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Following Up on Fallacies about Getting Free Stuff
“Free stuff” – the mere whisper of the words is often enough to make many people throw common sense out the window and head for the free goods like a missile to a target. And then there are those people whose eyes glaze over when they hear those words, because they can’t believe anything worth having can actually be free. The truth about free stuff is really somewhere in the middle. Yes, you can really and truly cash in on many freebie deals for things that you want to have, but a healthy sense of cynicism about free gear is also useful. Here are some of the important things to keep in mind about free stuff.
The first myth you should throw out the window is that nothing good comes for free. The fact of the matter is that the price tag on a good doesn’t always match up to the quality, and there are many great free things out there. Case in point: music. Sure, everyone has heard the scare stories about file sharing online, and maybe some big record labels will come after you if you focus on their artists. Dig a little below the surface, however, and you can find a whole new world of really great bands that are more than happy for you to listen to their music over and over again. The same goes for free software. People on the cutting edge of technology who have a passion for creating new and efficient applications often develop open source code software. They’re doing it for the love of it, and they often have more talent than any ten suit-and-tie tech guys trying to hock their latest product for a mega profit margin.
Here is where the reality part comes in, however. Yes, you can find wonderful things that are completely free – but yes, you can also find a lot of free things that aren’t worth your time at all and in some cases can cause you a lot of trouble. The net is a great place to fall victim to a “free stuff” scam, but you can also sometimes come across these scams in the mail as well. If something is free, but requires you to give your credit card number or bank details, run the other way.
Another myth people have about free stuff, especially free stuff on the internet, is that when you try to cash in, the only free stuff you will be getting is an inbox full of more spam than you can handle. The truth about this is, well, that is can certainly be true. Many companies give away free things in exchange for your email address, so they can try to hit you up to purchase things in the future. What makes this a myth, however, is that it can be avoided. If you don’t want to choke on an inbox of spam, and who could blame you, set up a special (free) email account that you will use exclusively for freebie hunting. You’ll have the best of both worlds.
The last myth about free stuff involves the “catch” people are always looking for. Often, for free stuff, the catch is a bit of junk mail or email or the fact that you have to submit to a time consuming survey. Sometimes, the catch is that if you get free stuff through a trial offer, if you don’t cancel it, it keeps coming, and this time you have to pay. The truth about these catches is, however, that the catch is in the eye of the beholder. These things don’t make products any less free; so don’t write off every free offer offhand. You might just find a catch you can live with to get a great free product you really want.
Copyright Infringement Play It Safe: Making Sure You're Not Committing Copyright Infringement Copyright infringement is not an easy thing to explain. While it may seem as simple as not using someone else’s work, it’s not that easy. Thanks to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and many other organizations, we have the ability to use others’ works – as long as we use it under ‘fair use’ laws. So what does fair use have to do with copyright infringement, and how can you utilize it? Fair use laws are the conditions in which you can use a copyrighted work without having to pay someone royalties. This includes when you use a copyrighted work for educational or instructional uses, criticism of the work, commentaries on the work, news reporting about the work, teaching on the work (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship uses, and research. This is talked about fully in Section 107 of the Copyright Code (commonly called Fair Use) and is available for you to read at your local library. Copyright Infringement in day-to-day life Sometimes, if you’re writing a paper for work or school, or if you are creating a Power Point presentation, you need to use someone’s work that is already in copyright. So how do you use it without committing copyright infringement? All you have to do is ask – the worst they can say is no, right? But, if they do say no, there are several items in the public domain which may help you to finish your project without having to commit copyright infringement. What is the public domain, and how does it relate to copyright infringement? Material that is not copyrighted is considered in the public domain – you cannot commit copyright infringement on works in the public domain. These works include things that the copyright has expired on, or is not copyright-able – such as government publications, jokes, titles, and ideas. Some creators (writers, musicians, artists, and more) deliberately put their work in the public domain, without ever obtaining copyright, by providing an affiliation with Creative Commons. Creative Commons allows people who create materials to forfeit some, or all, of their copyright rights and place their work either partially or fully in the public domain. So, how do I ensure I’m not committing copyright infringement? First of all, if you’re going to use someone else’s material, you may want to check the public domain to see if something is suitable for use, instead of trying to use someone else’s copyright. However, if you can’t find something suitable (and you can’t create something yourself), the next best thing (and your only legal course of action) is to find a piece that is in copyright, and contacting the copyright holder. When you contact the copyright holder, make sure you tell them what you want to use their piece for – whether it’s for your blog, podcast, or report – and ask them if you can use it. You may have to pay royalties, or an attribution in your piece, or a combination of both. The creator may also place many limitations on when and how you can use their material. Follow all these instructions they give you, and you’ll be free and clear to use their work as you want. Once you have permission to use a copyrighted work, you need to make sure you stay within the agreed-upon boundaries - if you veer outside their agreed terms, you may open yourself up for a copyright infringement lawsuit – which can be nasty, costly, and time consuming. If you’re in doubt, before contacting the copyright holder, contact a copyright lawyer to ensure you’re following the law – and protect yourself! Software copyright buy For Software Copyright Buy Locally To gain permission to use software copyright, buy the software. This sounds like such a simple solution and yet I know this isn't always as easy as it seems. Software is expensive, largely due to misuse and abuses of the past and the average consumer can't always afford to buy the software package and product he or she needs for business or pleasure. It is important when setting priorities for software purchases that you don't limit all your purchases to pleasurable pursuits. When making copyright software buy, be sure that you are getting the best possible product for your money. I've seen so many people spend foolishly for one product because it is the most common product on the market when another less expensive product would have been completely adequate at far less than half the price. Most people never use the bells and whistles they pay for when purchasing software. The best way to be sure that you are getting the best copyright software buy you can possibly get is to make a list of things you need your software to do, the things you'd like it to, and find all the software on the market that does those things. Find the one with the lowest cost and the most necessary features and let that be the software you decide to purchase. Don't make these decisions on the spur of the moment as you will almost always cost yourself more money in the long run. Another way to insure that you are getting a great copyright software buy is by comparing prices at local and online stores before making the purchase. You might be surprised by where you will find the lowest price (also keep in mind shipping costs when purchasing online they do swing the vote sometimes). Comparative pricing can save you hundreds of dollars in the course of a year on personal software and quite literally thousands of dollars each year on professional software. Be sure to make those decisions wisely as money spent poorly is money that could have been spent elsewhere. You should always remember when comparing prices and searching for the deal of the century when it comes to copyright software buy from a reputable source. This shouldn't have to be said but it really must be said. You would be amazed at how many people have received pirated software from purchases they've made online. This is an especially bad things for business deals in which the software was needed rather than personal software that was merely wanted and looked forward to. In business you could very well loose your investment in the pirated software as well valuable time getting the copyright software buy you actually needed in the first place. While the costs of doing business locally are often more expensive than it can be online I do recommend that for some purchases, particularly copyright software buy locally even if it is a little more costly. It's nice to know that there's a person on the other side if something goes wrong and that they want your business and want people in the community to respect their business. In other words local businesses are much more likely to give the personal touch and protect their reputations by doing the right thing. There are many other reasons that buying locally is good for you and your business buying needs. Buying locally for your business will establish your business locally (this is especially good if you don't have a huge presence or massive storefront from which to advertise). It also helps you make important business contacts in order to help your local business grow. For your copyright software buy locally to have some degree of assurance about the product you are getting. |