Week in Review: July 22 - 28

It is difficult to say whether the most important story of last week was the announcement of the Palm Ready Program, in which multiple companies will make processors for future Palm handhelds, or Palm splitting its OS division off into a subsidiary.

There was significant hardware news about the Minstrel m500 wireless modem and the Audible Advisor Springboard. Also, we published the long-awaited Sony PEG-N710C review.

In our Forums, there was more debate on the m700, a discussion on which is the best m500 series case, and a poll on how people feel about cracking.

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Note about cracking

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/29/2001 12:39:47 PM #
Hi, cracking shouldn't be legal at all.

Simple analogy,should stealing be legal? Even if the theif is capable?

Thus the anwser is NO.

My 2 cents worth.

RE: Note about cracking
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/29/2001 4:19:02 PM #
ehrr...cracking is like picking lock.

if it's your lock, than it is your business what you gonna do with it.

if it is your neighboor's lock with intention of stealing his TV set, then it is different story.

RE: Note about cracking
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/29/2001 5:49:23 PM #
cracking is a VERY interesting topic. The average user sees a .prc file and thinks of it as a handy app. A cracker sees a .prc file and sees a fun and exciting challenge. Now, I don't mind cracking if you're doing it just to see if you can (the tools are sooo easy to get), but when you start to use those files and shre them with others it becomes wrong.



Define "Cracking"
GrouchoMarx @ 7/30/2001 12:01:51 AM #
If by cracking you mean breaking into a computer system owned by someone else with the intent of accessing private information or causing damage, then yes, it is and most certainly should be illegal.

If by cracking you mean decoding content that you have purchased legally in order to excercise your rights of fair use under US law, then it is a fundamental right as a citizen.

--GrouchoMarx

RE: Note about cracking
JeepBastard @ 7/30/2001 12:05:00 AM #
Information wants to be free. Palm software must drop in price if we are to survive.


Death to virus writers!

[http://www.mediathreat.net]

I like cracking, free software from professional crackers
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/30/2001 12:33:13 AM #
I like cracked Palm software because they're free of charge and no need to register at all.

Read The Fine License
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/30/2001 8:06:00 AM #
Do not forget that in most cases, you do not BUY the software, you LICENSE it. So the software still remains property of the company/programmer.

Hacking is a legal way of trying stuff, because you can. If you buy a lock and then try to pick it, its legal. if you hire/license/borrow a lock, you have to copmly to the associated license before doing anything with it.

If you pick your neighbour's lock, its not necessarily theft, but illegal nonetheless.

RE: Note about cracking
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/30/2001 9:15:57 AM #
Cracking is a great was to get "free" software, and it seems like a very good idea at first. But, after awhile, you realize how bad it really is. You see your friends who do the cracking have their websites shut down. After awhile you start to see a darker side to cracking that isn't there when it started.

I started as a basic palm user, then later one of my friends told me about the yahoo club on cracking. (palmcracks) I was promoted to founder later on, and i managed to collect a HUGE lot of links and files for people. Now, we're working on a website to accompany our club and I'm supposed to be learning to crack.

Here's a tip folks: don't do cracks! It aint as good as it seems. turn back while you still can!



RE: Note about cracking
mikecane @ 7/30/2001 9:29:47 AM #
"Information wants to be free." -- how stupid! As if information was a distinct sentient entity. Geez, the IQ! -- as in *lack*!

As for breaking copy protection for one's own use, that should be permitted if no distribution to other people is not intended or the motive. In the early CLIE days, many people had to use a cracking program in order to get full use of their Memory Sticks (some programs would not move onto the MS unless cracked). As for all these dips who think it's just fine to cheat people -- may there be a God and may His retribution manifest itself in a painful and lethal manner!

RE: Note about cracking
JeepBastard @ 7/30/2001 3:02:23 PM #
I think its quite odd to suggest that god cares about software liscences..


At any rate. Stealing is illegal. I don't know why you focused on me. I just think that the prices should come down to resonable levels. $30 is too much for palm software.

Information wants to be free. It's just a way of saying that it is very hard to control intellectual property man.

[http://www.mediathreat.net]

RE: Note about cracking
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/30/2001 3:37:45 PM #
I think one of the reasons cracking is so common for Palm software is there is no good system for small payments over the Internet. I think almost all people would pay $1 for a small app if they could do it in 15 seconds. But at that low price point, it isn't worth the hassle of getting out a credit card, typing in all the numbers, and taking the risk that the person on the other end won't take your card number and rip you off.

Besides, people don't think, "Only a dollar? I could easily pay that." What they think instead is, "Only a dollar? The developer doesn't think this app is worth much so it doesn't matter if I steal it."

But with a quick, secure system for small payments, far more people would buy the apps and the developers would actually make more money, though each individual buyer pays less.

The other main reason that cracking is so common is that the Internet has raised an entire generation to believe that everything they want should be free. The bursting of the tech bubble will hopefully teach people that this doesn't work.

CRACKSTER
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/30/2001 3:51:25 PM #
We need a Palm version of Napster - called "CRACKSTER". It would have all of the Palm cracked software on it.

