My last post from CF-8

Actually I could not find a better title, for this post is supposed to cover a gamut of things and as I am writing I am not sure of what they would be; but one thing that I am sure of is that this might well be my last post from CF-8.

Placements: Officially the zero phase of placements in our college is over now. The only word I can find to describe the placement process is ‘tragicomic Drama’, with more of comedy and less of tragedy.

I finished gone with the wind after a long time as I had to leave it in between due to exams. It is I believe one of the best books I have ever read. I don’t promise myself of writing a review because I have been more guilty or lazy in fulfilling them. But I hope.

I have not read the print paper for last 15 days, and I now realize the perils of it. The ennui is taking its toll on me and unusual as it seems but life starts getting a bit dreadful when people around you start leaving along with the money in your pocket and bank accounts.

Piracy: This was the issue I was discussing with one of my friends before an exam. He believes in buying original books and novels irrespective of their cost. It was all a matter of ethics according to him,I was obviously on the wrong side.

I believe piracy is here to stay and today it is almost in us, talking about any normal college student like me.

Piracy in simple terms is unauthorized copying. In dictionary terms it means; the unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material.

Piracy mainly affects software, music, movies and books the mainstays of my life at least. I am not going in to the issues of ideas or Intellectual rights as of now. In short anything that relates to creativity is normally copied.

99 % of percent of computers owned by students in this college, except for a few branded laptops here and there, are running on pirated versions of windows and I have no qualms in accepting that same is the case with mine.

Our college LAN I believe right now has around 118 movies; most of these movies have been either downloaded from net or copied from pirated CD’s. Same is the case with music. Though music piracy is the case more addressed by society. Now if you think downloading stuff was legal, I am sorry to say you are wrong. Copying content and selling or spreading it is illegal.

I am sure in one or other way we use pirated goods in our daily life.

There are two basic reasons why I believe piracy is here to stay. In long run if you analyze piracy affects the distributor or brand creator much more than the content creator. In simple terms if I like Kishore Kumar I like his music irrespective of means by which I avail it. The content creator is always assured of his royalty and in fact is more pleased and benefited if his work reaches the masses even though through piracy.

Main and most obvious reason is cost, I am not stating all the exorbitant price differences but just to give an example Windows XP original version can cost more than Rs. 3000 and pirated CD may cost less Rs. 100.

By all this I don’t condone piracy anyway, it sure is execrable, but the fact of the matter is that market rules and distributors have made it more difficult for us to abstain from buying pirated goods. Unless they find a way to fill the lacuna in cost prices or we find some technological innovation to stop copying, piracy I believe is here to stay. Technological innovation is not the easier way according to me, because most locks in this world have keys or should I say product keys.

On a slightly different note here's something funny,odious and frightening. Arjun Singh's interview on CNN-IBN.

P.S: Tone of above the post I believe must hint you abt the hurry in which I wrote it.