Do you pay all your software ?

Do you pay your software or do you crack it ?

  • Yes, I do pay all my software.

  • No, I don't pay, I don't want to pay.

  • No, I don't pay, I don't have the money.

  • No, I don't pay, or just the cheap ones.

Results are only viewable after voting.
toast

toast

Gone !
I would like to know what real proportion of Mac users pay their software. Of course I'm not interested in who does and who does not around here, all I'd like is a reliable statistic.

Definition of paying the software: give the money for it.
Opposite: entering serials, hacking installers, using Carracho, etc.

If I get censored for this, I'd like to know why please, because I don't see what's the problem with such a thread. By the way, Ed's new icon I like a lot :)

There it goes !
 
For everything except Office vX.

I dont pay for Office, because I hardly ever use it, only to open the odd word doc, etc...

I do a lot of beta testing, so most of my main use software,(Adobe, Macromedia, etc..) I end up getting for free, so... not a big deal. But, even when I first started developing, I paid for just about everything I had...

Write a book or two or create a user site dedicated to a software program, and all of a sudden you get requests from companies to beta test their software.

I am still trying to figure out a way to get into Apple for beta testing...

Also, I will be making one illegal copy of Jaguar, as I am still pissed about the lack of upgrade pricing... so my father and I will "share" a legit copy...

Anyways... there you have it..
 
I am one of the few people that use the cracked software but if I like it I GO AND BUY IT

I think if a programer makes an awesome product, We as a people should pay him or the company manly for gratitude for a job well done.

But dont get me started on some software which is sub-par and over priced.
Yes Office X looks neato from the one time i used it but DANG $500 for the thing???????
shoot for that price i could buy a clamshell on ebay

content deleted

I do say i love cracked software and use it always!!!!!!!!!!!

Crack kills
 
I can't figure out whether to pay my software in cash or by check.:)

Seriously, I don't buy too much software. I've been spoiled by open source. There's just too much software out there for free. I haven't found a commercial product that I couldn't live without.
 
I have different feelings on the issue.

If I need to know how to use (program x) in order to find work. And said program costs more than 50 bucks. And I'm trying to feed myself as well keep a roof overhead and my electricity and isp on. And cant afford it.Then I think it's okay to pirate that program.

When I start making money due to the use of that program, then it's time to buy it.

My logic may be flawed, but then so is the whole concept of intellectual property and copyright.

Should not I be able to go to a public library and check out a copy of Photoshop? I mean software is merely literature written in assembly language. Go deeper and its just a collection of 1's and 0's. Copyrighting that is like making up a random string of numbers and claiming you invented it.

-devils advocate extrodinare-
 
I have different feelings on the issue.
If I need to know how to use (program x) in order to find work. And said program costs more than 50 bucks. And I'm trying to feed myself as well keep a roof overhead and my electricity and isp on. And cant afford it.Then I think it's okay to pirate that program.
Click to expand...

Can I point out the fact that:
1) There are plenty jobs you can do without the software you are talking about.
2) Your employer should provide you the software.
3) Unless that's homework, which means you're earning money on the back of the developers you robbed the product from.

When I start making money due to the use of that program, then it's time to buy it.
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See point 2). You know, the people who write software also have a roof, also eat, also want an ISP. Your logic means the developer starves until you make money of his product, and then you dare buy it. Just imagine if society worked this way…

My logic may be flawed, but then so is the whole concept of intellectual property and copyright.
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Can't see the point, here. If your'e talking of concept here, I recommend Adam Smith, not intellectual property nor copyright :).

Should not I be able to go to a public library and check out a copy of Photoshop? I mean software is merely literature written in assembly language. Go deeper and its just a collection of 1's and 0's. Copyrighting that is like making up a random string of numbers and claiming you invented it.
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Books are written for consulting. Not software. I can't build a website with a poetry book. I can't EARN money reading Mary Higgins Clark. You CAN make money pirating Adobe Photoshop. Which means there is a fundamental difference between software and literature, don't you think so ?
But that's a rather funny comparison, in fact :D, I like it a lot ! LOL
 
I purchase programs I can actually afford and need. If it's not worth the money then it's either not really that useful or simply overpriced.

Right now on m comptuer I have all legit software that I had at one time cracked to see just how indispensible it was. In this way I've purchased Stuffit, Graphic Converter, Quicktime 6, Windowshade, among a few others possibly.

