Can You Guilt Someone Into Not Pirating Software?

from the probably-worth-a-shot dept

A bunch of folks have been submitting this story about USB Overdrive X's response to anyone who uses a pirated key to use their software. Basically, the company allows you to go ahead, but tells you (in a very human voice) that it knows it's a pirated code, and you should be ashamed of yourself:

It's definitely a much better strategy than annoying plenty of users (even legit ones) or threatening to sue or anything. And, I have no doubt that it's probably even effective on the margins among a few folks who appreciate being treated at least somewhat as a human, rather than a criminal. But, the company is still going to face this issue long term, and it seems like a better solution is to figure out business models that don't view such sharing as piracy, but a way to further extend a business.

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Blogger Who Uploaded GNR Album Pleads Guilty, Accepts Deal

from the still-ridiculous dept

The blogger who uploaded the latest Guns N' Roses album, Chinese Democracy, and who was then arrested has apparently agreed to a plea bargain in the case. Prosecutors had already dropped the charges from a felony to a misdemeanor, and the plea deal probably means he'll get off without too much punishment -- but the whole thing still seems fairly ridiculous. It's not at all clear why the FBI wasted taxpayer money chasing down a fan who simply helped promote the music. In the end, it seems like GNR basically got tax-payer funded promotion for its latest album, while causing significant stress in the life of the guy who was in the middle of all of this. What a joke.

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Top Spammer Pleads Guilty, But Spam Still Going Strong

from the significant-blows... dept

Last May, we noted that spammer Robert Alan Soloway had been arrested and the book was being thrown at him: mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, tax fraud and money laundering were included in the charges. On Friday he pleaded guilty to three of the charges: mail fraud, wire fraud and failure to file a tax return. The rest of the charges were dropped, and he now faces up to 26 years in jail. It's not like he didn't know everyone was on to him. He had previously lost civil lawsuits from Microsoft and some others. Still, when he was arrested last May federal authorities actually claimed that the arrest might lead to a decrease in spam. How did that work out?

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