OT: Do you actually buy software?

[That One Guy]

Originally Posted by Bronco Boy

Cars are way too expensive. They basically are asking people to steal them. Plus, as long as you bring it back every morning before the dealership realizes it's gone, its not a crime right guys?

The fact that you guys have to keep trying to come up with scenarios that are in no way comparable to make your point completely makes my point.

[maher_tyler]

Originally Posted by That One Guy

So I just got my laptop back from getting repaired and I'm having to install a bunch of software to do some work. I'm grabbing photoshop, MS Office, and daemon tools to install them at the current moment. If I paid for everything, that'd be well over $1000 for pretty much just two programs. I'm just curious if anyone actually pays for these things on their home PCs? My philosophy is that these things are really catered to the professional market and they understand the prices are unreasonable and the home users will just pirate them.

In a way, you might even argue that using them at home makes people more proficient in them and makes it more of a necessity for professional environments to buy them.

Anyways, just curious, do you guys pay for this software? Is there a cutoff where you draw the line? Or if you can't afford it, do you just not have it?

Being in the Air Force...they have a program set up to where we can get the entire MS Office for like $20. I had it on my Sony Vaio before my wife spilled a glass of water on it.

[That One Guy]

Originally Posted by maher_tyler

Being in the Air Force...they have a program set up to where we can get the entire MS Office for like $20. I had it on my Sony Vaio before my wife spilled a glass of water on it.

Yeah, I did the same thing a while back but I recall there being a note about you were only supposed to use it while you're employed by the army, the unit identifier that was used, or something like that.

But, ultimately, that is where the intellectual property laws get vague. I paid for a copy of Office once. Am I allowed to legally have Office on my computer even if I misplaced my disks? Office 2010 is the first I came across so I got it but if I knew the 07 I downloaded would be absolutely legal, I'd have had no issues getting that. The rules are just way too cluttered.

[FrankieTwoThumbs]

Originally Posted by That One Guy

The fact that you guys have to keep trying to come up with scenarios that are in no way comparable to make your point completely makes my point.

You are using the labor of others while defrauding them of any reward, and justifying it because it is available in a convenient way due to them unwisely counting on your honor. Polish that turd anyway you wish, its still a turd.

[Tombstone RJ]

Originally Posted by That One Guy

So I just got my laptop back from getting repaired and I'm having to install a bunch of software to do some work. I'm grabbing photoshop, MS Office, and daemon tools to install them at the current moment. If I paid for everything, that'd be well over $1000 for pretty much just two programs. I'm just curious if anyone actually pays for these things on their home PCs? My philosophy is that these things are really catered to the professional market and they understand the prices are unreasonable and the home users will just pirate them.

In a way, you might even argue that using them at home makes people more proficient in them and makes it more of a necessity for professional environments to buy them.

Anyways, just curious, do you guys pay for this software? Is there a cutoff where you draw the line? Or if you can't afford it, do you just not have it?

when it comes to buying a 'puter, if the software isn't all part of the package, I won't even consider buying the friggen thing.

[Popps]

This tired debate is pretty much a sign of the times.

It's one thing to steal... and that's what it is.

It's another to be so morally bankrupt that you truly believe you have the right to steal... and not just that, but so much so that you announce it to the world on a public forum. (Along with an always logical explanation of in your case.. why stealing is okay.)

What happened to the days when people just stole things, knew it was wrong and shut up about it?

[ZONA]

Originally Posted by Fedaykin

99% of all software a home user might actually need has an open source alternative to the commercial rip off.

OpenOffice, The Gimp, etc.

Unless you are
a.) Trying to get a job that requires a particular piece of software (i.e. Photoshop)

or

b.) like wasting money

then just use open source.

OpenOffice is awesome. Why would anybody ever want to pay for Microsoft when this is out there.