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Re: Paying for Software

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On Mon, 14 Mar 2011 22:44:13 -0400, Jim Glidewell wrote
(in article 
<88772960321779214.206424jim_glidewell-yahoo.com@news.eternal-
september.org>):

>> Am I somewhat alone in believing that there is an honor system when it
>> comes to software and music, that one should pay so that the authors are
>> appropriately remunierated for their efforts?
> 
> Well, in my experience, I have found that very few Mac software titles have 
> really earned their keep. These days I "just say no" to Mac software in 
> general, with very few exceptions (mostly discounted bundles or applications 
> that I know I will be using for years).

Part of the problem is the attitude of some (though not all) vendors. Quite 
some time ago I purchased <name of item redacted> and paid full price for it. 
I registered it with the vendor, Aspyr. (Yes, it was a game.) As it was a 
game, Aspyr insisted that I didn't play it without placing the disc in the 
optical drive. Fast forward a bit, and I wanted to play the game but couldn't 
find the disc. I emailed Aspyr, pointing out that I'd purchased that, and 
several other, games, and had registered each one, and asked them how much a 
replacement disc would cost. Note: I didn't ask for a _free_ disc, I _offered 
to pay for a new one_. I have obtained replacement discs this way from 
several other vendors, mostly for big-ticket software. That's why I always 
register the software I buy.

In this case, however, Aspyr said that I'd have to buy an entire new copy of 
the game. It didn't matter how many Aspyr products I'd purchased. It didn't 
matter that I'd registered the products in question. It didn't matter how 
many years I'd been a customer. It was their policy: no replacement discs. 
Period.

My policy is that I'm willing to pay for the software. I'm willing to pay a 
reasonable fee for replacement discs. I'm _NOT_ willing to buy the same 
product twice. I have not purchased an Aspyr product since. I located a 
source for a cracked version of the item in question, downloaded it, 
installed it, and now can play that game without needing the disc in my 
optical drive. Their policy converted me from a paying customer to someone 
who went to a _lot_ of trouble to never, ever, pay them so much as one cent 
ever again. Most (all of the ones I'm interested in, anyway) of the games 
that Aspyr produces are ports from Windows. I already had Windows installed 
in Boot Camp and using VMWare on my main Mac. I now purchase games from the 
original vendor, not from Aspyr. I can get the games faster, as I don't have 
to wait for Aspyr to port them. And I never have to deal with Aspyr again. 
And, should the Windows vendors have the same policy that Aspyr did, it's a 
hell of a lot easier to find hacks of the Windows versions than to find a 
hack of the Mac version. (yes, even after you sort through all the malware 
it's _still_ easier to find a hack for a Win version than for a Mac version.)

i'd have thought that it was a bad idea to piss off the paying customers, but 
it appears that for some people that's just policy.

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Paying for Software TaliesinSoft <taliesinsoft@me.com> - 2011-03-13 20:02 -0500
  Re: Paying for Software Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> - 2011-03-13 21:02 -0500
  Re: Paying for Software RonTheGuy@null.invalid (Ron) - 2011-03-14 07:13 -0700
  Re: Paying for Software "Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <gsm@mendelson.com> - 2011-03-14 14:39 +0000
    Re: Paying for Software aRKay <arkay@nospam.qsl.net> - 2011-03-24 20:40 -0500
  Re: Paying for Software Jim Glidewell <jim_glidewell@yahoo.com> - 2011-03-15 02:44 +0000
    Re: Paying for Software jamiekg@wizardling.geek.nz (Jamie Kahn Genet) - 2011-03-23 16:47 +1300
      Re: Paying for Software erilar <drache@chibardun.net.invalid> - 2011-03-23 18:58 -0500
        Re: Paying for Software Suze <replytome@thenewsgroup.com> - 2011-03-24 14:56 -0500
      Re: Paying for Software Liam Thu <liam@isnothere.com> - 2011-03-25 15:15 -0400
        Re: Paying for Software jamiekg@wizardling.geek.nz (Jamie Kahn Genet) - 2011-03-26 09:53 +1300
    Re: Paying for Software hielan' laddie <bobbieburns@bobbybruce.co.uk.not> - 2011-03-24 12:32 -0400
      Re: Paying for Software erilar <drache@chibardun.net.invalid> - 2011-03-24 13:57 -0500
    Re: Paying for Software Calum <com.gmail@nospam.scottishwildcat> - 2011-03-25 13:57 +0000

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