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Why don't you pay for software?

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Crush:
There are 3 different kinds of software-developers.

No.1 creates software for their own needs or to gather experience with programming special things. Often they make programs to show possible clients what they are able to do - especially if they don´t have a higher education. Sometimes a few of them only code for fun - this changes after leaving school/university. You cannot live from fun alone. The amount of "newbies" & funcoders is high enough to seem like software is made on-the-fly for free. The most of them are showing to the Linux-World and community and say: "Hey, it´s all secure and for free!" but if you take a look at the creators of this idea - you´ll nowadays find them sitting in firms doing a normal job, earning money for their families and have no time for creating more "free" software.

No.2 creates software they think others could possibly use for their needs/hobbies and they develop for a market that hopefully exists and has enough money and honesty to pay for what they use. They don´t know how many will use their program and how much they will earn. After development they offer their product in many different ways (distributor, shareware, donationware or anything else) and pray that they´ve done all right and will have success.

No.3 creates software only if the need for it exists from a client that wants to have it to be better than their rivals and someone signs a contract with all it should be able to do for their personal needs, including the time and money for development and further support in creating new features or make the software work with others´ changing software and processes. They cannot rely on perhaps not regularly earning money for their invested time and money.

Sooner or later you´ll have to jump from 1 to 2 or 3 if you don´t have another profitable job and perhaps a very understandingly partner that helps you living your hobby.

People that only use free software stop honest developers from doing their job and the rich world of a bright palette of software is shrinking more and more and in some special cases the development stops. Do you think the hardware and software would have the actual state and speed if all would have used "free" software?

As a teenager I never bought an original game (only 2 or 3 I think), no tools and all had been copied illegal - only hardware had to be bought honestly. That changed after I left school and started a career within the software industry. I understood how life works and from this moment, I stopped all illegal actions and today have 99,9% originals I payed and registered as a normal customer.

I had a lot of contacts to game-developers, crackers and swappers all over the world and now - 20 years later - I see that nearly all changed to legality - some of them joined the software industry they fighted against with cracking their copy-protections - others couldn´t and stopped most computer activities. Only very few continued their former illegal hobby. Why? Because they understood what they´ve done and they wanted to adjust former faults somehow or only want to use their gained knowledge to make things better and live from their technical skills.

Pupils or student´s often don´t think too much about the money until they need it regularly. Therefore the most of them are working in No.1.
The computer world is working as any other markets - only with the problem that you can use it without asking using cracks or other tricks. Could you eat something looking in the eyes of the person that produced it being kicked out of his house with his whole family, because all (including you) have stolen their food that growed only from hard investments of work and money from the fields? Wouldn´t you be disappointed if you´d lose your job because someone has stolen your products? Wouldn´t you be angry if the money you earned very hard during years or decades will be stolen from your account?

Even if you use free software it´s like buying all products from the cheapest producer. How would the world look like if all people would only use products that costs nothing or are the cheapest they could get? If all would be bought from the chinese market where some people work for 10 ct per hour you´ll all lose your jobs and comfort. I think free software is ok in a healthy amount but not only insisting on it only for personal convictions against the behaviour of some big companies. It should be used as a concurrent against commercial products pushing them alive to develop further features, as insurancy against monopolistic intentions or as a start into the computer-world without having enough money to afford commercial products.

If you wouln´t make money floating around and no investments would be done the majority of mankind would be in a very poor state today. Don´t look only at yourself - take a wider look at the community of your town, country, continent or the world - only then you will understand all consequences of each little decision and act you make.

I see some frontiers what is good for you and others and what isn´t. The frontiers are only very fluently und unsharp to see.

If you don´t pay for good software that deserves it and you often use - you slowly kill development of great software and sometimes whole families! Think about it until other kill yours!

Something have to change in your head so that you can clearly see what´s happening around you and how the world is working. Perhaps then you start paying for software you are using and don´t insist only in using free software.

Besides: Open Source software is not in every case good as this week showed QEmu that has been infected with a keylogger. I don´t want to know how many "free" and "open" things are infected with spyware, controlling software and keylogs that have never been recognized and used in a very intensive way in high security domains that have very explosive datas about you, companies or military.

Darwin:
I don't usually pay for software because there are too many frere/open-source programs that do exactly (and sometimes more) then the commercial alternatives. This comes to mind, mostly with graphic programs and VB.NET components for GUIs (I develop free software).

dhuser
-dhuser (May 23, 2007, 07:27 AM)
--- End quote ---

Crush's points aside (which I read with interest and can see where he's coming from), dhuser's argument about using freeeware/open source is valid.

Regarding my earlier post and the quote that I made in it, I can even respect, even if I don't agree with, an argument about ripping off Microsoft or Adobe because their stuff is too expensive. However, stating that you rip a company off because their products suck is ridiculous! How many car thieves target rusted and clapped out non-exotic cars?

nite_monkey:
I don't pay for software because I can't afford it, and I would have to get a job, but to get a job I would have to get a car, but to get a car I would have to get a job...so I can't get a job.

Curt:
I guess the hole situation is a matter of being aware and care - or not - of the consequenses of your actions. And as more and more people becomes psychopaths, I imagine the problem will just grow and grow. As for the young people; I think they don't think... Remembering my own youth, I really think I too acted like a psycho. Being aware AND care about the consequesense of your actions may be how to spot if you a mature person. I know this to be the Christian attitude: If you wanna call yourself a mature Christian, then you do care!

Curt:
Speaking of..  :-[   
- just realized I never donated Irfan, so I rushed to his site and clicked the donate €10 button

 :D

;)

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