The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 26, 1994, Page 6, Image 6
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Confessioi
I have a confession to make. I'm
ashamed to admit it, but I'm a pirate.
Novice computer users might imagine
me donning an eye-patch, wearing
a sword on my belt and putting a
talking parrot on my shoulder. But
veteran users will know what I really
mean. I am guilty of using software
that I haven't paid for?that in fact
doesn't belong to me. More importantly,
I'm far from the only person
who is plundering the digital seas.
You've probably heard the term
"software piracy," but you may not realize
exactly what it is or how far reaching
its implications actually are. A basic
definition of software piracy is usincr
coDies of commercial programs or
data which haven't been paid for.
You and your friends can become
pirates innocently enough. You might
buy a program, like a computer game,
and one day a friend plays it on your
computer and enjoys it. They ask to
try the game on their computer before
buying their own. So, they copy it from
you and test drive it on their computer
for a few days. Then the days turn
into weeks, and the weeks turn into
months. In the end, your friend has
illegal software residing on their hard
drive forever, and you are liable for allowing
it to happen.
Software piracy can also be much
more blatant. You might want a new
$500 program even thought you don't
have $500. Your friend can give you
a copy for free. You decide to take the
copy, knowing even as you take it that
you will never buy one of your own
This is a case where self-interest can
easily outweign your moral sense oi
right and wrong.
The copying of software is a special
crime because no one loses anything
physical when data is pirated.
It's much like the copying of a video,
compact disc or audio tape. The original
owner of a computer program still
has the program after you copy it.
Since nothing material is lost, manj
users dent view piracy as a real crime.
But it is a most serious one.
Estimates of lost software sales
from piracy are in the billions of the
dollars. This means software compaBUC
I ^
PATO BANTON
Collections
SINGLE GUN THI
Flow River Of My Soul
$10.95 cd
KING SUNNY AD
Live At The
I Hollywood Palace
$10.95 cd
\ CAROLINA'S }
The Gamecock
ware pirate
computer world.
A number of schemes have been
used by programmers to try and stop
piracy. Almost all can be defeated by
_ a persistent user. Piracy of commercial
software will most likely always
1S be around. But, that doesn't mean
0_ you have become "Captain Hook with
n_ a floppy disk." There are inexpensive
0f alternatives to commercial software:
Freeware. Some programmers
is of a soft
PHI' MARC
mmW LaFOUNTAIN
Technobabble
nies are losing big bucks when we i
users give out illegal copies of pr
grams. This hurts the software ii
dustry and deprives programmers
deserved income.
Because of this, piracy is illeg?
Those caught pirating software wa
the plank, facing fines and even ii
carceration. Those who go a step fu
ther, and try to sell illegal progra
copies, can face even higher fines ai
longer jail time.
Software piracy is an area of n
life where I must admit to comple
and total hypocrisy. While I have ne
er sold a pirated program for profit
must to admit to copying far too mai
things that didn't belong to me ar
giving things to others. I knew wh
I was doing was wrong, but I creati
wonderful rationalizations for my a
tions. I still use them to this day.
My best rationalization is the "po
college student excuse." I tell mys<
that me and friends are financiall
strapped students who cant afford e
pensive programs, bo, its OK to ju
take them. When I graduate and ma
r lots of money, then 111 pay for my so
ware, I say.
i But this is really just a way for e
to justify what I know to be an ii
; moral and illegal practice. Amlg
. ingtostop? I will probably never st
completely because I will always wa
r programs I can't afford. However, I
better than I used to be. rmpiratii
less and I'm purchasing more, anc
feel better doing it.
