Pirate Decries Piracy After Piracy Program Pirated

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
1
0
Pirate Decries Piracy After Piracy Program Pirated


Here's some grade-A irony for you: The developer of an application designed to facilitate the cracking and distribution of iPhone [http://www.apple.com/iphone/] software is having a foot-stomping temper tantrum over the fact that a beta version of his program was - wait for it - distributed before its official release.

The author of Crackulous, who goes by the name SaladFork on the recent post [http://hackulo.us]. His hurt feelings, his indignity, his veritable rage are almost palpable as he describes what it's like to see the time and hard work he invested in his creation stolen from him without regard for his plans or intentions.

"For those who haven't heard, the newest beta of Crackulous has been leaked," he wrote. "I personally think this leak is absolutely disgusting (emphasis his), and downright insulting."

Disgusting! Insulting! And that's not all! "From the beginning, I planned to release Crackulous to the public, and have it so anybody could download it. I was also going to release the full source code, so anyone who wanted to make an iPhone application could use it as an education resource," he continued. "However, that wasn't enough for some people, and they've decided to leak Crackulous to the public, although it is still in a beta stage. They've downright disrespected me, this community, and this project."

Despite a petulant threat to cancel the project, along with all others he's currently working on, SaladFork eventually relented and agreed to continue development of the software, albeit with a warning about the dangers of piracy. "You never know if you can trust download links that are not by myself personally (or by another Hackulo.us staff member)," he wrote. "If you happen to obtain a 'bad' beta, you could be risking your iPhone, iPod Touch, or perhaps all your data on either."

He also claims to be aware of the brain-popping irony of the whole mess, although he maintains this is an entirely different situation. "iPhone developers almost always (99% of the time) develop applications for the AppStore [http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/appstore.html] in hopes of getting money," he continued. "They sell it for a fee, and understand that there's a risk it may be leaked, as all things that cost money are. While a good number (~20-30%) of the applications are excellent, it is unfortunate that the majority of the applications are absolutely horrible, and yet the developers still rake in a profit. Whether this is right or wrong is not for me to decide, although it seems Apple has no problem with it."

Yet deciding whether the ability to make a profit off software development is right or wrong is precisely what SaladFork is doing, or at the very least actively facilitating. It would appear that if he is actually aware of the sweet, sweet irony of the situation, it's only because someone told him about it; his ability to grasp the sheer depth of it himself appears non-existent.

Source: Ars Technica [http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/11/21/in-a-fit-of-irony-iphone-pirating-app-gets-pirated]


Permalink
 

Singing Gremlin

New member
Jan 16, 2008
1,222
0
0
Pirate Protests about Piracy Pertaining to Piracy Program Piracy?

But I like it! Although sounds more like dented pride causing him to make a pillock of himself than actual scruples.
 

Anniko

New member
Dec 6, 2007
89
0
0
...what has piracy got to do with cracking an iPhone so you can run whatever you want on it or use it on any network?

This is low, even for Escapist.
 

Geoffrey42

New member
Aug 22, 2006
862
0
0
Anniko said:
...what has piracy got to do with cracking an iPhone so you can run whatever you want on it or use it on any network?

This is low, even for Escapist.
You misunderstand (understandably). When I skimmed, I thought the same thing, that this Crackulous must be something like iPwn/Jailbreak/etc. But, that's not what Crackulous is. Crackulous is for stealing. And it has been stolen. And it is hilarious.
 

Angron

New member
Jul 15, 2008
386
0
0
hes an idiot, so hypocritical...

if ur gonna pirate u got to accpet what u do and expect it from others...altho, the artical could be a little (or alot) biased because everyone hate pirates so they may blow it out of proportion, but still...

people need to take responsibility for their actions! realise what u are doing! think before u act! look before u leap! etc etc
 

L.B. Jeffries

New member
Nov 29, 2007
2,175
0
0
I love that he declares that it is not up to him to decide whether Apple's distributing sub-par software is good or bad while making a program that enables people to crack the software. At least the people who run Pirate Bay have a political mission and acknowledge the destruction they cause for the sake of their beliefs.

This....this is just half-assing it.
 

Iceman23

New member
Dec 20, 2007
168
0
0
This has got to be the most hilarious thing I've read all month, and with an equally funny title to boot.
 

Calobi

New member
Dec 29, 2007
1,504
0
0
I know this man! He goes to my school and we actually hang out together. I've heard him talking about all the work he puts in to it.

Just sent him the link the article. We're now having a nice chat about how everyone is snickering about his comments and actions.

Geoffrey42 said:
Anniko said:
...what has piracy got to do with cracking an iPhone so you can run whatever you want on it or use it on any network?

This is low, even for Escapist.
You misunderstand (understandably). When I skimmed, I thought the same thing, that this Crackulous must be something like iPwn/Jailbreak/etc. But, that's not what Crackulous is. Crackulous is for stealing. And it has been stolen. And it is hilarious.
It is. Crackulous allows people to download iPhone games for free by breaking their protection. One person buys a program, or downloads while it's free, then they upload the thing back somewhere (I believe elsewhere, but I'm not positive) so others can download it for free. At least that was how the earlier versions worked. Maybe it just breaks the protection so you can download anything for free now.
 

Mstrswrd

Always playing Touhou. Always.
Mar 2, 2008
1,724
0
0
Well, I laughed. Irony is so awesome. However, it needs more aliteration. And Cowbell. It can always use more cowbell. (And I know, I'm not funny.)
 

meatloaf231

Old Man Glenn
Feb 13, 2008
2,248
0
0
Geoffrey42 said:
Anniko said:
...what has piracy got to do with cracking an iPhone so you can run whatever you want on it or use it on any network?

This is low, even for Escapist.
You misunderstand (understandably). When I skimmed, I thought the same thing, that this Crackulous must be something like iPwn/Jailbreak/etc. But, that's not what Crackulous is. Crackulous is for stealing. And it has been stolen. And it is hilarious.
Is it ever. Fool got himself table-turned.
 

Zolcos

New member
Nov 21, 2008
3
0
0
Article is flat-out lying. That guy isn't "decrying" piracy, he is upset over the fact that his BETA got spread around. Don't you realize that if there were flaws in his untested beta that, say, bricked peoples iPhones, it would make him look like an idiot at best, or a virus writer at worst, and people would parade it around as a reason to not trust unapproved apps. It only makes sense that he would want to finish it before people started using it. Did they miss that he was going to distribute it for FREE?

There is no irony here, this is just part anti-piracy propoganda, part trolling.