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cversion7 -> Quest for the Legal Home Network (7/15/2008 2:48:31 PM)
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Over the past month I have made somewhat of a re-dedication of my life for Christ. I have been working to take a look at my life and actions through Christ's eyes in light of scripture in order to restore my relationship with God. I am convicted that it not only will that require doing positive things (bible reading, volunteering, etc.) but also stopping negative things (namely sin).
By putting effort into removing from my life things which are sinful, I have come to realize something I already knew was "wrong" only I had never put much weight into worrying about it since "it didn't hurt anyone". I am now more mindful that SIN is SIN. There is no greater or lesser version of it. To get to the point, what I am talking about is the use of software that I did not purchase.
I have four computers running in my home. All of them run Microsoft Windows, but are not legal for me to run. One has Microsoft Office that is also not legal for me to run. I have several games installed on two of these that are not legal for me to run. The operating systems were Volume License copies from my previous place of employment as is the copy of Office. The games were torrented with cracks/hacks to make them run illegally. In addition to this, I have some music that was downloaded long ago that wasn't paid for (luckily, not much... but sin is sin, right?).
I mention this to lay out my dirty laundry. I do this for myself so that I might have a written record of my commitment to fix this wrongdoing, but also maybe it will help one or more of you to realize that we are expected to do what is right no matter the cost ($$$). Just because the internet allows us to get things for free that we should be paying for, doesn't eliminate us from the responsibility to remain lawful citizens.
Below, I will list the current state of my computers with software and files that are illegal for me to have and will update them as I am able to obtain licenses and software as replacements. It is not really in my family budget to purchase Windows XP licenses for the four computers, but it is unfortunately not possible for us to all run Linux as we all (Wife, Sons and Myself) all play games on the computers and Quicken doesn't run under Linux even with Wine.
I am fortunate to have a wife that understands and is behind my decision to remove illegal software. Also, I don't want to be responsible for teaching my sons to steal anything. I am not going to tell them, "Well it's okay to steal some things like software since no one will know."
Integrity is doing what is right when no one is watching.
#1 - My PC
Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 - illegal
Diablo 2 with LOD Expansion - illegal *REMOVED*
Several Hundred Songs - illegal *REMOVED*
Downloaded games - illegal *REMOVED*
#2 - Wife's PC
Windows XP Professional SP2 - illegal
Microsoft Office 2003 Professional - illegal
Downloaded songs - illegal *REMOVED*
#3 - 11yr old's PC
Windows XP Professional SP2 - illegal
Diablo 2 with LOD Expansion - illegal
Possibly some other games I've forgotten about - illegal
Downloaded songs - illegal
#4 - 6yr old's PC
Windows Server 2003 (some hack job I torrented for kicks) - illegal
Downloaded songs - illegal
#5 - Illegal software on disk
Lots to be destroyed
So, there you have it. It's not a long list, but it is meaningful to me that none of it exists in my home. It looks like I can get XP Home for about $85 each (maybe slightly less if I get a 3 pack + 1) and my wife is willing to try OpenOffice instead of MS Office so we can save that cost.
My kids have been staying with their Grandma for about a week and come back tomorrow so I haven't made any major changes yet so that I can discuss with them this decision so they can see that I am committed to this change and so they can see that I have made bad choices but am turning from those to do the right thing.
I welcome any comments or criticisms. I admit that I should probably wipe all of the machines right now so that we do not continue to use them as they are, but in order to not cause too much disruption with my family, I will probably wait until we can get in the proper licenses and start a roll-out then.
If you are using illegal software or are downloading files illegally and you feel convicted to change that behavior, please post a reply so you can be encouraged in your decision to do what is right.
Thank you for reading, I know it was long.
Update: Removed music from pc #1, updated other pc info and added #5.
Update: Removed music from pc #2.
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