I found the below comment on the 2004 slashdot discussion. IMO this is the best way to handle this - thought it would add value to discussion on HN (edit - formatting):

"1. Immediately(!) purchase the stolen software, using a Mastercard or Visa. The resulting download is evidence, and the purchase itself will be used later. Make every effort to identify who (URL, domain name, contact info, company name, etc.) is actually processing this credit card transaction (hint: it's usually not the kid in Pakistan).

2. Notify the contact info of the domain of the infringement. Use a DMCA-compliant notification.

3. Notify the next upstream ISP of that domain of same.

4. Notify the domain's registrar. Some have TOS which forbid illegal activity.

5. Is the bad guy still up? Then start notifying the credit card processor that they have participated in a sale of stolen goods. Use a letter that calmly documents the date of purchase, how you identified the download as a stolen copy of your software, etc.

6. When your credit card bill arrives, follow the instructions on the back of the bill to contest that purchase. Inform the credit card company of everything that's happened, including dates and times and copies of correspondence

7. Join the ASP [asp-shareware.org]. It's a chance to notify fellow software producers that their software is being ripped off along with yours (and increase the pressure on a particular pirate site). It's also a way of supporting an organization that works to support your right to make a living selling software.

The linchpin in this effort is credit card processing. I don't care if you live on a small island that you rule yourself, if you take Mastercard/Visa transactions, you rely on American companies and American law. These giant companies grant smaller companies the right to parcel out merchant accounts, and they can cause non-trivial financial pain for merchant accounts that generate too many complaints for them.

The wheels of the law can take much time to grind to a conclusion, and not always in your favor. Visa/Mastercard can issue a $20,000 fine in a much shorter time, and they don't have to consult a jury.

In the Wild West of Internet fraud that involves money flow, Mastercard/Visa is judge, jury, and executioner. Most victims simply don't know enough to bring their case to them, or the amount of fraud would be dropping." http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=134264&cid=1121...

I just wanted to chime in that the reason I'm a programmer today is that my grandpa helped program the navigation systems on the SR-71. I found that slightly inspirational :)

He passed (at 82, I believe) about seven years ago. It was both sad and not sad, as he lived a long and amazing life.

He programmed the guidance systems of one of the Titan series rockets. He also was in the Navy in WWII. At one point, his destroyer was sunk, and spent a few days in the open ocean before being rescued. He was also present at the Japanese surrender ceremony.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of learning to play chess with him over Christmas vacation. He was a truly kind man, and an inspiration to many.

My problem with the iPad is that it's more closed than it needs to be. It's fine to provide people with a simple, immediate, intuitive and trouble-free interface to information. Not everybody needs to be or wants to be a content creator. But why not allow people to install apps outside the App store if they manually opt-in, as Android does? Why the absurd secrecy around the sdk and developers agreements? Why the seemingly arbitrary rejection of apps that in some way impinge on functionality Apple reserves for itself to implement?

The almost paranoid and unduly aggressive control Apple exerts over its platform is worrisome, particularly for a company poised to dominate an important emerging platform. This is why, as much as I respect Apple's engineering and design prowess, I do not use its products. After two decades of a suffocating Microsoft monopoly I'm not eager to spend the next two under another.