Now that the US is run by literal criminals, any moral objection to something here on the grounds that it's illegal has no weight whatsoever.
this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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When purchasing isn't ownership, then piracy isn't theft.
That's why it's legal to carjack rental cars.
If you're able to make a copy of the car, then sure. Otherwise, no.
As far as music goes, Qobuz is DRM-free.
bandcamp too.
and 7digital which somehow still exists lol
There are probably some teenagers pirating stuff right now who weren't even alive when this comic was drawn. I'm old.
PSA: Download all your kindle books. Even if you don't plan on cracking their DRM, you'll have the option to in the future should you want to.
Though do it before the end of the month! (Edit: the 26th) Amazon is taking that option away
Wednesday the 26th, not the end of the month. If anyone is thinking they'll get to it later, you have three days from this post
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And that's why Bandcamp exists. No DRM, whatever format you like and you support the artist.
Let's hope the new owners won't destroy it.
Plus prices on there are lower than basically everywhere but amazon, and amazon doesn't really count because they only give you low quality MP3s
Based xkcd
I have all of his books in physical format. Would recommend.
Small note: iTunes doesn’t have DRM anymore (since 2009)
Apple Music (the subscription) has DRM though, but you should never have a collection on a subscription service, because it can go away at any time
Yes, exactly. The comic was published on October 13, 2008, according to Explain XKCD, that's probably why iTunes is in it.
Ok, what next?
I'll give you $5 for it.
xkcd comics are available under a CC-By-NC 2.5 licence, so you've successfully pirated by not including attribution (as long as people can't tell at a glance that it's xkcd from the art style or comment thread you posted it to), but to seal the deal, it'd be a crime to sell it.
I couldn't tell at glance this was from xkcd and am willing to testify to a jury, when's the court date?
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Support creators though. Especially if the thing you pirate isn’t from a soulless corporation. This is why creators should always have something like a ko-fi or Patreon page. So I can pay them directly if I enjoyed their work.
Dox them and send an envelope with cash.
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For DRM free audiobooks check out Libro.fm.
Last time I bought audiobooks I got them from Downpour which included DRM-free downloads as either MP3 or M4B files, in addition to listening through the website or app. I believe Libro.fm may also offer this. Most of my ebooks are through Kobo and are DRM free as well.
Does depend in some cases on the publisher.
I tried, but I can't, since it's Creative Commons
Technically you can: if you distribute the comic but don't give the attribution, you are breaking the terms of the license which is just about the closest thing to "pirating" it that you can do.
But "breach of license" is so much more lame than "piracy!"*
*Yes, a lot of piracy is itself breach of license, hush
I buy most of my music from Qobuz or Bandcamp. Perfectly DRM-free with lossless compression, and it's mine forever.
Here is my idea: Everyone makes a private key. When they buy a song they receive the file and a digital signature by the label saying they sold it to your ~~private~~public key. When you are caught with a bunch of songs, you have to prove ownership using your key. Tadaa provable ownership, no blockchain, You loose the file, but still have the signature? You can download it again and all is good.
EDIT: Of course, they would sign the public key, sorry.
Wait, isn't that just nfts?
I don't think so. There nothing non fungible in my idea and nfts require a blockchain.
A digital signature from the label would be created with their private key.
What would they be signing? Your public key plus the ID of the song? They can't sign your private key, it's private.
What stops you sharing your private key and a song with a friend. Then when either of you need to provide proof, you can both show that you have the private key that matches the signed file?
Well they would sign my public key plus ID of the song. I can prove, it is my public key and everyone can verify the song belongs to me.
You are right, to ensure noone can "share login" so to say, it needs to be tied to you personally. That would deny privacy sadly.
EDIT: Didn't notice I wrote the wrong thing, thanks for notifying me.
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Always knew xkcd is a bro
I have to download pirated video games otherwise I can't play them offline on my handheld. They also launch 10x faster. I learnt that you can't use everything you own a copy of offline!
I use a mix of Goldberg emulator and GOG i prefer Steam though. Mostly for valves Proton compatibility layer and all that valve does for linux gaming. So if a game is drm free on steam i get it there.
Fuck denuvo tho that shit needs to die in a fire.
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