The PowerISO Conspiracy

AlbinoClock · December 05, 2008, 01:37:23 PM

So, I've been wondering about this for a while now. Why would anyone ever use a .daa file for freely distributing something via torrent when they could use the far more accessible .iso format? Requiring users to have a copy of PowerISO to access the image must decrease the number of leeches and thus seeders. If the goal of creating a torrent is increasing access to a particular piece of information, why do so in a way that decreases access by using a non-free proprietary format?

The simplest answer I can come up with is that those propagating .daa files profit from use of the format, namely, the creators of PowerISO. Such a company would have access to enough computers to seed files independently and would actually profit from leaking their own software to the trackers along with the content stored in their proprietary format. As mp3s have shown us, the file types favored by pirates can soon become the standard. If this is the case, it seems to be a rather wise business decision and I wonder how many other companies are doing similar things.

buttplug · December 05, 2008, 01:41:48 PM

Personally I can't see .daa ever taking hold, due to the fact that it is a proprietary format that costs you money to use. People torrent because that don't want to pay, and .iso fits their needs perfectly.

coalclock · December 05, 2008, 01:48:15 PM

Trying to make money off pirates is like trying to get blood out of a stone.

AlbinoClock · December 05, 2008, 02:17:18 PM

Quote from: ButtplugClock;1462515Personally I can't see .daa ever taking hold, due to the fact that it is a proprietary format that costs you money to use. People torrent because that don't want to pay, and .iso fits their needs perfectly.

I certainly see .isos far more often than .daas, but I do still see .daas for some unexplained reason. Not being incredibly successful doesn't mean they're not trying.

Quote from: .cb;1462519Trying to make money off pirates is like trying to get blood out of a stone.

Sure, because pirates are on the edge of availability. They can get whatever they want. Regular users, on the other hand, are less likely to be able to take anything for free, so a proprietary format has a better chance of appealing to them.

Sombra · December 05, 2008, 02:27:58 PM

Is there anything stopping a potential pirate from just pirating the software needed to use the file? I don't see a problem here...

Heliopios · December 05, 2008, 04:32:55 PM

I've never seen a .daa file in a torrent, ever. I don't know who's telling you it's a big thing.

buttplug · December 05, 2008, 05:18:15 PM

Quote from: AlbinoClock;1462535Sure, because pirates are on the edge of availability. They can get whatever they want. Regular users, on the other hand, are less likely to be able to take anything for free, so a proprietary format has a better chance of appealing to them.

Alright, now I see what you are saying. I was thinking of disk images as purely something used in pirating software.

FluxCapacitorClock · December 05, 2008, 08:46:20 PM

It's probably not so much poweriso makers trying to whore their format as much as it's idiots who ONLY have poweriso and thus see no other way to distribute their shit.

MasterClock · December 05, 2008, 11:57:43 PM

Quote from: Heliopios;1462660I've never seen a .daa file in a torrent, ever. I don't know who's telling you it's a big thing.

I see .daa's more often than I see .cso's.

Heliopios · December 06, 2008, 12:45:07 AM

Quote from: MasterClock;1463025I see .daa's more often than I see .cso's.

Unless they made a new format overnight and snuck them into the torrent world, I really doubt it. I also highly doubt that .daa is more used than .iso, and ever will be. I really don't know where you people are getting your torrents unless its //www.wesuckdick.info

AlbinoClock · December 06, 2008, 01:06:29 AM

Quote from: Flux;1462816It's probably not so much poweriso makers trying to whore their format as much as it's idiots who ONLY have poweriso and thus see no other way to distribute their shit.

PowerISO, as the name suggests, also creates .iso files. In fact, it creates .isos by default. Making a .daa requires specific intent

Quote from: Heliopios;1463069Unless they made a new format overnight and snuck them into the torrent world, I really doubt it. I also highly doubt that .daa is more used than .iso, and ever will be. I really don't know where you people are getting your torrents unless its //www.wesuckdick.info

I'm not saying they're wide-spread (which you'd know if you'd read my posts), but I've certainly run across them a number of times. I usually use Pirate Bay, but if I can't find something immediately I'll use Pizza Torrent.

PowerISO is actually pretty nice, by the way. It even opens .dmgs

Heliopios · December 06, 2008, 01:10:44 AM

Quote from: AlbinoClock;1463090I'm not saying they're wide-spread (which you'd know if you'd read my posts), but I've certainly run across them a number of times. I usually use Pirate Bay, but if I can't find something immediately I'll use Pizza Torrent.

I was more underhandedly eluding to his spelling mistake than anything else you may have said.

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The PowerISO Conspiracy