I tried office for a whiel and actually ditched it as It's not essential for me and yes the open source alternatives are starting to look promising. Can't wait for an aqaufied open office. Most of the itme if you have a program sitting ther for a while you'll find out you actually rarely use it. I find this with games especially. I usually test them so to speka ofr a week or two to see i it keeps my interest. So far only Civilization has managed to do that. plus I'm a big fan of Sid.

I must say it's difficult sometimes to legalize software you technically already have, along with mp3s. But in the end I do feel betetr about it and hope that whateverm oeny I use to patronize these devlopers and artists will lead to even better products in the future.
 
I must say it's difficult sometimes to legalize software you technically already have, along with mp3s. But in the end I do feel betetr about it and hope that whateverm oeny I use to patronize these devlopers and artists will lead to even better products in the future.
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You have a big point here… MP3 is the second thing everybody steals. In fact, my country has such laws you cannot buy music at a decent price. Stealing MP3s is just a crime no one punishes around here.
* EDIT: While pirating is punished in France ! :)*
 
Toast,

I think I should not even waste my time responding to you, but I feel compelled to regardless:

I don't give 2 sh1ts about what you think of me. You can stand there and judge me all you want.

That being said, let me go on to say that...

When I can afford to buy the software I use, I will. If I use a program and it makes me money, I will buy it.

Maybe I'm bitter, maybe I'm jaded, but I refuse to "not learn and know" a program or OS simply because I cannot afford it.
 
If a job posting says " must be proficient with photoshop and quark"

how the hell else am I supposed to become proficient with those programs if I cant afford to buy them? Sure the company will supply the software after i get the job, but how do I go about getting the job with thoise skills in the first place.

classic catch-22

hrmm
 
Originally posted by stizz
...I mean software is merely literature written in assembly language. Go deeper and its just a collection of 1's and 0's. Copyrighting that is like making up a random string of numbers and claiming you invented it.
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Isn't a book just a collection from letters?
Isn't a picture a collection of brush strokes?
Isn't music a collection of some notes?

With your logic, there is nothing that could be copyrighted...

And if I am not wrong, you could just go ahead and make up a random String of numbers and copyright that. But you won't make any money of that... :D

I don't think Toast was juging you. He just stated his opinion, just as you did.
There is really no need to be insulting.
 
Originally posted by stizz
Maybe I'm bitter, maybe I'm jaded, but I refuse to "not learn and know" a program or OS simply because I cannot afford it.
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So sad you don't understand that, even if you have the means to get those software, you should not use them withotu a license to respect the work of those people who created them.

I wasn't making a personal attack. Thanx Tigger for giving words to what I think.
 
If I use $hareware, I buy it. VueScan is GREAT! If I buy a commercial package (M$ Mac:Office v. X), I get it at the EDUCATIONAL discount through the university. I'm still paying for it, just at a substantially reduced price. The commercial software makers still make money, I get to use a good program every once in a while, and everyone is happy and LEGAL. If I can't get the educational discount (not being enrolled at the time I need it, which happened ONCE), I find one of my friends who is enrolled and they get it for me. If I can't find one of my college student friends to get it, well, I go without or I pay FULL PRICE (Quake3Arena). I'm not going to blatently break the law. I do have a moral sense.
 
Originally posted by toast


So sad you don't understand that, even if you have the means to get those software, you should not use them withotu a license to respect the work of those people who created them.

I wasn't making a personal attack. Thanx Tigger for giving words to what I think.
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You think it's sad? I find that to be a matter of opinion.

As for my opinion:
We as society have entered a new age; The Age of Information. In this brave new world that we inhabit, information flows like water. Old conforms and restraints no longer really apply, as they were based on the limitations of their time.

I for one have not one single problem finding what I need and taking it. Survival of the fittest and what not. I already stated that if I use a program for commerce, I will buy it. but I refuse to be left behind in the dust as a vast digital divide between the haves and have not's develops simply because I now live below the poverty level.

One has to stay constantly up to date with current technology in order to be economically viable these days.
 
Romantic cyberpunk blabla. Only free information is free. Copyrighted software is not. And Warezing even has nothing to do with the ideal of hacking and its term that information wants to be free. It's just an excuse.