RE: Note about cracking
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/30/2001 6:09:56 PM #
there is. it's called PWCPP (palm warez cross platform patcher), and it takes care of almost all the files you could need


RE: Note about cracking
mikecane @ 7/31/2001 9:35:25 AM #
This is a Gang Comment:

"Information wants to be free. It's just a way of saying that it is very hard to control intellectual property man." -- then say the latter, not the former. These are two entirely different meanings.

"I think one of the reasons cracking is so common for Palm software is there is no good system for small payments over the Internet. I think almost all people would pay $1 for a small app if they could do it in 15 seconds. But at that low price point, it isn't worth the hassle of getting out a credit card, typing in all the numbers, and taking the risk that the person on the other end won't take your card number and rip you off." -- this has been my pet peeve for years! Recently 7-11 and American Express teamed up to create Internet Cash Cards for just this kind of transaction. Unfortunately, they just *killed* the card this month, for unknown reasons. Until something similar comes along -- and that has sound loud publicity and ads behind it! -- we will all continue to suffer.

"Besides, people don't think, "Only a dollar? I could easily pay that." What they think instead is, "Only a dollar? The developer doesn't think this app is worth much so it doesn't matter if I steal it."" -- yes, value perception is strange, isn't it? In Japan, a prestigious brand of whiskey lowered its price to compete and found its market collapse. Former buyers did not like the idea of buying something "cheap." Go figure!

"The other main reason that cracking is so common is that the Internet has raised an entire generation to believe that everything they want should be free. The bursting of the tech bubble will hopefully teach people that this doesn't work." -- that and when the idiots are finally thrown out of the house by Mommy and Daddy and finally come across the Real World of Landlords and Rent!

"We need a Palm version of Napster - called "CRACKSTER". It would have all of the Palm cracked software on it." -- dope! Although I have used Napster, I've used it to get MP3s of stuff I own, being too lazy to create them myself. I've also used it to get stuff that is *no longer in print* (ie, that I *would* gladly pay for if it existed elsewhere!). What you are suggesting is outright theft. You are probably still living with Mommy and Daddy. Naif!


RE: Note about cracking
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/31/2001 10:42:52 AM #
yo mike!

there ALREADY is a palm software equivilent of napster. it's called PWCPP and it offers THOUSANDS of software titles (AND a unversal patcher!)

also, pwcpp CAN be used for things you've already purchased. say you buy a game, but YOU (not you and your roomate, or you and your spouse, but YOU) own two or more handhelds. is it FAIR to need to buy an extra copy? not really. So should you be allowed to take a crack and use it on your other palm? you already payed for it once, do you NEED to pay for it agan?

RE: Note about cracking
mikecane @ 7/31/2001 11:20:45 AM #
You have a point there that I have not come across myself: owning two Palms. I don't agree in having to pay for two copies. Creators, of course, will differ. There is a huge debate going on like this with e-books. With DRM, you cannot loan them to a friend, as you could with a physical copy. And so the debate continues!

its sunday

Pepper @ 7/29/2001 2:50:35 PM #
ed, it's sunday. don't you ever get a day off?

-Pepper

I love my Palm . . . do you?

RE: its sunday
Ed @ 7/30/2001 2:44:18 PM #
Nope. I post stuff on most weekends. This is a good time for the weekly wrap-up article (which I should post more often) and for articles that are not as hard news as most of what we post is. Weekends are a good time to talk about school kids using Palms for homework and stuff like that.

I want people to visit the site every day so there needs to be new stuff every day.

---
News Editor
Palm Infocenter

RE: its sunday
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/30/2001 3:18:41 PM #
well, yeah! i'm used to you posting on saturdays, but i was shocked to see a new news artical on a SUNDAY.

-Pepper

BTW: agreed. the weekly wrap up is great. why did you stop postng them for awhile?

Cracking!

$ragon, aka sinbad @ 7/30/2001 1:19:55 PM #
Cracking is not stealing. Not everyone has a silverspoon sticking from their crevice, eh?
Our governments 'steal' -our employers steal our ideals, inventions-company's sell defective, overpriced software-KNOWING that we will have to get upgrades. Look you don't like crack/warez-don't use it!
defpro@hotmail.com or in the NG's as $ragon :)]
RE: Cracking!
mikecane @ 7/30/2001 1:22:13 PM #
You make some interesting points there.

RE: Cracking!
JeepBastard @ 7/30/2001 11:23:10 PM #
They always say that until they release a piece of software for cash. Then they cry when they get cracked.


The bottom line is the price point of the software is way too high.

[http://www.mediathreat.net]

RE: Cracking!
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/30/2001 11:35:45 PM #
> The bottom line is the price point of the software is way too high.

Lots of software is postcardware or emailware. Yet people won't even go to the hassle of doing that. Admit it, if you see that an an app only costs a few bucks, you assume its worthless. Putting a higher price on it makes it seem worthwhile. If you've got some kittens you want to get rid of, don't offer them for free. Put a price on them. That's makes them seem more valuable and desirable. Software works the same way.

RE: Cracking!
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/31/2001 10:40:05 AM #
i DO send people e-mails when they ask in their software. I think it's only fair to do since they're savng you the hassel of going out and either buying it, searching for a crack of it, or cracking it yourself



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