Ever since we have discovered the internet, we have found this unending source of pirated software .. be it the latest games, operating systems, software, graphics packages, movies, music, what not. We simply download and use. Have we thought about how it is affecting the creator of that content? Not just financially, but rather, the thought of knowing that there exists a Prasad Ajinkya in the world who is knowingly using content/media created by that particular artiste/programmer. No, I have not thought so in the past, and certainly would not have thought about it in the future had it not happened to one of my close friends.
Today I was just browsing through Digit Magazine’s August DVD (the one that’s free). In it were different wallpapers that they had shared for everyone’s use. One of the wallpapers was this … Now take a look at IRIS-2005 flash intro, it has been painstakingly made by my classmates – Amit, Jhasketan and Sanchit. Jhasketan had drawn those figurines on a tablet, it was then imported into Photoshop, colors and effects were added, and then it was imported into flash. I saw the entire creation process right in front of me … these three guys put in days and nights on this. Try juggling that with a day full of lectures and quizzes, and it becomes a handful.
Now after 3 years, I see it being ripped-off, straight out. There are no acknowledgements mentioned, so that the thousands of Digit subscribers can unknowingly use the same wallpaper on their desktop without even saying a simple Kudos! to the three artistes.
Life is not fair. Shame on you Digit.
PS – Can you tell which is the original?