string you shud ask that poor fella to ask his mama to give him money... i think he is too poor to work too...

dont blame ppl .
Somehow when we think back of the app installed with our pc nor iphone , pretty sure it wasnt 100% legal . sort of cracked , pwned and etc .

Aiyah bro.... pandai makan pandai simpan lah.... bukan nak makan free, mintak hantar sampai pintu... What say me?

aiseh i was finding high and low for the post requesting for stringfellow's south park videos.

mana tau it is a PM.

People who are asking things like these are people who cannot afford these luxury items in the first place. It is like buying a BMW but cannot afford to fill the tank with petrol, instead mau curi someone else's petrol by siphoning it out of other people's tank. Music and movies are the fuel for your iPod and iPhone, if you cant afford getting fuel for these luxury items, then dont get the iPhone/iPod in the first place. Dont just follow people, they have iPhone/iPod, you also must have one. Ukur baju kat badan sendiri lah.

Malaysians have been so used to freebies, that even getting things like this through illegal means does not faze them. When a guy does it and gets away with it, the next guy follows. In the end, everybody does it, and taken as a norm. This has become an epidemic, to a stage where those who chose to go the legal means have been either shunned, belittled or laughed at by these irresponsible people.

I've been battling this mentality since the I can remember, and I've received my share of death threats, mockings, and forum people mobbing up against me. I'm thankful on my fortunes in life, and I dont expect everyone to follow me on my spending patterns, but someone of lesser spending power than me, and still maintain his purchases on the legal side, have my utmost respect and admiration for his determination to stay legit. It is even harder to pull off if you are constantly seduced into piracy because of financial needs. You can still stay legit, maintaining a modest lifestyle and still not break any rules or law. Taking the piracy route is like a copout, you are taking the easy way out.

I didnt start off being where I am right now, I myself did my share of pirating on my younger days as well. There are still skeletons in my closets, and I admit them. But what's more important is admitting and rehabilitating oneself against this disease. What's even sadder is, there are portion of iPhone/iPod buyers who reside in the "well-to-do" category, with luxury car,huge houses, and designer clothes on their back, yet they still dont find it important to stay away from piracy.

I'm sorry, but I have my conscience reminding me every time I want to break a rule or law. That is my safety net. I cant ,in the right frame of mind, to pirate things others have worked on so hard in their life.

^Ermmm... you obviously have the right to decline lah, but it doesn't really justify a full on lecture about piracy and self righteousness.

A legitimate copy of Windows XP retails for what... RM300? To a M'sian who earns RM4/hr working in a retail store that's a lot of money. Not everyone has that much expendable income. Every person here who runs a hackintosh is also in one form or another doing something illegal, wouldn't it be harsh to say that they should spend RM5k on a Mac just so they can familiarize themselves with OS X?

Honestly, if it weren't for piracy the technology uptake in M'sia would be so much lower than what it is now.

Notice I write about "songs and movies" not your favourite topic of OSes and their costs,which is the favourite point people like to use to justify themselves pirating. If you cant afford 99 cents for a song, or USD1.99 for a TV Show, then you're just making up excuses to pirate.

My rationalization is simple: If I cant afford it, I wont pirate it. You dont see me stealing cars when I cant afford a new BMW 3 series. Same case here. The only difference is, that this is virtual, and to some people, they dont see the value of staying legitimate on things that cannot hold physically.

Sure, piracy helps on technology uptake, but how many of those who had taken up technology and incorporate that into their lives and livelihood, shed those piracy coat they wore during those "desperate times" and went the legitimate way? More often than not, they still hang on and wear those "pirate coats" and "eyepatches" , even when financial outlook have improved to a point that it is possible to take things up legitimately. To them, there is no incentive to go legit because you can get the same (almost) when you pirate. Selfish much?

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Sep 10 2008, 12:38 PM

Heh... piracy is piracy. Pirating software and "songs and movies" are essentially the same thing. I can afford and I have purchased tracks of iTMS before, but wherever possible I prefer to leech files off friends rather than to sit around and use up broadband quota downloading stuff that someone else already has. A 10GB quota shared amongst 11 people isn't exactly a lot... is that a fair enough excuse?

Secondly, not all tracks are available on iTunes plus, and personally I think 128kbps DRM'd AAC is pretty sh*thouse. Is iTMS even available in Malaysia?

