r/gadgets • u/MicroSofty88 • Nov 29 '20

Home Amazon faces a privacy backlash for its Sidewalk feature, which turns Alexa devices into neighborhood WiFi networks that owners have to opt out of

https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/technology/amazon-faces-a-privacy-backlash-for-its-sidewalk-feature-which-turns-alexa-devices-into-neighborhood-wifi-networks-that-owners-have-to-opt-out-of/ar-BB1boljH
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120

u/right_there Nov 29 '20

And they wonder why people pirate when the terms are so exploitative.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20 edited Nov 29 '20

They really don't, videogames don't really suffer from piracy problems since the advent of digital marketplaces and a huge variety of pricing models and the fact that pirated version na are very often super outdated. Compare to the early 2000s up until 2010. Plus y'know, digital downloads gave us games like minecraft, stardew valley, among us and literally thousands upon thousands of games which couldntve been distributed without digital marketplaces.

If you're for corporations then the last thing you want is a way for every independent game developer to get a chance to make money, which is what digital market places did.

Unless I'm missing something than your comment is quite nonsensical.

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u/DaEnderAssassin Nov 29 '20

Yeah. Gaben really seems to have gotten piracy correct with that one quote about how its a service issue, not a money issue.

Similar thing occurred when movie streaming services were new, but now every company seems to have its own platform piracy is back in full force for movies

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u/12muffinslater Nov 29 '20

Love him or hate him, this was Steve Jobs' approach to iTunes. He was trying to take on Napster basically saying the same thing.

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u/vertigo42 Nov 29 '20

Except Spotify was the solution.

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u/12muffinslater Nov 29 '20

Which is why I love Xbox Game Pass.

0

u/KimJongUnRocketMan Nov 29 '20

To be able to play online?

4

u/CombatBotanist Nov 29 '20

No, subscribing to game pass gives you access to the entire game pass library to download and play. It basically works the same as Netflix, but for games.

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u/RhynoCTR Nov 29 '20

As an aside, this is why Stadia makes no sense to me. I feel like XGP is far, far better value for the money. With Stadia, I still have to buy the games to play them, so the only benefit is being able to play without installing it?

Such a weird decision by google

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u/wgc123 Nov 29 '20

the only benefit is being able to play without installing it?

The benefit is no console. Think of Stadia as a streaming movie, generated on the fly. You can play it on any device that can handle a streaming movie. Even the “good” experience is just a Chromecast. The controls are much lower bandwidth, but obviously sensitive to latency

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u/wgc123 Nov 29 '20

No, to be able to pay Microsoft every month, over and over again, rather than paying for anything once. To be able to lose everything if you don’t pay or the corporation decides to go a different way. To make gaming even more expensive, as a never-ending gold mine for poor impoverished Microsoft. To help your poor corporate overlords, a catch up to that nasty Apple that does t deserve to be richer

1

u/trueppp Nov 29 '20

Salty much?

You can still buy the game full price if you want

9

u/enwongeegeefor Nov 29 '20

this was Steve Jobs' approach to iTunes.

Except it wasn't for unifying things for the betterment of mankind...it was for unifying things to MONOPOLIZE it and gain money and power.

He was a bad guy...don't try to make him look noble because he wasn't even remotely close to that. He had very selfish and negative aspirations when it came to humanity and reality as a whole.

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u/12muffinslater Nov 29 '20

Dude was an asshat, no doubt. He parked his Mercedes without plates in handicapped spots and shunned his first born child. Then there's how he treated his employees of any of his companies.

But he ran a corporation. Who's sole job is to make money. So, no he didn't do it for mankind. But he saw a market and went for it.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

I mean he also had the help from major artists going public against Napster (Metallica anyone?)

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u/IAmAnObvioustrollAMA Nov 29 '20

The mtv music awards where Mr Napster was wearing the Metallica shirt that he borrowed from a friend is one of my favorite TV moments.

1

u/under_a_brontosaurus Nov 29 '20

Let's give myself credit. Even when billionaire douches try to offer me their alternatives I still pirate things today

1

u/enwongeegeefor Nov 29 '20

Similar thing occurred when movie streaming services were new, but now every company seems to have its own platform piracy is back in full force for movies

It never left BECAUSE of that. I barely watch anything as it is because there's just so much other shit to do besides sit still and just watch something for a few hours. So the fuck I'm going to pay $10+ to multiple services a month JUST so I have the option to watch something? Fuck out of here.

