Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

OS antipiracy

shadowfax

shadowfax

macrumors 603
Original poster
Sep 6, 2002
5,849
0
Houston, TX
hey guys. i was just thinking about how XP requires you to activate your OS using an internet connection that can send your registration to MS, and makes sure that you don't put XP on 2 different computers by sending data about your hardware. i was wondering:
a) does apple have any kind of protections against piracy in OS X? i have never installed from a CD except my software restore
b) how do you feel about MS requiring this in their OS?
c) how would you feel if apple required something like activation for OS X?
 
Re: OS antipiracy

Originally posted by Shadowfax
hey guys. i was just thinking about how XP requires you to activate your OS using an internet connection that can send your registration to MS, and makes sure that you don't put XP on 2 different computers by sending data about your hardware. i was wondering:
a) does apple have any kind of protections against piracy in OS X? i have never installed from a CD except my software restore
b) how do you feel about MS requiring this in their OS?
c) how would you feel if apple required something like activation for OS X?
Click to expand...

a) Not at the moment - although some of the recent developer seeds apparently have some sort of IP address tracking to stop them getting leaked.
b) I will never buy XP so don't really care.
c) I would be very unhappy. At the moment Apple seems to trust their customers and this creates a certain "good feeling" towards them. If they start treating us like theives them maybe that's how we'll start acting. I have only been a Mac user for 2 and a bit years and I have probably got more legal coppies of Mac OS than I have Windows (and I was a Windows user for 4 years or so). But I have installed and used more versions of Linux than either!
 
Apple jus can not afford the luxery.

And in my case, all the OS I have are original, at list is because I use OS9. Apple is giving you the update too.

The OS is not a big deal for Apple any way. They own all the computers the OS uses any way. Not the same with M$.
 
I would of thought there was no point in having activation in OSX, if for new (customers) people they buy a machine they buy a complete system, there is nobody else you can buy a decent up to date mac from without a copy installed and the people who build their own macs are a very small minority.
Also people like Apple so they wouldn't pirate..would they?
 
Yes it would be very dissapointing if Apple went the way of M$. As far as OS piracy goes I wouldn't think it a huge problem, I only use one Mac at home and yet I have three copies of OS X (don't bother asking).

M$ tested the internet rego thing in Australia a few years ago with Office and the OS. I just remember the NT dude pulling his hair out because it didn't work very well and added more hours to the already mind numbing job of setting up a Windoz box.
 
I don't mean to take this thread off in a tangent, but have a (semi) relavent question.

Does MS Office X require the same activation that XP & Office XP do? I assume so, but just wanted to make sure.
 
Originally posted by Pablo
I don't mean to take this thread off in a tangent, but have a (semi) relavent question.

Does MS Office X require the same activation that XP & Office XP do? I assume so, but just wanted to make sure.
Click to expand...
I don't know what registration gyrations you need to go through for Offixe X, however, I do know that if it detects another copy on the lan using the same serial number, it won't run.

Another reason why I won't buy or use any Microsoft software.
 
Originally posted by Bear
I don't know what registration gyrations you need to go through for Offixe X, however, I do know that if it detects another copy on the lan using the same serial number, it won't run.

Another reason why I won't buy or use any Microsoft software.
Click to expand...

So is it just MS or do you boycott all companies that have "lan aware" software?


Lethal
 
I read a magazine article once where the author was really irritated because M$ Office XP stopped working while he was on an airplane flight.

I don't know if the Mac Office X has that "feature" but I've got OpenOffice installed on two Macs and a PC and it works perfectly.
 
apple doesn't do it out of the kindness of their hearts. I'm fairly sure I've read that they just don't see the point of it. It doesn't really work (people will get around it if they want to), and its a barrier to a good user experience. Apple is more concerned with making things as easy as possible rather than convoluted activiation and verification schemes. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if apple put some kind of anti-piracy stuff in there at some point, but I would be surprised if it was so intrusive and cumbersome. There's nothing wrong with preventing piracy, but there is no need to be draconian about it and treat your sutomers poorly and get information about them ni the process)
 
Originally posted by strider42
apple doesn't do it out of the kindness of their hearts. I'm fairly sure I've read that they just don't see the point of it. It doesn't really work (people will get around it if they want to), and its a barrier to a good user experience. Apple is more concerned with making things as easy as possible rather than convoluted activiation and verification schemes. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if apple put some kind of anti-piracy stuff in there at some point, but I would be surprised if it was so intrusive and cumbersome. There's nothing wrong with preventing piracy, but there is no need to be draconian about it and treat your sutomers poorly and get information about them ni the process)
Click to expand...

you point out that apple is not some kind of loving mother of its users that would never do anything to bother us; rather, they are, as you say, sensible. i think this is as much as you can ask of a software company. That's the thing that bothers me about MS: activation is SO easy to get around--people use the corporate version, use activation code generators... people pirate XP because spending 300$ on an operating system is outrageous. and M$ only cuts into its profits (which are considerable) by making activation processes. Apple may be able to afford such a process, but they have no need to, as has been said.

that said, as part of apple's common sense, i think they do respect users. iTunes is a good example of this. we don't have to go through some elaborate checking process to make sure we're clean, like we are drug addicts or something.

but correct me if i'm wrong: doesn't final cut pro require some process of authentication?
 