One thing pirates often forget
, that purchasing a product has sign
icant benefits over copying it Youg
1 manuals and documentation for yo
software. You get technical suppc
r from software companies if you ri
into problems. As a registered us<
you get product upgrades at reduo
i prices or for free. You also have pie
s of mind knowing you aren't stealii
from the talented programmers of t
inn
IM 1
pants Wh^fou n
A
! 19 ;
;|i;a :
Ifl |||;':
j?. 1 II<" -y
^S*27?5Jflufc I
I.R.S. I.R.S
ORY VARIOUS
On The Charts
1979-'94
$7.45 cd
PAL LA DIN OS
Traveling Dark
$10.95 cd
Original music & ^
litttiMi i tirm-m . ^ M
rus* warr>* mmr ? $&& M I
;- DADA
American Highway Flower
OYER THE RHINE
Eve
$10.95 cd
HEMISPHERE
ARTISTS
World Music Sampler
$7.45 cd
/1DE0 SUPERSTORE
tj practice their skill for free and they
Ik create wonderful programs. Theydisn_
tribute them to everyone and encourr.
age users to do the same.
m Shareware. These programs
1(j can be freely distributed just like freeware.
The difference is you are supjy
posed to pay a small fee, usually unte
der $30, if you keep shareware after
v. a set period of time. Sadly many users
j (including myself) haven't always registered
or paid for their shareware pro1(j
grams?creating yet another form of
at piracy.
Postcard ware. A popular variIC_
ant of shareware, this is when you
aan/4 on anthnr a rviflt(>ar^ if vnn naa
or their program.
jlf All of three of these types of proy.
grams can be found on the Internet,
,x_ bulletin board systems and at computer
users' group meetings. They can
ke often provide a viable alternative to
ft. pilfering commercial works. If you
aren't certain whether it's OK to reie
ceive or give out copies of a program,
n_ read the software license and docu0_
mentation that come with it. They
0p will tell you if and how you may distribute
copies.
m I am not going to tell you not to pirjg
rate software, as this would be hypoj
j critical of me. What I will ask of you
is to think before you copy, as I now
js am. Think about the advantages of
jf. purchasing software and about the
ret money you are depriving program authors
of when vou Dirate. Do vou re
LAI v M. v
irt ally want to reward innocent, harden
working software designers with
;F) mutiny?
e{* LaFountain is a journalism junior.
ce His column appears every Wednesday.
He can be e-mailed at lafountainmarc@scarolina.edu.
|tNA! Wednesday, Octob*
Christian
QREQ WICKABAUGH Staff Wri
Five religious groups at U
meeting Friday night to have a
night and to start uniting their
for a common purpose.
Praise Night will be held ai
Friday at Longstreet Theater i
feature contemporary Christian
ing artist Roger Ferrell and h
from Greenville. Ferrell has r
three albums, including a live
of a Furman University con
performed in 1992.
The event is sponsored, by
na Christian Fellowship, Fell
of Christian Athletes (FCA)
varsity Christian Fellowship
pus Crusade for Christ, and I
tors.
FCA president J.J. Gent
there has usually been a d
Soundtra
SPUN DAD VICE
STEPHANIE SONNENFELD St
CLERKS AND LOVE A A .45
AAA (out of four stars)
Sometimes you just like or
from a group or artist and can
to stomach die rest of their CD
life of you. That's OK, everyor
the same way, which is why
tracks are a godsend. To suppc
much-too-wide generalization, |
out the soundtracks from tl
movies "Clerks" and "Love&
So you probably haven't se
vertisements for either of the
movies, and you might neve
anything about them unless;
tually see the movies themse
the theater or on the RHA movi
nel next year. Yet don't let tl
that these movies are virtual unl
scare you away; they have tl
soundtracks since "Singles."
"Clerks" is a full, whopp
tracks, 13 of which are songs
likes of Alice in Chains, Bad R
Love Among Freaks and Soi
lum. The best songs on this CI
by any above but by Golden Sn
Seaweed. Golden Smog rema]
Bad Company standard "Sh
Star," and Seaweed does a vei
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256-66
r 26, 1994
tfrniins: tn hnlri Pri
W AAVAML JL. JL?
ter r~^?I to uni
SC are simila
i prayer
groups Praise Night ld??i
said.
t8p.m.