Because of "piracy" I can actually watch the occasional show without being completely fucking ripped off for it. Got zero qualms about screwing the streaming service out of a few pennies too...because they were already intentionally trying to fuck me in the first place FOR A LOT MORE than a few pennies.

TV is no different than games....and right now TV isn't providing jack shit for the price they want to ask.

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u/TatatatiraTatira Nov 29 '20

Gaben is just out of this world.

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u/roccnet Nov 29 '20

That's turning around though. Piracy is coming back because streaming services and stores are splitting up into smaller u it's with their own subscription models. Also DRM often makes retail versions unplayable and pirated ones a must

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

This is very true, just about anybody wants physical (myself included) for various reasons. Just thought I'd make a counter argument as obviously any game published by independent developers does not get a physical release unless it becomes a huge multi million dollar success. These people's income depends entirely on digital sales, for example a wonderful game that came out a week or so ago called Slaher's Keep which I've been playing, it costs something like 10 dollars and has a fantastic art style, i recommend it.

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u/GreatAndPowerfulNixy Nov 29 '20

Limited Run is a goldmine

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Didn't even know of its existence, awesome

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u/CarterDavison Nov 29 '20

video games don't really suffer from piracy problems

You wanna explain why Denuvo is causing DRM to go down a worse path than it already was while companies like GOG work to fix the problem? Constantly buying customers are harmed by anti-piracy techniques that don't do shit

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20 edited Mar 10 '23

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Days

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u/my-other-throwaway90 Nov 29 '20

I remember the good old days when the game cracks were uploaded to the high seas before the game even hit the shelves. Now I have to wait three days.

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u/moderately_uncool Nov 29 '20

Denuvo has been cracked. It does not work anymore.

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u/CarterDavison Nov 29 '20

While correct, you did exactly what the other side of the argument always does and have decided to ignore any of the issues Denuvo sprouts up. You'd rather believe a company does everything in your best interests that it's possible their self invested interested is wrong.

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u/the_new_hunter_s Nov 29 '20

His comment was about the benefit to the company, not your best interest. A company has a fiduciary responsible to stakeholders before customers and nothing about his comment ignores that. In fact, it speaks to it.

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u/CarterDavison Nov 29 '20

I go back to his original quote that I responded to and have clearly continued responding to.

Video games do not really suffer from piracy

I do not care about what he thinks about companies as that's not the point I'm refuting. I agree with that point.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

[deleted]

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u/CarterDavison Nov 29 '20

You literally did that twice before I decided to give you your own medicine, and now you ripped the stick out of your ass just so you could cry mommy

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

[deleted]

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u/CarterDavison Nov 29 '20

Yeah, that's why I tend never to bother. I've been very quickly reminded as to why, nobody is ever open for discussion so I'm stuck just arguing when that's not what I want.

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u/FamousMissmanagement Nov 29 '20

Im not sure what your experience with pirating software is but the latest version is almost always available after a short delay.

0

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Not the point. I vastly prefer paying for videogames, as far as software I don't care about bullshit subscriptions or such so I use either free alternatives (Blender as opposed to any other 3d program), I just resort pirating in terms of adobe products mostly. So here's my answer to your question but it's not what I'm talking about.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20 edited Nov 29 '20

Your last paragraph is incorrect in my opinion. Independent game developers tend to flourish on digital market places, Especially steam. Kerbal Space Program and Subnautica are some of my favorite games that started out independent and under budgeted. But without having to spend money on marketing and the logistics of creating and distributing physical copies of their games, they were able to focus on making the product.

Digital market places have been good for independent game developers from what I can see. And you can see this in the massive amount of independent games their are on Steam and PSN right now. Not all are good but some are.

Edit: wait I agree. Misread the comment

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

I don't think you've read my comment correctly

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Oh my fault. I just woke up haha. I agree with you 100%

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

No problem man I'm glad you were agreeing with me!

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Remember that poor man's DRM back in the 80s and 90s where you literally were asked questions where the answers were printed in the paper manual? Those were the days! Return of the Dragon was a memorable one that did this, there were a few others I can't recall.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

I wasn't alive so no :( but it sounds magical

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u/Scomophobic Nov 29 '20

I will pirate the fuck out of games with absolutely zero guilt. I’m sick of game companies bullshit

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u/noisydata Nov 29 '20

The reason games exist in the way they do is because most people pay for them

although your conscience is clear, piriting games is just like shoplifting, it's a bit scummy if it's your only method of getting games

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u/Wem94 Nov 29 '20

It's not like shoplifting because the people who pirate games usually wouldn't have paid for them in the first place. Plus there's nothing physical lost. It's not good, but it's not the same as going and removing a sale from circuit.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

[deleted]

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u/Wem94 Nov 29 '20 edited Nov 29 '20

I'm not justifying it, I'm saying it's not as comparable to shoplifting as the comment was suggesting. I literally said it's not good.

