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General Software Discussion / Situation re: unsupported software
« on: August 01, 2006, 11:51 AM »
Greetings,
I'm wondering what the situation is when a piece of software is no longer sold or supported.
Can that software then be freely copied (or might that even vary from country to country?)
One example would be Windows98,
but I'm actually asking cause of Freehand (Macromedia) which has been taken over by Adobe.
I'm using version 9 & was considering upgrading this summer\autumn\year..
macromedia.com is now redirected to adobe & when you click on the buy link for Freehand MX you just get a blank screen.
now this may just be temporary, but i suspect its the end for Freehand which is a shame cause I'll need twice as much time to do the same amount of work on Illustrator & probably a computer thats twice as powerful as i have now ..
(I did try out ZaraXtreme {& Inkscape} but while the difference isnt that great in terms of quality, if you're working with it all day the little things can make a huge difference in terms of time, etc.)
Anyways FH is still on sale on Ebay & not particularly cheap either (except for one so cheap I presume its a copy or whatever they do)
So I'm wondering if I "aquired" a copy or update will I be BREAKING THE LAW - these days all my software is legal & I'd like to keep it that way, cause even though I'm not very successful & working from home, I am registered as a business & as such presume I could be checked out at any stage. (Also its feels good )
From a gut point of view I couldnt care less about Adobe here cause its the one area I've always felt they've been going down the wrong road (with illustrator I mean) and now the b#$*§ds are burying my beloved freehand ...
I'm wondering what the situation is when a piece of software is no longer sold or supported.
Can that software then be freely copied (or might that even vary from country to country?)
One example would be Windows98,
but I'm actually asking cause of Freehand (Macromedia) which has been taken over by Adobe.
I'm using version 9 & was considering upgrading this summer\autumn\year..
macromedia.com is now redirected to adobe & when you click on the buy link for Freehand MX you just get a blank screen.
now this may just be temporary, but i suspect its the end for Freehand which is a shame cause I'll need twice as much time to do the same amount of work on Illustrator & probably a computer thats twice as powerful as i have now ..
(I did try out ZaraXtreme {& Inkscape} but while the difference isnt that great in terms of quality, if you're working with it all day the little things can make a huge difference in terms of time, etc.)
Anyways FH is still on sale on Ebay & not particularly cheap either (except for one so cheap I presume its a copy or whatever they do)
So I'm wondering if I "aquired" a copy or update will I be BREAKING THE LAW - these days all my software is legal & I'd like to keep it that way, cause even though I'm not very successful & working from home, I am registered as a business & as such presume I could be checked out at any stage. (Also its feels good )
From a gut point of view I couldnt care less about Adobe here cause its the one area I've always felt they've been going down the wrong road (with illustrator I mean) and now the b#$*§ds are burying my beloved freehand ...