I keep thinking about how many software programs someone can master.

I remember super-equipped friends. On the same machine: CorelDraw, Photoshop, 3D Max, AutoCAD, etc. The same goes for other types of programs, aside from the hundreds of games installed. 300 GB hard drives filled with everything imaginable…

The answer to this could be piracy or pure lack of things to do. I know few people with enough money to have all these programs at the same time. But they can be found on some torrent on the network… or through a newspaper with home delivery.

I won’t get into the merits of copying or not copying; it’s illegal, and that’s that.

What really worries me is the time spent trying to learn (not for long, as another novelty soon arises) and the addiction (compulsion) that some people develop. A new version came out? I have to have it! Many times, the so-called new version doesn’t bring anything new to the work that the person does. But it’s a ritual: servants of the setup, slaves of the DVD and CD-R.

The same happens with movies. Once, I managed a local network. One day, analyzing the access logs, I saw that internet usage in the office had been at its peak all night. A certain guy decided to download a movie, a new release, using some P2P software. The quality of the movie was terrible, but the important thing was to download the image and burn it to disk as quickly as possible. Besides using the network to do something foolish, the software was poorly configured and turned our network into a piracy distributor. People from all over the world connected, and the source was our network. But okay, the scare passed, and the program was removed. How many times did the guy watch that movie? I think never, because the version was in English, and he still had to look for the subtitles. The important thing was to download, burn, label, and put it on the shelf. Create quantity, occupy space. It’s interesting how this can become a pastime.

We all have vices. I used to play World of Warcraft, for a change… when in the guild chat, the topic was the movie 300. One of the “guildies” commented on the excellent movie: it’s worth paying £10 to go to the cinema. The server I play on is in England, just to not think that this evil only exists in Brazil. The question was whether to download the movie or the torrent. Copyright or any other issue was out of the question. I was so curious that I decided to watch the movie. I paid €13.00 for a package of 3 tickets, used 2 (took my wife), and kept one to see another movie. The movie is really good, but that didn’t make me want to get home and download the torrent. On the contrary, I started researching on Wikipedia and ended up finding a site that separated Reality vs. Fiction (a FAQ here).

I decided to go to the cinema in the afternoon, and an hour later, I was at the cinema, watching the movie with THX sound. Everything very quick. The point is: how much time would I spend downloading that movie? Even with broadband, the torrent would hardly reach maximum speed… I imagine it would take me one to two days at best… Now, how much is my time worth? My wife went to the cinema with me, and I earned some points with that :-) I’m sure she wouldn’t agree to watch the movie on the computer. But, using my costs here: 48 hours of the computer on… a consumption of about 200W… plus the DVD media to burn the movie… but the recording time (okay, it’s pretty fast, but I won’t leave that out :-)). If everything went well, how much would that have cost me? I think in the end, I made a good deal. I do this kind of evaluation before doing anything. But each one is each one. If I didn’t have those €13… if the cinema near my house didn’t have THX sound, if the session was later…

Another thing I think about: what to tell my children about that DVD? What do you say in these moments? It’s pirated, but it doesn’t hurt anyone? It’s illegal, but don’t tell anyone? When you have children, this kind of question comes to the forefront. It’s hard to educate a child saying do what I say and not what I do.

Speaking of children, my son asked for a video game. Nothing less than the PlayStation 3… I sweated when I heard the request. The super machine costs €600.00. Okay, it’s a Blu-ray + DVD player + a computer and a video game as a bonus. But each game costs between €55 and €60! I think he will have to choose another gift; it’s simply too expensive in the long run. Maybe a Wii will help with the costs…

Let’s look at the other side. The calculations for a video game, using data from any newspaper in Brazil: video game (PS2) +/- R$1000.00 (with a chip, of course), games between R$10.00 and R$20.00 :-( We have a brown industry just to sustain this kind of thing. Can you imagine how much money this generates? And how this money is used? The poor street vendor is just another victim. Who makes money are the people who distribute these products. Another effect is that a child who receives about 5 CDs or DVDs of games at once will probably not finish playing any of them. There are so many options that they quickly switch from one game to another, without focus. In a month or two, they will probably be asking for more games.

I believe it’s the same thing that happens with adults. Windows Vista? I have to have it! And the cycle starts again.

In summary, in my view, piracy is a waste of time. I liked it when CDs came with the lyrics of the songs and when software had printed manuals. I think I’m getting old. But what can I say? I survived the jungle, and there it was already important.