Satellite Radio HackHa, ha. Bet you though you got a hold of an article that would tell you how to pirate satellite radio, didn’t you? Wait…before you click your “Back” button in frustration, I think I better warn you that attempting to hack digital satellite, whether it be an audio provider like Sirius or XM radio, or a digital television provider such as Direct TV or Dish network, is a serious offense. Walk with me and talk with me as we take a look into the world of piracy and its often overlooked consequences.
Statistics don’t lie say the Microsoft corporation. And no, they have nothing to do with satellite radio, but they are a leading company in the digital world. Perhaps you are one of the nearly half of American teens who didn’t know that hacking into digital entertainment is considered Intellectual Property Rights infringement. Or maybe you’re one of the many who pirate due to peer pressure or simply not having the money to pay for it and “not really seeing the harm”.
The major argument in favor of stealing via electronic theft is that “I wouldn’t have paid for it anyway, so it’s not like the company’s losing any money”. The black and white line becomes more gray because it’s data instead of a physical object. After all, 90 percent of teens in the same survey said that stealing a bike deserved punishment. But then the truth is that those are two different things. If a person steals a bike, you are depriving the rightful owner of the property. With digital content, you’re not. Nonetheless, the creator of the songs and services do deserve to be compensated financially of the time and effort they have put into their work—and you have deprived them of it.
Specifically in terms of satellite radio (sirrus or XM), it’s not like it costs a million dollars. Less than $15 will get you hundreds of channels and 24-hour programming. Meanwhile, you must already have a tuner unless you’re attempting an online hack. If not, they’re not that expensive. For under $100 (or much less if you go through a place like eBay), you can get leading brand names like Sportster, Kenwood, or Clarion. Intellectual property is protected by the United States Constitution—namely Article I, Section 8, Clause 8: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Basically, if you invented it, you should be allowed to protect it. If you wrote it, someone else shouldn’t be allowed to take credit. What’s yours is yours. My final word on the subject is this: if you can’t afford to get satellite radio or simply don’t want to pay for it, you shouldn’t have the right to use it just because you found a good hack. There you go.
|