I used to be, then I gradually transitioned to FLOSS alternatives. Four years ago (I think) I finally ditched my pirated Windows copy and switched to Ubuntu.
Poll: Are you a software pirate?
31–40 of 98 posts
Re: Poll: Are you a software pirate?
#32Not usually. But I also don't use a whole lot of software to be paid for.
I mean I pay for games and what not, but I do all my coding in stuff like Xcode that is free anyway. Stuff like Adobe Photoshop I have never paid for because it's way too expensive for what I use it for and all the alternatives frankly suck
Re: Poll: Are you a software pirate?
#33When I was a lot younger, yeah. Now? Open source has priced most everything out of the market for me. My databases are MySQL, my operating system is OpenBSD (except on stuff provided by work), my web server is apache (although I keep meaning to try out nginx), I code in python, mail is postfix/courier-imapd, ftp is vsftpd...
For any DTP stuff, I use GIMP/Inkscape/Scribus.
Looking at my desktop, the only commercial software that I have up is dameware mini remote control; I don't know of a good free alternative for this and yes, I paid for it.
I guess that, to me, there isn't really much worth pirating out there. Dameware, I guess, but they actually will give me a free trial for pretty much ever and bug me to buy it until I do.
Re: Poll: Are you a software pirate?
#34no right now thanks to MSDN I get most of the stoftware via the university. Before yeah, esp MATLAB which is worth being pirated :D
I was really really close to do that since my brother suggested it but then discovered that the FOSS tool Octave runs all my Matlab stuff perfectly. It is only very basic matrix manipulation and calculations though.
Re: Poll: Are you a software pirate?
#35When I was a kid, yes, today not at all. As a 14 year old there's no way I could afford Adobe Photoshop, or Visual Studio 6 (or be able to justify the reduced cost versions for a student to my parents). So I downloaded them, and learned to use the software, and how to program C++, and learned the MFC libraries. As an adult I have paid for the full versions, and upgrade versions at least twice for each product. I'm th…
I pirated Photoshop for years as a teenager, until I was good enough with it to get paid as a freelancer. With my first check from a freelance gig, I bought a licensed copy. In this sense, Photoshop paid for itself, but it could not have happened without piracy. These days it may be doable without piracy, since academic versions are more widely available and distributed to schools.
Re: Poll: Are you a software pirate?
#36Adobe Photoshop CS5 : $1500. What do you think?
Re: Poll: Are you a software pirate?
#37I switched all our machines to Linux (currently Fedora 13) 10 years ago, and never looked back. All our software since is free.
Re: Poll: Are you a software pirate?
#38It's interesting that "No" is winning. If we had run this poll in 1990 I'm sure it would have been about 99% in the Yes camp. Guessing about reasons... what do you all think? - Software moved to the web and is funded by subscriptions, advertising, corporate behemoths, donations, or mere hope. - Free software answers a lot of people's needs, especially on HN. - Operating systems are good enough that we don't need a lo…
Yes to all of your reasons, but I think you missed the biggest one: - Many of us produce and sell software and we understand that pirating makes it harder for people like us to make a living at it.
I actually voted both yes and no, since I do pirate software, but only software I own. I don't consider it piracy, because it doesn't impact anyone's ability to make a living off of it (it usually just saves support costs) but the law sees it differently.
Also I did pirate a game from the early 90's because I couldn't figure out where to send a check.
http://downloadgameonline.blogspot.com/2008/08/enchantasy-qu...
Actually can't even find the game itself anymore, I'm sure I have it on my hard disk somewhere. Think it was by Eric G. Abel or somesuch. I would very much like to send the guy a check and get a legit key.
Re: Poll: Are you a software pirate?
#39I don't need to: most of the stuff I use is open source. When I do need a license for something it's probably produced by a small startup at reasonable prices, so I don't even think about it.
Re: Poll: Are you a software pirate?
#40I am a student and a hobbyist. Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, Maya and Sony Forge are examples of great software that I really want to use and love to use, but simply could never afford as a student. I'd add Windows 7 and the Office pack to the list, if my school didn't offer free licenses for them.
And to be honest, even if I was making decent money and using those tools as a pro, I'd still only pay for the software if I had a reason to believe that someone was angry at me and might rat on me. Actually, even then I'd rather install a self-destruct mechanism on my workstation and encrypt my hard drives.
I'm not trying to boycot anything either. I think it's a good thing that developers get paid for making good software.
Piracy is just so easy and care free, that the only pressure not to do it comes from within yourself, if it comes at all. The question is no longer "Is this right? Am I being a good person?", where you reflect on yourself trough popular morality, but rather a personal two part question of "Do I want this product?" and "Do I want to give away my money?". The answers are "Yes" and "No", and in my mind the questions are totally unrelated to each other. Paying for software would feel like flushing the money down the toilet when it's actually easier to just download it.
PS: In the end, if I had to pretend that I cared, I could honestly say that I believe I would be generating more wealth for the world when I am allowed to concentrate on creating and learning instead of concentrating on worrying about money and working at McDonald's to pay for my Photoshop license.