There is a slight difference between stealing a physical, tangible item and piracy. By stealing you are depriving someone else of something that they have paid for, while the latter costs nothing to duplicate and only results in a potential loss of income for someone. It doesn't take away what they already have and isn't nearly as detrimental.

I do agree with the last point however, people do tend to hold onto bad habits. Blame that on the education system. Regardless of how morally correct you are, I doubt there's a need for you to be this harsh on others.

Potential loss is potential nonetheless. How many of those pirating, you can count on them actually purchasing the items the pirated, when they like what they saw/hear? Ethics, morals and conscience. When it comes to this, "getting things for free" mindset usually prevails.

Sure, if albums or songs are not available on iTunes, sample them online via other vendors like Amazon Unbox, or God forbid, leech them, sample them, and then buy them legitimately via legitimate means like CDs and other legitimate online offerings. How many choose to go this way?

iTunes is available in Malaysia, it depends on which country you choose to sign an account in.

It is easy to dismiss the damage you have done as "non-detrimental" or "negligible" when you dont know the people who are directly affected by your actions. You can easily carry on with your life blissfully ignorant of the results of your actions. The damage may not be immediate, but the recent TV Show writer's strike and the already shrinking revenue having to be further subdivided, is already exemplifying how leeching and pirating TV shows have already shown its ugly side.

All it takes is a little bit of effort and one;s own clear conscience. That one example is a thread in Apple Byte, where a member asked on how to update his iPod Touch to firmware 2.0. The legitimate route, as I have suggested to him, is to either get an iTunes gift card, available in a location in Kelana Jaya, redeem the credit and purchase it via iTunes legitimately. Or use iTunes Malaysia, add in a credit card, (or use Ambank Prepaid NextG credit card, if you dont have one, it works like a charge card, with a credit card front), and buy the firmware update that way. Guess which route he takes? Torrent! Why? Because it is much easier to sit your bum on a chair and leech torrents than actually lift that bum and work your way to get things done legally. Clear conscience too is lacking in this case. It is easier to cop out and give yourself in to the seduction, but is it right?

As for your comment on me being harsh....which part is that? In fact, I've been treated more harshly by those advocating piracy for trying to bring them back to the right way, than me being anythig more stern in my words. My word hits home to them, but admittance to those words would mean proving that I was right and what they did was wrong. You at least have the decency of admitting some of the points I made, unlike "these folks".

The posts made before are not made to reflect self-righteousness, but more on to reflect on the laissez-faire attitude Malaysians (and Malaysians abroad in most cases) towards trying to stay legit in their digital consumptions. Like I said, they are more inclined to find excuses to justify their means to their ends, rather than try to make amends and slowly correct themselves to go legit. It is like rehabilitation, but admitting to the need to rehabilitate is the first step needed to begin the healing process. I admitted I needed help before I turned a new leaf, I was a chronic hoarder during my earlier days.

It is easier to give in, succumb to the seduction, but it takes a bigger person to hold true to the course. Again, not meant to make myself look good or anything, just something to reflect on.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Sep 10 2008, 02:21 PM

How do I buy music/content off iTune's Malaysia? I can purchase iPhone apps (Super Monkey ball FTW) but somehow I can't view the Music/Movie content, says something like not availabe for this country.

Anyways I share stringfellow's sentiment, its like you put your heart and soul into your assignment/work and some fella copies it and took the credit instead.

^ there is no music/movie in ituens malaysia, period.

u need US itunes acc

@skyther

Whatever it is, piracy will always be around and we're here to atleast try to change some mindsets as many of use are so use to pirating songs etc. Staying legit with software does gives u a sense of pride that you own something with your own effort, not thru others.

For example. You made a software and you manage to find a distributor to help to sell your product. In 2 days time, you see your product everywhere and is all pirated. How do you feel when you have put in all your time, energy and resources?

I bet you feel cheated and also angry but what can you do?

So what String bro trying to say to us all is to stay legit and reward ourself with some pride of owning something with pure conscience and help the person who develop the software with something back so that they can create more softwares in the future.

This post has been edited by davidgary73: Sep 10 2008, 02:27 PM

Register a US account. Google for the steps or search within this forum for the procedures.

To top up credits in a US account, a store in Giant Kelana Jaya is selling US iTunes prepaid cards now , USD15 cards for RM50.

usd 15 at rm 50 is a steal
hopefully seller will pm me soon

And if I may interject, in the case of Davidgary bro here, he is directly impacted when it comes to music piracy. He cari his makan in the music business, where his direct income comes from. Can anyone here tell me with a straight face that you are not against leeching his hard work, just for your own convenience? He is your fellow Malaysian here, looking to find a way to support his living.