mdwill where Longstreet Theatre ativei
i record- when Friday night, 8 p.m. ^
ifl _ music
is Dana how much Free ?t
eleased 1
version mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm lives (
cert he happt
among the groups, but they are now TlCaroli
try*n8 to reach out to each other. togeth
owship "This campus has 28,000 students, Satur
jnter_ and if we can somehow come togeth- mas e
) Cam- er for a unified voice, it could get the these
yjaviga- message out of what we are trying to Fi
say, Gentry said open 1
rv said Henry Deneen, one of many or- locate
ivision ganizers> said the organizations hope Greer
icks nice changi
Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way," Jesi
aff Writer which should encourage all of Bill Clin- "Co:
ton's fans to buy this CD. the
Definitely the most interesting and a co
entertaining factor in this soundtrack call
le song are the seven tracks that are taken Pati
't seem directly from the movie dialogue. The 195
for the quips are short and range from disle
feels cussing the Muppets to renting porn thir
sound- movies. They give some indication
>rt that that "Clerks" may be a good movie, dcii
go seek but they also cause a bit of a problem,
le new It's like being with a group of people j^b
A .45." who are metaphysically and platoniem
ad- cally braided through some inside jokes, .
ssetwo and you don't have the slightest idea
sr hear 0f whatfs going on. But Alice in Chains e*
you ac- ga(j Religion is worth a little awk- anc
Ives at wardness. aw?
echan- Like "Clerks," "Love & A .45" has the
he fact a soundtrack that is, in a nutshell,
mowns ?ri/?lrprl awpsnme (for all vnn Massa
le best duetts students out there). There is or a
on not one bad song on this soundtrack,
, which even the "Forrest Gump" sound- or "
J. e track can't brag about. The Flaming s^v
j1 Asv- Lips, Meat Puppets, The Jesus and trai
v Mary Chain, The Reverend Horton mu
and Heat, April's Motel Room, FSK with list
kes the David Lowery (from Cracker), Butt- mo1
looting Lole Surfers and Johnny Cash all have of tl
*sion of son88 on this CD. Good songs at that. "Cl<
The best songs on this CD are the the
|r Fanqs for rememt
J us throughout the
I U/e u/oufd like to
f ijou to take a bit
f of oruj purchase i
store.** Receive
of free fangs ar
J October 24
(IfM tJWj 'items of yoi
IiImIVHI "(excluding textbook
Uj|UUJ Free fangs and
w/ith c
l66 ^
I
lise Night
teona regular basis and throw
lr events.
le thought it would be a good
o unify the campus," Deneen
Plus we wanted to do it in proxto
Halloween because of the negconnotation
with it."
le two-hour event will feature
testimonies and skits,
think that God is moving in the
>f students the way that hasn't
aied before," Deneen said,
le groups will also be tailgating
ler at the USC-Tennessee game
day and are planning a Christvent
in the Horseshoe later in
m ester.
iday night's event is free and
to public. Longstreet Theater is
sd at the corner of Sumter and
le streets.
e of pace
is and Mary Chain track called
me On," which sounds typical of
band. Courtney & Western sing
untry western song (imagine that)
ed "I Am in Love," which is very
3y Cline-ish. Roger Miller (think
O's) has a song on the CD called
ng of the Road," which is somelg
like Bobby Daren's "Mack the
fe" from a musical aspect. Yet unbtedly
the best song on the entire
is Kim Deal (The Breeders) and
i Pollard's rendition of "Love Hurts,"
ch you might remember from jur
high dances, i.e. slow dances,
il's voice is extremely beautiful,
I the duet takes the cheesiness
ly from the original recording. It's
kind of song that makes you dessed,
but can help you through anylg
from being stood up for a date
i relationship in general.
Who even knows when "Clerks"
Love & A .45" will make it to the
er screen, but go get their sound:ks
because thev are full of erood
* ? o
sic that doesn't grow old after you
en to the CDs the first time. If a
rie's soundtrack is any indication
he overall worth of a movie, then
irks" and Love & A .45" are worth
$5 ticket price.
rap*
I thru October 31
jr choice with stickers
is and discounted merchandise)
Sprint Instont FoncorcT
mi) purchase
!e supplies last)