This is an entry where I wanted to ponder on why I have stopped using pirated software. I have to say it has been very long since I have used a pirated / bootlegged software. I don't feel guilty or anything for having used pirated software, but I do think it was a phase of the particular time that we lived. I would say that, I used pirated software the most during 1999-2002 phases when their use wasn't seen as "wrong" or "stealing". I also had a perfect reason to rationalize my use of pirated software, name the fact that I was a kid in high school as such I wouldn't be able to afford any of the software that was being sold.
Few things, I never used pirated software for Operating System (which once always gets when buying a computer), firewall software like Zone Alarm or Mcafee Firewall, and Virus Scan software. I never used pirated software for these applications. I have to say that of all the software that I used, System Mechanic was one of my most preferred when it came to system utilities. Macromedia Dreamweaver was my favorite html editor or WYSIWYG editor. Alas, now I don't use any of the pirated software. Right now, I buy all of my software’s. In fact, not one even one software on my computer is pirated or bootleg. I guess this is a phase through which I went. From thinking that it is OK to use pirated software to not using pirated software at all.
There are a few other things that made the reason for my usage of these pirated software obsolete. I obviously now have revenue to buy my own things. Another reason, was that many software utilities now seem useless / unnecessary or I have moved on to different things. Take Macromedia Dreamweaver for example, I have now moved to Microsoft Notepad, now this seems like a backward step, but to tell you the truth the beauty of notepad is just incomparable. Once you start doing html on notepad, and completely master html or xhtml you will have no reason to use Macromedia Dreamweaver. With CSS and other little practices you can actually make websites faster on notepad than on Dreamweaver. In fact, I was able to cut down the size of my WebPages from whopping 50Kb to around 7 to 8Kb - that is a huge difference. For software that I don't use for example is Zone Alarm as firewall. With Windows Vista Firewall, for the moment I haven't seen any reason to install a 3rd party software, although I am not sure how good Windows Vista Firewall is. I think I might buy Zone Alarm Firewall in the future to augment my computer safety. But for the moment, I think I will stick with Windows Vista Firewall. For system utilities, with the coming of Vista I have frankly have found no reason to actually use any 3rd party software. Almost everything that I want is available in Windows Vista. The third reason for my discontinuing of pirated software is that there is a certain satisfaction, when you know that certain software is "Yours", compared to software that you just lifted off from a site. Final reason is that a lot of software is now being bundled with new computers, so I have way too my applications that are shipped with computers. Also, as I have Comcast I get free Mcafee Applications.
Right now, I usually buy online software mostly in regards to running my websites. I would say that I spend a few hundred dollars easily for my online software early. One application, which I recommend everyone to buy, is Window Washer, probably my favorite application of all the system utilities. This cleans up all the temporary files and junk from your computer, this makes my life relatively easy, as I don’t have to worry about leaving a trail of my browsing activities or habits.
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Software that you buy is not yours. Piracy is an inappropriate term. It's used to make people sound like theives. But copying software is not theft. Making a copy does not deprive another person of anything. Yet organizations like Microsoft's BSA send in federal marshals and take down corporations while they merely investigate "piracy". If Microsoft simply charged reasonable prices there would hardly be any "piracy" of their software. Richard Stallman might be right: maybe all information should be free. Corporations such as Microsoft are using their control of information to control society and governments while making billions.
I am aware that when a person buys a software it doesn't become his, but still - buying a software that you have bought makes you feel a whole lot different than the one you just lifed off or had it copied.
Yes Microsoft charges outrageous prices for their software, and they should curb that, I have to say that stealing software just isn't the right thing to do. I work for a software company now, and without revenue from our sales, I wouldn't have a job. I like making software that people can use (I'm in music software), but it really upsets me when people steal what I do, and distribute it around. I put blood, sweat, tears, and a lot of heart into my software, and it's a kick in the nuts when someone just takes it. If it continues to happen, we'll be put out of business and then no one will have the opportunity to use what I make. That would suck for a lot of people. Anyway, that's my take.