Sewing machine warez?

November 13, 2006 2:11 AM

Is there a warez scene for those images you load into your sewing machine so it can stitch them automatically?

A handful of completely unremarkable images on a disk at a local outlet retails for a whopping AUS$259. I figure there's rampant piracy in everything else I've ever looked at (music, TV, cinema, games, software, maps, books), so where do the Janome (or Berlina, or whatever) addicts get their illicit fixes? (I keep picturing somebody's grandmother on IRC: g0t sn00py wl trd 3:1 fr pooh or ariel pix k thnx.)

posted by obiwanwasabi to sports, hobbies, & recreation (9 comments total)

Searching some of the torrent sites turns up this. No telling what it is... Maybe check some of the file trading networks like eDonkey?

If people pirate needlework patterns I'm sure they pirate this stuff as well...

Also... I'm not sure how ethical it is to ask the green to help you break the law...
posted by wfrgms at 2:21 AM on November 13, 2006

You may want to search around the message boards at sewing.patternreview.com. They have a very active Machine Embroidery board. Lots of Aussie's too. :)
posted by LoriFLA at 5:12 AM on November 13, 2006

Pirating software isn't against the law in every country on the planet, folks. I would imagine that Australia's laws are similar to the United States's, but that doesn't mean I'm right.

I don't have any specifics, but if you keep searching, you'll find that community. If there are people with diaper fetishes, there are people who torrent sewing patterns.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 5:42 AM on November 13, 2006

I don't know where you'd find the sewing one, but, in my experience, there's a warez scene for just about everything.
posted by box at 6:07 AM on November 13, 2006

You're more than likely going to find more of this kinda stuff from friends than the net, I'd imagine.

See if you can find a local group full of people, and try to find a 'cool' one that will let you burn a copy of their CD for $30 or something.

Besides, patent/trademark people are less likely to get to you that way, unlike...say...a post on a popular message board system that is cataloged and easily searchable by multiple search engines?

(I understand being broke and/or cheap, but hey - this isn't water you're stealing. You want it and don't have to have it to survive, so buy it like most people, please?)
posted by plaidrabbit at 6:15 AM on November 13, 2006

From my reading, I can't conclude that the poster is asking for help "stealing" these images. I'm can't even decide if the poster has any interest in actually obtaining these images--legally or otherwise. I believe the question only asks whether or not such a warez scene exists. There's no need for snarky attacks.
posted by dsword at 7:13 AM on November 13, 2006

That's nice, ds, but why else would someone want to know the existence of a warez scene if they didn't plan to take advantage of it? The subtext of the question indicates they are attempting to locate this stuff to take, and are unable to.

So either the question is completely worthless, or their looking for some advice on how to steal intellectual property, which is illegal in Australia, more than likely.

Both ways, it's a bad forum to bring the question in, plain and simple.
posted by plaidrabbit at 7:26 AM on November 13, 2006

My mom has one of these machines (a Bernina, not Berlina), and most of the attendant software requires a hardware dongle, up to and including some of the pattern discs. This prevents most casual grandma piracy.

What I don't understand is, if you've got the cash to shell out for a five thousand dollar sewing machine that can stitch from the computer, you can't shell out for a few choice discs of patterns? I agree that a lot of them seem overpriced, but after you try to make your own (using software that comes with the machine, naturally) it quickly becomes obvious that these things aren't easy.

Also, a lot of the most desirable patterns (like Precious Moments, ugh) have huge licensing fees attached to them, which is why they don't come cheap.

To answer your question: I have the best luck finding obscure files on the eDonkey network. I've never searched for this sort of thing, though.
posted by fake at 7:47 AM on November 13, 2006

why else would someone...?

I can only speculate. Pure curiosity is a good candidate. That's in fact how I read the question... The poster was simply curious about the possible existence of a very strange social group. "Why else would someone" have joked about grannies on IRC? It also happens to be why I clicked on the question: I found it interesting, despite the fact that I don't have one of these $5,000 machines that fake is referring to, nor do I have any desire to own one or to obtain any of these patterns.

Maybe the poster is writing a story. Maybe they're researching piracy. Who knows and who cares? There's nothing illegal (where I am), immoral, or unethical about discussing the existence of illegal activity, and there's nothing helpful about claiming that a post is definitively either worthless or malicious.
posted by dsword at 8:04 AM on November 13, 2006