Thanks String bro..Just for your info guys. Music business never an easy business. We spend RM 40,000+(money from our own pocket, from gigs) to make an album(only one album) and imagine kena cetak rompak..

Matilah my band. Album mana boleh sell????

As Russel Peter always say: "Do the right thing, Be a man"

This post has been edited by davidgary73: Sep 10 2008, 02:42 PM

string be open minded and take others advices , u couldn't compare with not afforable and stealing in this method , maybe the 1 who saw you having the episod is requesting for "SHARING SHARING SHARING SHARING" so don't think like a lawyer insteed of the word of "Curi" thats too much different .

Hey bro..this is what i think. Sharing is good when it is free but sharing a software/mp3/video that's not yours is not a good thing ma. Let's say i pass u my album, you burn a copy and just say this is call sharing. Will you buy my album? i think you will not because you have already acquired a copy and don't need to spend money to purchase it.

So how? It's that good or bad? What say you?

This post has been edited by davidgary73: Sep 10 2008, 03:00 PM

Hey, if it is legally free, i'd share it with you. That is why I posted the news on free HD TV Shows on US iTunes available now, and urge you to download it. It is deemed FREE by its distributor, so by all means, get it, share it, spread the love if you like.

But when it is deemed or marketed as a purchase-item, it is marked as such for a reason. For cases like album production, in the case of DavidGary here, he had invested RM40,000 to produce a single album, presumably with 12 tracks, and of course wanted to have his efforts reimbursed at least, or make a tidy profit, so that he can continue putting food on his table, and use that extra cash to produce more albums, and thus continue generating income for his living. Would you "share" his album when the case is like this? If the answer is now, where do you draw the line? Is it not okay to pirate DavidGary's album, but okay to pirate, say, Kanye West's album, just because he has made it rich? Why draw those lines there, when the act itself already constitutes stealing?

It is easy actually. You like? You buy. You dont like? Stay clear. Want to test before you buy? Sample it using iTunes 30-second samples, or other online sampling alternatives. Hell, if you have to, leech the song off torrents and all, but have the decency of deleting it off your hard drive, and purchase the songs you like legally. That way, at least you are carrying the statement that "I like certain songs in this album, but I'm not going to buy the entire album, just for that few songs I like". Unlike buying CDs off record stores, you can purchase songs for a measly 99cents, instead of the whole album. Would it not be better on your conscience that you have done the right thing here, enjoying your purchase, and at a more than reasonable price?

No matter how you spin it, when it comes to digital copies distribution, this "sharing is caring" thing is wrong. I'd share things I get for free with you, no sweat. But the wrong thing here is, Malaysians perceive things they downloaded from torrents as free, hence does not mind sharing them. Where do these torrents come from, if not from pirated digital copies?

How much is "not affordable"? Is 99 cents not affordable enough? Remember, music, movies, TV shows and apps are not daily necessities, they are luxury items. For most, they are for your enjoyment, and living without them will not incur serious repercussion. (exception is DavidGary, his life is music. Even then, he does not pirate his stuff). So, when it is not something necessary to live by, why must you pirate it? If you do feel the need to have it, get it legally, but it would not kill you not having it, would it?

Which brings me to my next point: Hoarding. Malaysians like to hoard, be it ripped movies, mp3s, cracked programs or porn. This whole mindset is the reason why they feel compelled to pirate because they want it in their collection. Do you need it? More often than not, the answer would be NO. Can you live without it? Unless you eat and breathe them, you dont need them. Malaysians feel compelled to do so because their peers come about during lunchtime telling them how he have leeched off torrents of the latest episode of (insert TV show here) or the latest (insert favourite artist here) and bragged about it. Not wanting to lose out, or just plain curious, the other party either follows the same route, leeching from torrent, or simply ask the other person to copy it into a portable thumbdrive/harddrive. Sounds familiar? You'd think you're not hurting anyone by doing this, but half way across the globe, a struggling artist with the new album released you have just leeched or "shared" is looking in dismay at the sale of his album, because everyone is leeching and nobody is buying them. Poof! There goes another aspiring musician, who could probably be the next Frank Sinatra, or Frank Astair. Somebody said something about "only affecting potential loss of income", but in this case, you're potentially losing anther great addition to the music world. You've just killed his potential of being a great musician.