[Viper187]

I can't stand the way people compare "copyright infringement" with stealing. If I steal your car, you don't have it anymore. If I download a copy of something of yours, I'm not depriving you of anything. All these stats on what file sharing costs companies are complete BS, in my opinion. Just because someone downloaded something doesn't mean they would ever buy it. Plenty of people download things they either wouldn't spend the money on otherwise or can't afford to begin with. It doesn't equal lost sales because there would not have been sales had the free copy not been there.

I also despise the DRM and other security that these companies try to impose to control their content. The way things are right now, Amazon can strip books from your Kindle anytime they want for any reason. The DLC on current game consoles works the same way. When it's gone, it's gone. It's a hassle to transfer between devices if you even can without the company's help, and it's flat out unfriendly to consumers. I do NOT buy anything with DRM. If they can't offer it in a good, unencrypted format, I'm not buying it and I don't think anyone else should. DRM infested content pretty much deserves to get pirated. This also goes for content that you can't actually buy. It's like TV shows. I don't feel that the studios have any right to complain when people are downloading shows that aren't on DVD to begin with. I feel the same about out of print games. I also refuse to use any online activation on PC software/games that I buy. There's always a way to use it offline with no activation and no disc in the drive, whether the companies like it or not.

Another quick thought: I think any site that sells both hard copies and digital copies of books should provide the digital copy free when you buy the hard copy. You shouldn't have to choose between the two or buy both at full price. That's just stupid.