[OT] Pirate software in Germany?

Richmond Mathewson richmondmathewson at gmail.com
Sun May 22 03:17:38 EDT 2011


On 05/22/2011 12:39 AM, Bob Sneidar wrote:
> I confess now, that when I was a teenager, I shoplifted. I hung out with a "friend" who's father was pretty high up in  the FBI, and my friend assured me that nothing serious would ever happen to us, which of course meant, "him."
>
> We stole candy and model airplane kits mostly. Our reign of crime lasted about 3 weeks, when as you may have guessed, I got caught. They had me in a side room telling me that their new policy was to not call the parents of a juvenile, but instead to call  the police directly and let them sort it all out.
>
> This was of course  a scare tactic to drive the foolishness out of me, and they very reluctantly called my mother (father was not around by then) and had her come and pick me up, with the stern warning that this was my "last chance".
>
> So having been as scared as I had ever been in my life I swore off shoplifting. My point is this: Even after  all of that, I found it INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO STOP! For a couple weeks after  that resolution, I STILL continued to pick something up and stuff it in my pocket.
>
> It took an incredible act of will to really stop. Getting something for  nothing can be a very addictive thing. I believe this is the problem with street people, with those who make living off welfare  a way of life, with those who lie, cheat and steal to get what they feel is "coming to them". And with Software pirates.
>
> So what will change their mind? Something terrible that almost ruins their life. I don't suggest that you be the one to make this happen. I only suggest that the problem is not one of practice, but of principle. Clean their computer  if you like, but you will not drive the "shoplifter" from  them, anymore than beating a fool 7 times in a day with an iron rod will drive the foolishness from them.
>
> Bob
>
>

This was extremely well-put. or, as our "old friend" George W. Bush put 
it; "hearts and minds"
(awful pity he didn't display much of the former). I think in the case 
of this particular young person;
they are well aware of

1. the morality of the situation

2. horribly uninformed as to:

    2.1. The availability of Open Source solutions to everything they 
are certainly
            likely to need at university.

    2.2. the fact that the myth of "everything that isn't Windows-based 
is horribly
           difficult to use" is only a myth.

They, like most 19 year olds, have parents who are not really 
up-to-speed with computers, so
just go for the lowest common denominator; which, in Bulgaria, means 
pirate Windows
and pirate everything else.

Thank you very much for the account of your own personal "saga"; it 
illustrates the point very well
indeed.

> Sent from my iPad
>
> On May 21, 2011, at 2:50 AM, Richmond Mathewson<richmondmathewson at gmail.com>  wrote:
>
>> This is one of those messages which normally starts off
>>
>> "somebody I know has this problem"; which means of course it really
>> refers to oneself.
>>
>> The situation really refers to  a friend of my older son's whose parents have given
>> them a laptop for University (this young person is going to study in Germany), and
>> (as is the norm in Bulgaria) had a friend install PIRATE Windows, MSOffice, Uncle
>> Tom Cobbley and all on the thing.
>>
>> Morality aside . . .
>>
>> My son has told this person that they (the parents) are "silly bu**ers" sending their
>> child off to Germany with a laptop packed to the gills with Pirate software. I have
>> offered to scrub the laptop and install a friendly Linux distro with Office Libre,
>> Uncle Richard Stallman and all.
>>
>> This person; having grown up in Pirate-software land cannot see that their might be
>> risks (legal!!!!) about merrily turning up at a Uni' in German with a laptop like "that".
>>
>> Would be grateful for advice.
>>
>> sincerely, Richmond Mathewson.
>>
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