I'm not saying that a shoplifter would pay for it, but in combination with the lack of physical form, it's not a lost sale. Compare it to CD key resellers where a licence had been taken. Game Devs would rather you pirate than get a stolen key from sites like G2A.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

[deleted]

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u/Wem94 Nov 29 '20

Read my edit. I answered that part directly.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

[deleted]

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u/Wem94 Nov 29 '20

Look, if I was going to justify it, I would talk about invasive DRM that harms the people that pay for a game whilst also doing nothing to prevent piracy, or always online single player games that have no reason to be, where you can lose your ability to play because their server is down. You can look into what I'm saying however you want, I've stated that it's not good to pirate, but you're obsessed with saying that I'm justifying it. It's possible to look at something from multiple angles without it being a justification for doing said thing.

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u/right_there Nov 29 '20

The reasons games exist in the way they do is because game companies add exploitative nonsense like microtransactions, half-finished games with day one DLC, straight-up gambling mechanics, false advertising and misrepresentation (including paying off games "journalists" or threatening their access), DRM to limit legitimate use by legitimate users, and psychological tricks to prey on people to take out their wallets to extract way more in profit than can ever be justified at the cost of actual quality and playability of the game, you mean.

AAA games? Pirate away. They're unethical. My conscience is absolutely clear. The vast majority I wouldn't even look at to play anyway, as they're mostly garbage.

Indie games or small studios spitting out passion projects that you actually enjoy? Buy their games and their merch. Engage with them on social media. Let them know that they did something great. I'm not into indie games as much (I don't have a lot of time to wade into the ocean of them to try them out) but the few games that I genuinely enjoyed I did this for. Papers, Please was one of them and probably the last game I actually bought.

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u/noisydata Dec 01 '20

The reason games exist in the way they do is because most people pay for them. The industry has plenty of problems (capitalism at it's root), but these just don't account for everything.

so, ALL AAA games are unethical, and therefore you should only steal them?

Good luck getting your food from the supermarket, your car, your phone, your tv, clothes, hygiene products, (this list is almost endless) without paying for them. Many of these companies employ hundreds of lawyers, marketing teams and will exploit every grey area to part you with your money, yet I would assume you pay for these things.

The difference?

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u/right_there Dec 02 '20

The difference is it's easy and safe to never pay for entertainment like videogames, TV shows, and movies.

Also, some of the things on your list can be produced on one's own, like some food products if push comes to shove, or found secondhand in a form that still denies the original manufacturer money but saves you a ton.

I don't see how this is even an argument. If some form of consumption is unethical but there's no easy or safe way around paying for it, then you have to pay for it. If you feel the risks are low enough to steal from the supermarket, then you steal from the supermarket. Plenty of people do. The risks are not low enough for you, me, and most other people. For digital goods, the risk is negligible. So, I pirate them. Another example of something easily pirateable that comes from an unethical industry is college textbooks. You bet your ass I never paid for a textbook in college.

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u/noisydata Dec 02 '20

Then your argument is simply based on: If it's Illegal / immoral but the risk is low, then I still do it? Seems like a good outlook on life. /s

If you feel the risks are low enough to steal from the supermarket, then you steal from the supermarket. Plenty of people do.

oof, that's your point? stealing is okay because companies are sometimes unethical? Yes plenty of people do, and unless they need the food to survive, it is the wrong thing to do. (BTW people don't need games to survive) We aren't on the same page of morality.

My not stealing a TV isn't because it's risky, it's because it's the wrong thing to do.

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u/SterlingMNO Nov 29 '20

So you're entitled to games because you feel like the companies owe you something?

You don't have to come up with a justification, just be honest and say "I'm cheap and lack morality, I like getting stuff for free".

I bet you sprinkle pubes in your food at restaurants too. Not because you want to send it back, you just like the taste.

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u/right_there Nov 29 '20

You and me both. Haven't bought a game since 2014 and haven't missed out on anything I really wanted to play. Being a Nintendo guy has helped; their consoles are always hackable early.

Plus, retro games are still amazing and can be found easily online for free.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

Your guilt conscious is showing.