from Hacker News

"If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"

by frogulis on 12/9/23, 5:22 AM with 45 comments

• by buserror on 12/9/23, 6:07 AM

  It is just not even just deleting shows, they do whatever they like. For example, if you buy a "HD" show on youtube, you are actually getting 480p, because something something DRM will prevents you from playing that HD version you bought on anything but a locked up air gapped computer in Youtube's VP's own office.

  This is a scandal that has been going on for years -- they still sell you HD versions of the movies and shows knowing full well you can't possibly play them in anything but 480p

• by zzo38computer on 12/9/23, 5:40 AM

  If Wired does not want to write the entire disclaimer (whether because it is too long or for whatever other reason), then perhaps "WARNING: THIS DEVICE’S FEATURES ARE SUBJECT TO REVOCATION WITHOUT NOTICE" should be good enough.

  > My argument – then and now – was that any tech company that sells you a gadget that can have its features revoked is defrauding you.

  Yes, I think they are correct, and whoever sells you such thing should be sued for fraud.

  Although, forced automatic updates can be a problem anyways, together with many other problems of modern computers, such as "always-on network access with indiscriminate criminalization of user modification" and much more problems than just that, actually.

  > Imagine putting years of your life into making a program – showing up on set at 5AM and leaving your kids to get their own breakfast, performing stunts that could maim or kill you, working 16-hour days during the acute phase of the covid pandemic and driving home in the night, only to have this absolute turd of a man delete the program before anyone could see it, forever, to get a minor tax advantage. Talk about moral injury!

  Of course, they shouldn't be allowed to remotely delete your files like that anyways. But, nevertheless, it is why WORM media is important (although I don't know how to make it secure enough against remote tampering, if the writer device can somehow be programmed to destroy it; however, you could print it out, or even write it out by hand if you have to).

• by cameldrv on 12/9/23, 8:20 AM

  Both the Photoshop/Pantone and the recent movie cases revolve around the issue where the seller only purchased a limited time license, but then sold a perpetual license to the content. To me this is simple fraud.

• by ilrwbwrkhv on 12/9/23, 8:09 AM

  Piracy is a moral duty as I said earlier before some brave souls flagged that comment.

• by josho on 12/9/23, 6:22 AM

  Words matter. So let’s be clear on both sides. It isn’t piracy. It isn’t stealing. It’s copyright infringement.

• by lifestyleguru on 12/9/23, 7:36 AM

  What's the problem even?! I'm back to torrenting, it feels as awesome as ever.

• by Cosi1125 on 12/9/23, 9:02 AM

  [Off-topic] This is golden:

  > Like Pavel Chekov says, a phaser on the bridge in Act I is going to go off by Act III.

• by akomtu on 12/9/23, 8:25 AM

  If copyright was applied to books it would be illegal to read books you didn't pay for. Storing such books would be a crime, sharing such books would be a federal crime and organizing a book reading club would make you famous in the criminal world.

• by ChrisArchitect on 12/9/23, 1:20 PM

  [dupe]

  Well not really, Cory and his stupid weird permalinks....

  Discussion ended up over here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38579899

• by MichaelRo on 12/9/23, 9:47 AM

  Reminds me of this (Windows Update): https://imgur.com/a/zwyBSr0

• by SSLy on 12/9/23, 11:37 AM

  reverse dupe: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38579899

• by samdunham on 12/9/23, 4:39 PM

  Piracy isn't and never was "stealing." It's piracy. They are distinctly different things.

• by I_Am_Nous on 12/9/23, 8:16 AM

  I just don't care enough about video media to watch anything in the first place, so I've never really needed to pirate movies or shows after 2009/2010. I don't pirate anything anymore but I do still have me booty from previous high seas adventures. It's been mixed in with my data for so long I'm not sure I could separate it if I tried lol

• by cyanydeez on 12/9/23, 10:35 AM

  SaaS isn't owning and definitely is a response to piracy and lockin.