this issue clear, film piracy is not a flea market enterprise. This misconception stems from the fact that most of these pirated copies are seen in flea markets. The truth is: legally documented reports of copyright infringement issues have surged since ready technology for capturing movies in cinemas became available. Of course, no one blames the digital camera makers, but a tiny, high-def digicam is one of the tools commonly used in the illegal capturing of films. Also, there are films that are “leaked” to pirates who make copies of films undergoing post-production clean-ups. These are the films that still retain screen shot editing numbers that run during the entire film. Although these “leaked” films are unpolished, they usually have better audio and visual quality than those captured “live” in cinemas. It is now estimated that there are over half a million pirated films being reproduced and sold openly, and that is on a daily basis. And this head count does not take even account of all underground piracy movements (the ones that local governments cannot seem to trace,) the individual piracy practices, and music piracy issues to boot. Sooner or later, one or more of the corporate giants will succumb to loss of revenue, and this only means that there are more people who will become unemployed. So the question remains, is the practice of bootleg movie download really worth it in the long run? The answer is a simple, “no.” If you want to have your own collection of movies, you may want to patronize legal movie distributors on the web like http://bootlegmoviedownload.ws. Websites like these offers back copyright payments for the distribution of movies.

Who Does Piracy Really Hurt?

Stacy, a seventeen year old high school student, sits at her computer staring blankly into a glowing screen. “If you seek Amy”, a recently controversial Britney Spears song blazes forth from the speakers. “You can’t get this stuff from the radio.” She explains with one hand on the mouse and the other pointing to the song listing. With a swift double-click; she’s seconds away from adding the song to her iPod. This is not something unusual for Stacy, or for many others. Downloading music and other media from the internet provides both convenience and the ability to pick and choose what you want from what you don’t. It has made a profound impact on the entertainment industry, but like most things, there are two sides to this distribution evolution. iTunes, the leader in paid media downloads, offers users access to countless artists, while still providing the same musicians with much deserved proceeds. For about 99 cents, you can download a song for personal use. But many fans aren’t supporting their favorite artists like they used to. These days, many are opting to take advantage of P2P or person to person sites that allow users to illegally download music and other content. In 2008, 95% of downloaded music was done illegally and the average teenager has about 800 illegal songs on their iPod. So who is it really hurting? The answer is everyone. The most prevalent of this “victimless” crime are the artists themselves. Regardless of how much these artists already have, it’s not fair for them to loose out on money that is rightfully theirs. The average cost to download a song is 99 cents, if two million people download the same song illegally on any giving week, that’s $1,980,000 in lost revenue in one week. Now, that might seem so bad, until you take into account the fact that not all that money goes to the rappers or rockers. All that money gets spared over several different places. Record labels, Lawyers, CD manufacturers and the stores where the album is sold take a chunk to that money. Those are just to name a few that take their cut, but they are all affected by the illegal downloads. The lesser talked about casualties of this process are the consumers themselves. Participating in illegally downloading music drives up the cost albums and puts you at risk of hefty fines and jail time for copyright infringement. Recently the UK started considering having internet usage cut to users who download illegally and many in the entertainment industry are pushing for our government to do the same. In the end, it’s your best bet to just pay the 99 cents. It keeps musicians in business, keeps consumer costs down and saves you from paying the price for theft.