I deeply miss megaupload. Will order a megaupload t-shirt soon :-D

So many links not working :-( I never used megaupload for pirated stuff. But I can honestly say that I am a pirate, but that I do pay for great solutions and things I think is worth it/good work/good effort/to support them. I pay monthly for spotify... I bought Call of Duty 4 twice after having pirated it first. I bought iRacing after having pirated it first. I've downloaded Football manager, but bought every edition afterwards. I downloaded Pro Cycling Manager, but bought it afterwards.

I downloaded a shitty game I cant remember the name of, but it wasnt good enough for me, and I didnt buy it later. I would never payed for it if I hadnt downloaded it neither, did the company lose money? No.

Would I have bought Pro Cycling Manager if I hadnt downloaded it first? No. Did they gain money on me downloading it? Yes. What does the statistic say? That they lost money on me downloading it. Is the statistic then correct? No.

Though, not all people are like me, and people do pirate stuff. But look at BF3. Its genious! Look at LFS. Its genious! Look at photoshop... would they have earned anything close to what they have now, if it was not for it being cracked? No. I've used photoshop since I started with editing, so when I now started working, my company had to pay for a photoshop license for me. = Genious!

If you have a good solution, such as Live for Speed, there are no problems. Look at spotify... Im gladly paying, because its genious. I dont need to buy any CD's with songs I dont like and things that take up space at home. I dont do anything. It just takes some money every month and I dont have to bother with anything.

Companies doesnt lose money on things being pirated. They do not LOSE money. Money is not taken from them. But in some cases, people pirate stuff just because it is free, in those cases, companies does not gain what they could have, and "loses" a potential buyer. In this case, the company does not make the same amount of money that they could have. But then the question is, would they have gotten more buyers if their software/whatever was NOT pirated? I doubt so.

If you make something good, can you make a lot of money? The answer is yes. It has helped artists, no doubt, and it has helped companies as well.

Pirating is here to stay, there is simply no way to "get rid of it". They should not fight against it as they do right now, they should face it, and adapt to it. Think new... come up with new ideas.

Thats my opinion, and if you dont agree, then thats your opinion which I respect.

This wasnt really a reply to acta though, but yeah.

That's a great post, and your bringing up a lot of interesting points.
I agree on the whole thing, specially about the money gain / lost part!

When you’ve eaten an orange, you have to go back to the shop to buy another. In that case, it makes sense to pay on the spot.
With an object of art, you’re not buying paper, ink, paintbrush, canvas or musical notes, but the idea born out of a combination of those products.
‘Pirating’ can act as an introduction to an artist’s work. If you like his or her idea, then you will want to have it in your house; a good idea doesn’t need protection.
The rest is either greed or ignorance

Quote from Framaris :

When you’ve eaten an orange, you have to go back to the shop to buy another. In that case, it makes sense to pay on the spot.

But if you didn't know that orange and that seller existed until someone brought it at your home and offered it to you, you would never have consumed and paid for it in the end.

I agree to Tomhah post, it is a new, modern way to look at things. Perhaps as a new way of marketing in 21st century, instead of just screaming: "IT IS MINE, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT!". Companies DO invest a lot of money in marketing and this was completely free for them.

I bought my LFS S2 license after trying a cracked version and can't wait to give them more money for S3.

On topic:
MegaUpload Users Plan to Sue the FBI over Lost Files

There was an open protest in streets of capital of this little country today, people going out with posters supporting Anonymous, wearing their masks... I know this will change nothing, but it was very funny to watch. People take it so serious here. Throwing bananas on local government building and stuff like this. lol.

Liam just showed up to support what we're talking about here

Nice one, hats off to the guy. Imho this is the dying breath of a dinosaur made obsolete by the internet.

Quote :

Companies DO invest a lot of money in marketing

Often more than anything else including the product, the TV is unwatchable with BS adverts, magazines are full of BS adverts, folks are turning to the net for info and entertainment and they cant find a way to ram BS adverts down our throats here

ACTA protests in Poland - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v ... =1&feature=plpp_video
and another vid - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v ... 5wTcg&feature=related

ACTA's EU Future In Doubt As Poland Suspends Ratification.

So as you can see, it is worthwhile to protest. There is no government that can not be beat.

BRAVO POLAND!!!

Very brave move, you'll now have a huge pressure from US and the rest of EU, but please hold on, this is a move that will hopefully be followed.

after our prime minister said, that acta is totally good thing

That's the way going about it. Well done Polish & Estonians protesting

I was going to protest (even was on the attending list on FB ), but was 25 km away out of town and car didn't start .

"Today, on July 4, Europe celebrates a day of independence from American special interests."

the NSA, SOPA and Syria... WTF USA...