Originally posted by cubist
I read a magazine article once where the author was really irritated because M$ Office XP stopped working while he was on an airplane flight.

I don't know if the Mac Office X has that "feature" but I've got OpenOffice installed on two Macs and a PC and it works perfectly.
Click to expand...


I think they were refering to XP, not Office. I installed a legit copy of Office XP on my gf's comp and it was the basic enter the serial number and go install.

FCP requires you have original instal dics whenever you update the software.


Lethal
 
MS Office v.X just requires that you enter the product key that is on the CD case. You have the option to register like you do with all applications. Thereafter, if you have Office running then nobody else on your network will be able to run an Office app with the same product key, just like Photoshop. I see no problems with these protections. The Mac market for software is much smaller and therefore, you should support the developers who dedicate a disproportionate amount of resources for less profit. As far as piracy from Apple, if you are stealing from Apple then you don't even deserve to call yourself a Mac user.
 
Originally posted by Bear
I don't know what registration gyrations you need to go through for Offixe X, however, I do know that if it detects another copy on the lan using the same serial number, it won't run.

Another reason why I won't buy or use any Microsoft software.
Click to expand...

i have a nice little applescript that deactivates the listening port office x uses... really easy to make.
 
Thanks for the information.

For clarification, my question was not to attempt to pirate software, but such 'security' measures as product activation, are one of the reason's I'm moving from the Windows platform.

I have paid for, and posess full licenses of, every piece of software that I have/use.
 
Originally posted by Pablo
For clarification, my question was not to attempt to pirate software, but such 'security' measures as product activation, are one of the reason's I'm moving from the Windows platform.
Click to expand...

mine too. i don't want to know how you guys pirate software, and i'm a little offended that some of you have mentioned it here. it's not a good idea to give out incriminating admissions that you do for one, and i don't think this forum is intended to be one for discussing illicit activity.
 
Like someone has mentioned before, Apple really has no need for OS piracy protection. If you want to use a Mac, you buy a Mac which comes with Mac OS. Even if you have multiple Macs, they'll require model specific OS disks. Unless of course you have bunch of same Macs. Otherwise if you want to upgrade, you have to go buy a new Mac OS upgrade disk (going from OS 9 to OS X for example).

Even if Apple were to implement piracy protection, I don't think I'll be bothered much.
 
I think another reason that piracy on the Mac hasn't been as big of an issue is that most of the software we want to use on it is free. Of course, I am not talking about OS X itself, but the major components of it are: iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, iCal, iSync, etc....

While Apple never had the tough anti-piracy measures that MS is trying to invoke, there was a time where those little software coupons in the OS box or computer were actually used for something. You couldn't just but an update to an OS without that coupon, you would have to buy a full version. But that has been a while. Back to the big system 8.5 upgrade-you remember, the whole "a whole new Mac for $99" thing.

Regards,
Gus
 
pretty lame of M$ to do.

what if you don't have an internet connection?

some people do use a computer for just "worK" that doesn't require it to be online.

geesh!
 
-----pretty lame of M$ to do.

-----what if you don't have an internet connection?

-----some people do use a computer for just "worK" that doesn't require it to be
-----online.

-----geesh!


Actually you are right. I don't mind the one-machine-installation-only policy, but if I was REQUIRED to register the OS for usage, that would annoy me quite a bit.
 
Originally posted by macphoria
-----pretty lame of M$ to do.

-----what if you don't have an internet connection?

-----some people do use a computer for just "worK" that doesn't require it to be
-----online.

-----geesh!


Actually you are right. I don't mind the one-machine-installation-only policy, but if I was REQUIRED to register the OS for usage, that would annoy me quite a bit.
Click to expand...

I agree with the one machine only thing, but another thing about this that's annoying is that if you take it off one computer to put it on another, it won't activate unless you telephone support and explain what's going on, and then you have to go through god knows what sort of ordeal to get them to let you put it on this different computer.
 
If anything, maybe they could do the thing they did with DVD player and region code, where they allow you to change the region code 5 times. So with OS, you could use it on certain limited number of computers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back