You want a job that needs XPress and Photoshop skills? Go study it. There are enough courses teaching you the skills of those applications. Yes, they do cost. We live in a capitalistic world, don't we. If you need to do a job that doesn't include working on a Macintosh (heaven) you have to do another job to finance your hobby, until you're proficient in the area you want to work in.

This truth is as simple as inacceptable for us lazy asses. How *I* got into graphics design? I troubleshooted the server of a company. They asked me whether I was any good in Illustrator. I said 'Yes, of course!' although I had never touched the thing, because I smelled a job opportunity. And, yes, I've learned Illustrator in the coming two months with a warezed copy. And then I was 'in' the graphics design business, where I could learn more for free, because the applications were there and licensed. Ever since 1995.

But hangin' around at home, 'learning' Photoshop or Quark by fiddling around with it (making nice desktop pictures with cute girls in them) doesn't make you a graphics professional.

And you _can_ write your CVs with AppleWorks. Or TextEdit (better).
 
Originally posted by fryke
Romantic cyberpunk blabla.
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shrug

[bitter sarcasm]
I am so sorry everybody. How could I have not known the errors of my ways. Is the damage I've caused with my selfishness repairable? Will we all survive this ghastly mess that I have created? I went and threw all the cdr's I possess of pirated media (OS Builds and Nintendo Roms alike) and threw them in the microwave. They will never hurt anybody ever again. I even reformated all 12 of my hard drives with 1's and 0's to prevent my weak willed being from attempting to retrieve the deleted files. I then threw my cd burner into the swimming pool for good measure. I want to thank everybody for their concern. If you all hadn't been here, god only knows what I would have done next.
[/bitter sarcasm]

as you can see, you moved me
 
[bitter hypocrisy]
We as society have entered a new age; The Age of Information. In this brave new world that we inhabit, information flows like water. Old conforms and restraints no longer really apply, as they were based on the limitations of their time.

I for one have not one single problem finding what I need and taking it. Survival of the fittest and what not. I already stated that if I use a program for commerce, I will buy it. but I refuse to be left behind in the dust as a vast digital divide between the haves and have not's develops simply because I now live below the poverty level.

One has to stay constantly up to date with current technology in order to be economically viable these days.
[/bitter hypocrisy]

Well, stizz, you're showing up as a soooo constructive person in your posts !

I suppose this thread will finish in the "Stupid" section if this continues. But if you're ready for debating, you're welcome.

I repeat, I don't understand why software is not respected as other private goods. Is it because it's so simple to steal ? I find old grannies' wallets easy to steal too. But I'm not a delinquent.

Hard to talk about pirating those days. The people who do pirate quickly abandon argumentation for inexistant forum tags ;).

[too bad]
[/too bad]
 
Oh boy, ugly thread just waiting to happen. :)

Despite the fact that stizz's comments arent politically correct or "popular", I still consider what he said to be realistic.

Sometimes you have to break some rules to get your foot in the door, and I dont believe that makes him a criminal.

If I hired someone for a CG/artistry job at a film effects company, and he told me that he learned his 3d studio max [3000 dollar program] skills from an "unlicensed" copy, just so he could get up to speed, I would still consider him for the job.

Not everyone who has actually committed the act of software piracy is a low-life thief, because some of the best human beings I know are guilty of this act on various levels in the past. Does that make it "okay"? Of course not.

Is every person who has pirated software in the past the same? No. Some people make a living off selling pirated copies of software, and in some countries like Singapore/china/etc, the useage of pirated softare actually outweighs that of licensed copies. I judge those people differently from a person I know who has tried out photoshop from a warez site to see if he was interested in graphic design. [only to find out he wasn't]. Perhaps thats a double standard that other people do not approve of. That is life.

You can walk into a retail store in Singapore and find blatantly illegal copies of almost anything you want. [at least a few yrs ago when I was there]

Maybe I just have really poor judgement. But please people, despite the fact that many of us have high ideals, you have to realize that the world isnt black and white.

My advice is to follow your conscience. If you didnt pay for a piece of software that you "warezed" to try out, and you now find it useful and beneficial to your job or life, please pay for it. People know when they are doing something they shouldn't.

[this post is not condoning piracy, or anything else, nor do I personally steal software programs. I have however downloaded many mp3's in the past without paying for them, so I am guilty in that sense]
 
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