I'll stop pirating things when it becomes easier to use retail software than the haxx0red versions. This includes apps and games.
Example one: -
I recently tried to install a retail copy of Deus Ex: Invisible War. It failed miserably.
I installed a warez version which installed perfectly and didn't nag me to find the CD every time I wanted to play.
Example 2: -
I purchased Logic Audio Platinum (quite a while ago, as Logic Audio is now Mac only!) and it came with a copy protection dongle. I use the warez version which doesn't bug me about the dongle (which means I have one less device driver loaded).
Example 3: -
When I bought my monitor, it cost me around £700. It was the best 24" monitor available at the time and it's absolutely fantastic to this day.
When I bought my laptop, there was an option for BluRay drive. I enjoy HD movies, and I prefer BluRay as a format (for technical reasons).
Problem is, if I hook my laptop to my monitor and attempt to watch protected content, it's either going to fail completely or result in a degraded image.
My monitor does not support HDCP.
So, I saved myself somewhere between £200 and £300 on the cost of a BluRay drive and any films I was going to buy (300, Matrix trilogy, Lord of the Rings trilogy, all Star Wars films, Blade Runner, The Cell, ...) assuming, of course, they were available on BluRay!
It's trivial to download these as either 1920x1080 MPEG2 (really transport streams) or the newer codecs (VC-1, MP4 packages etc) and I can watch these in full glory on any output device.
Example one: -
I recently tried to install a retail copy of Deus Ex: Invisible War. It failed miserably.
I installed a warez version which installed perfectly and didn't nag me to find the CD every time I wanted to play.
Example 2: -
I purchased Logic Audio Platinum (quite a while ago, as Logic Audio is now Mac only!) and it came with a copy protection dongle. I use the warez version which doesn't bug me about the dongle (which means I have one less device driver loaded).
Example 3: -
When I bought my monitor, it cost me around £700. It was the best 24" monitor available at the time and it's absolutely fantastic to this day.
When I bought my laptop, there was an option for BluRay drive. I enjoy HD movies, and I prefer BluRay as a format (for technical reasons).
Problem is, if I hook my laptop to my monitor and attempt to watch protected content, it's either going to fail completely or result in a degraded image.
My monitor does not support HDCP.
So, I saved myself somewhere between £200 and £300 on the cost of a BluRay drive and any films I was going to buy (300, Matrix trilogy, Lord of the Rings trilogy, all Star Wars films, Blade Runner, The Cell, ...) assuming, of course, they were available on BluRay!
It's trivial to download these as either 1920x1080 MPEG2 (really transport streams) or the newer codecs (VC-1, MP4 packages etc) and I can watch these in full glory on any output device.