No, you can't download cocaine from the internet, neither would crackheads share it on a P2P network. This is about
digital information technology. With the latest developments on it, everything seems to be accessible, usable, convenient, and affordable, if not free! The latter we have to owe to P2P technology. Yes, P2P has really provided us with a platform to share the digital stuff we treasure the most, and acquire the electronic versions of the stuff we have been searching for. A box of memories and a glimpse of the future, that's what I call it. In about a few years time, I predict open source development to take over the software industry, then the music and movie industry, and finally information.
I have pondered on this because of what this friend of mine came across his P2P ventures. He managed to download a cracked version of Nuance Talks from his P2P network. It wasn't an installation package with a working serial or registration number. It was a cracked version of the application. This program is a screen reader for series 60 mobile phones. That's right, it's for mobile phone users who are either blind or visually-impaired.
So why would a self-respecting cracker share his work without any form of compensation?
Cracking software is hard work, in which you would need the necessary knowledge to do such a feat. Apart from that, you would be needing to spend a lot of time just to crack a single program. The thing here is free information. That's right. These crackers are what we call digital rebels, more so the perpetrators of an electronic form of socialism. Every man's actions are dictated by his own needs. These crackers modify software because they need the application to be as functional as possible. They need it that way. Why, then, do they have to freely share it as an equally free download on a P2P network? They do that so as to instigate cracking and sharing of free modified programs. This is why I came to the conclusion that open source development would definitely be the primary form of software, music, and movie development. Not to mention literature writing and other stuff that involves intellectual property. Yes, IPR has just lost its R, and not in a negative manner. But what about the necessary compensation, then, for these people who produce such intellectual property? Why, support from government taxes, of course!
