Do heavy handed, intrusive and overly strict anti-piracy measures like Product Activation and Valve's Steam online installation and verification "service" drive people to piracy to escape them?

Or we could put it in a different way, lack of anti-piracy measuress and free access to the cultural goods increases sales of the product.

not really, I have no problems with steam, infact I like the idea and some of the options this centralised server option have (the problems I have are b/w related and that's BTs fault), and the pirate way is totally shit (you need two patches and loads of tinkering to get round).

Sure it took a few minutes to go through HL2 to ensure it matches the hash.

I do think that companies like BAYtsp put me off buying legitimate products.

So no, I don't agree but I totally agree with polityks way of thinking, so I voted yes if you meant the same thing.

Windows XP and it's Product activation "Feature" comes uner this heading too

what product activation feature?

If your stupid enough to download anything but the corporate edition, that's your problem If you've got a legit copy, then I personally wouldn't have bothered, get the cracked corporate version.


The point is people wouldn't have bought it anyway, regardless of the feature And people who own it legit really don't care, it makes no difference to entering a cd key really.

THAT'S the point I was trying to make

that has nothing to do with it or what I was saying, I just flat out wouldn't have bought any copy!

I've got one legit copy of a m$ product, and that's windows 95 I got from someone ages ago who didn't want it.

I have several legitamite winXP keys too, since uni made the mistake of printing the keys on the top of their boxes They won't mind though since they are Fedora linux machines

Yeah same for me @ work