iPad, The App Store and Software Piracy

As my sister-in-law says, the most maddening thing about the CONSERVATIVE WSJ is its impeccable journalism and good writing.
I'm primarily interested in a pad as a book reader, rather than as a full-function computer.

For some reason, I'm having trouble compiling good data, but Amazon has about 300,000 titles available, Apple / sony about 25,000 and Adobe seems to have cornered the library market and with multiple large-scale university programs currently working to bring the nation's libraries into the digital age, may soon surpass kindle / Amazon.

The early word is that Apple is sticking to it's proprietary security protocols and it's unknown at this time how limited the cross-platform compatibility will be.

That said, I like the merger of a reader with a full-function computer and will try one soon for my kitchen (cookbooks, mostly) with a kindle for the lighting scheme (bedroom reading).
IMHO whether or not you should be able to download first and pay later is up to the maker of the software/games. A lot of makers give you a 30 day trial. The last PC I bought had Office on a 60 day trial. If the make chooses NOT to allow this free test is up to the maker, and if you do it w/o the maker's permission, that is theft. Even if you pay for it later. It is the Maker that has the right to describe the license being given in the EUL. Doesn't matter what you want, or whether you'll get pissed or not. They created it, and have the right to set the terms of use. Originally Posted by charlestudor2005
Many will see it like that but to each his own. If am comfortable about what I am doing then I won't quit, if I feel guilty or question myself then I should reconsider my decisions. I don't agree that just because a company thinks I should pay without testing it that I should, I know I wouldn't buy a car without driving it first. Turn the thought completely off topic for a second. Ever had a SO? Were they ok with the fact that you hobby or was it your decision that most likely you didn't tell them about? Personally that is something I could never do if I had a SO because I would not feel right about it. I wouldn't care that you did it if you are comfortable with it. At the end of the day my morals are for me to live with myself not something I expect everyone else to agree with.


There is no hardware that prevents privacy, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to create. The impossible part is creating an industry standard that everyone will willingly adhere to. Even in such a case it will always be possible, but when people have to exert effort they stop bothering. There should be hardware deterrents put into place. It'll be a lot more effective then criminalizing an entire generation of teenagers. Originally Posted by Lauren Summerhill
I agree in theory on this but based solely on what I know of the topic I do not believe it is possible. For instance a few years back they decided to start releasing Academy Screeners that could only play on a special DVD player which could not be purchased. It took almost no time for the encryption of the DVD's to be cracked and for these screeners to be released on the internet just like the ones with no protection had been released. Reverse Engineering can be complicated but a lot of piracy revolves around it. I think the more difficult it is to be done that it actually makes some people even more interested. I could break down the details of what people go through to release many things such as software and movies but I will save you the boredom. Personally I find it interesting from a learning aspect and not for the use of stealing.


I'm terrified of Steve Jobs walking away. It's more then just marketing, it's his overall conceptualization of how technology and mankind interact, and how to merge that with marketing and design. The only comparison is the Google team. The two harness technology and human interaction with it, all the other competitors just make products that try to compete with what exits. Microsoft is no longer on the cutting edge of innovation. Some would argue they never were.
My wording may of came off wrong there. I completely agree that Steve Jobs is amazing at what he does. This is why I am curious to see what happens when he retires. Can they really find someone to push the good products and ideas the way he currently allows or will they bring someone in who will take a free ride off the good name he has earned for Apple? With all of the good products that Apple does have they also have subpar products that sell great.