Owww, what will he choose????

[slimdog360]

My dad finally caught the Windows virus *aka* Windows Genuine Advantage. Now his illegal copy of photoshop CS2 does not work on his illegal copy of Windows. After I refused to keep being his illegal software pimp he got some illegal plugins for his illegal copy of photoshop from a friend at his work and what do you think happened, bamo, trojan alert.

Now I've got heaps on at Uni at the moment and I don't have the time to fix everything all a once. So Ive decided I'm going to put aside a couple of hours this Sunday and tell him his options, go and buy a copy of Windows and hope that the WGA bug doesn't pick up his illegal copy of photoshop (I wouldn't expect him to buy it at $1000 Australian). Or keep stealing software and wait for the same thing to happen.

I've shown him GIMP and a few others but he insists that Photoshop is what he needs to take better photos. Even though he is just an amateur photographer who doesn't really need Photoshop. I understand that some do of course need photoshop (particularly after seeing that drawing of the bald guy from Lost on youtube) but for what he does with it he doesn't need it.

Because he has a fancy pants printer I don't think it would work with Linux so I suppose its out of the question. I'll mention it but I don't think he will go for it.

I've told him this would happen but he never listened, I insisted that stealing software was a bad idea, but he never listened.

So what do you think will happen, will he go out and buy everything, keep stealing software or opt for a better alternative?????

[Bloch]

You ain't gonna turn your ol' man in to the county sheriff, are you? :-) :)

My guess he will keep stealing software - you can't teach an old dog new tricks. However if he has no choice - if his partners in crime are all hiding in the hills - then he won't have much of a choice.

You could take a look at the image editing program "Pixel" - some people (myself included) prefer it to the gimp. Best of all, there's a windows version so he can try it out before making the move. It's not free, (costs something like $30) but you can get a trial version.

As for the printer - look it up and see its compatibility
The price of the bootleg software he's using is several times the cost of a printer, I'd imagine.

[Tomosaur]

Take a look at GIMPshop (http://www.gimpshop.com/index.shtml), it's GIMP, but modified to look more like Photoshop. You may need to compile it yourself, but I think there are packages available. There's definately an RPM available on it's Wikipedia page, but I'm not sure of the version, or whether it works with alien.

You can also show him some galleries, so he can see the professional quality of GIMP.

[anaconda]

krita is another good graphics program..

and why wouldn't the printer work? which make/model is it?

hope he chooses ubuntu..

[karellen]

why not try paint.net. it's for windows and it's a nice and featured rich free application ;). I use it in xp and gives me all I need
http://www.getpaint.net/index2.html

[fuscia]

tell your mom to open a seperate bank account. (might as well be prepared.)

[Anthem]

why not try paint.net. it's for windows and it's a nice and featured rich free application ;). I use it in xp and gives me all I need
http://www.getpaint.net/index2.html
Agree that Paint.Net is a pretty slick program... it has a very nice feel to it. Also, because it's .NET, it has the potential to be ported to Linux via Mono.

I sent Miguel de Icaza an email about it, and he was kind enough to reply.

-----------------------------------------
Miguel -

I've been wondering... does the new Mono release make a Paint.NET port more feasible?

I'm totally inept as a programmer, so I really don't have much to contribute. And I'm certainly not demanding a port or anything like. I just stumbled across this blog post (http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2006/May-19.html), and wondered if anything had changed now that Mono 1.2 is out.

Anyway, keep up the good work! I enjoy using your programs.

Micah

-----------------------------------------
Hey,

> I've been wondering... does the new Mono release make a Paint.NET port
> more feasible?

Yes, we use Paint.Net as one of our test cases.

But the Paint.Net we use has been brutalized because we removed and
chopped a lot of code that was there to do the early tests.

We will do a fresh port based on the 2.x Paint.Net as our work to 2.0
moves ahead.

Miguel
---------------------------------------------

So with a little luck, we could see a linux builds of Paint.NET before the end of the year. It's a much better program than GIMP, in my humble opinion.

[DoctorMO]

I say the same thing to my uncle, he's a software copyright infringer, worse than anyone I know for it has been doing it for years; when I found that he wouldn't touch linux with a 100 foot barge poll because he was wedded to the idea of using windows and all and sundry games and programs without permission.

