Pirate Apple App Store Innovates With ‘Reverse BitTorrent’

http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-apple-app-store-innovates-with-reverse-bittorrent-101226/

by Uncle_Sam • 16 years ago

32 22 16 years ago

haentz2• 16 years ago

> They do what they do because they believe that Apple’s App Store is unfair to consumers since it has no trial service or refund policy.

BS. They do this because they don't want to bother with paying a couple of bucks for an app. Plenty of apps are cracked, which actually offer a free version for testing. It's even factually wrong. Refund is possible…

tehjones• 16 years ago

Refund is not exactly easy though. There is the initial challenge that puts off a lot of users from even attempting to. A google style model(using a time limit from purchase to deletion) would be much fairer.

Though it does seem obvious to me that these people are just after a way not to pay for software. This tool will just increase the pirated crap.

patio11• 16 years ago

Yeah, it is horsepuckey. Large groups of people have learned that there is no social censure for stealing certain types of goods. Stealing is strictly superior to buying for them. They'll steal it if it is possible. I have both trials and a very generous refund policy, and my downloadable app gets stolen frequently. (And my web app gets stolen never, which should be a preview of coming attractions for people who are going to wake up one day and wonder why nothing functions without an Internet connection.)

cookiecaper• 16 years ago

Piracy is not theft. Theft requires that one is deprived of some tangible benefit. Downloads cannot be strictly correlated to lost sales, because many download to sample, or download things they wouldn't spend money on anyway.

This doesn't mean you have to agree with filesharing, or think it's a good thing, or participate in it, but calling it "theft" is scaremongering.

eli• 16 years ago

No. The people who use cracked software probably do it because they won't or can't pay for it. But the people doing the cracking mostly do it for the simple reason that they can.

Xuzz• 16 years ago

That's completely true, but having your app pirated by a ton of people (and engaging the pirates!) can really help drive actual sales, mostly due to exposure.

willstraf3• 16 years ago

I hear this argument a lot, and wonder, is there any actual evidence out there to back it up/

willstraf3• 16 years ago

It's interesting you mention that. I pointed that out today, and a new rule was implemented, saying that if a cracked application has a built in (fully featured) timed trial when it detects that it is a pirated version, then that check should remain intact and un-patched, otherwise the crack or request for the crack will be removed. Not perfect, but at least a step in the right direction (they didn't have an argument when it was brought up, because their reasoning is that people want a fair chance to try apps before paying, which this compromise allows).

I'd link to the thread on their forums about this new rule, but I'm assuming that most people in here are iOS developers who seem to be against this, so you probably don't have an account on their website and can't view the post.

kennywinker• 16 years ago

I suspect doing this would run afoul of the Mac App Store guidelines. There is a bunch of language about trials, demos, licence keys, etc.

So... nice of them to say that, but I think it amounts to just lip service.

Similarly, why is Angry Birds available as a cracked download? There is a free version you can try out and decide if you like it. I call bullshit on the "try before you buy" axiom.

Pirate Apple App Store Innovates With ‘Reverse BitTorrent’

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