So it hit me on two fronts, 1) I'm a programmer and he's disrespecting my industry and 2) He places less value on open source because he has no morals.

Now I'm sorry your old man is a criminal, there are much worse crimes I'm sure. but to be honest people have had their head chopped off for less and he deserves to be given a chance to either buy proprietory, beg the company for permission, stop using a computer at all or use open source and if non of those options work or he's just being stubborn then hand him over to the law.

Just because breaking copyright is easy, and you feel like you _need_ to do it doesn't make it right.

[karellen]

I say the same thing to my uncle, he's a software copyright infringer, worse than anyone I know for it has been doing it for years; when I found that he wouldn't touch linux with a 100 foot barge poll because he was wedded to the idea of using windows and all and sundry games and programs without permission.

So it hit me on two fronts, 1) I'm a programmer and he's disrespecting my industry and 2) He places less value on open source because he has no morals.

Now I'm sorry your old man is a criminal, there are much worse crimes I'm sure. but to be honest people have had their head chopped off for less and he deserves to be given a chance to either buy proprietory, beg the company for permission, stop using a computer at all or use open source and if non of those options work or he's just being stubborn then hand him over to the law.

Just because breaking copyright is easy, and you feel like you _need_ to do it doesn't make it right.
calm down and take it easy....what he does it's not right but it's not a crime either imho ;). how do you say about killing a man?

[DoctorMO]

calm down and take it easy....what he does it's not right but it's not a crime either imho . how do you say about killing a man?

It is a crime, it's copyright infringement which isn't really a matter of debate or personal opinion. the law is what the law is. you can argue over it's morals but it's still against the law, similar to minor fraud and petty theft but is stealing a chocolate fire guard really worth it?

[justin whitaker]

I use linux because on some level, I know it is right. It gets me right with software patents, it gets me right with "do unto others"....I used to pirate everything I could, like your parents, but copyright infringement is just plain wrong.

I'm slowly weaning myself off MP3s too, which is hard, since I have an iPod. Hasn't anyone hacked iPods to run ogg yet?

Get right with the law: if you can't afford to by a proper license, then use open source.

And fuscia is right: make sure that your father's actions do not leave your Mom destitute. Solid advice. If the RIAA, MPAA, or Microsoft's attorneys come calling, they can wipe you out.

[prizrak]

It is a crime, it's copyright infringement which isn't really a matter of debate or personal opinion. the law is what the law is. you can argue over it's morals but it's still against the law, similar to minor fraud and petty theft but is stealing a chocolate fire guard really worth it?

Well a chocolate fire guard would be totally worth it. Cuz it sounds damn cool.

IMO just stop supporting your dad's comp. Tell him that he can go out and buy Windows and you will be more than happy to install it for him and offer free alternatives to the programs he is currently using. Or that he can go FLOSS and that you will 100% support his system and set it up for him. IF he wants to use illegal software then he needs to learn how to keep it under control.

[MkfIbK7a]

Take a look at GIMPshop (http://www.gimpshop.com/index.shtml), it's GIMP, but modified to look more like Photoshop. You may need to compile it yourself, but I think there are packages available. There's definately an RPM available on it's Wikipedia page, but I'm not sure of the version, or whether it works with alien.

You can also show him some galleries, so he can see the professional quality of GIMP.

there is a deb now near the bottom of the page if anyone wants to try it on ubuntu
i am doing that now and will see how it goes

[DoctorMO]

Hasn't anyone hacked iPods to run ogg yet?

Yes loads of people, try rockbox.

[Dale61]

I've shown him GIMP and a few others but he insists that Photoshop is what he needs to take better photos. Even though he is just an amateur photographer who doesn't really need Photoshop. I understand that some do of course need photoshop (particularly after seeing that drawing of the bald guy from Lost on youtube) but for what he does with it he doesn't need it.

So, PS allows him to take better photos? Damn, I always thought it was mostly a skilled eye, and maybe the camera, but image editing software?

I'm a freelance photographer and use GIMP to enhance my photos for publication, but have never found a way to use any software to take a better photo.

Maybe I should get a copy of PS in the hope it will allow me to take even better photos.