Downloading commercial software without paying for it (software piracy) is not truly free. Software piracy is not new either. It didn't start with Napster, Kazaa, or Bittorent, and it is certainly not limited to music, movies, and video games. In February of 1976, Bill Gates wrote a famous message titled An Open Letter to Hobbyists in which he accused software-sharing communities of stealing his products. Gates pointed out that hobbyists who didn't pay for Microsoft's commercial software were preventing future products from being developed. As a software developer of the present day I will echo his words yet again: downloading commercial software without paying for it hurts the software development company and prevents better products from being created. If you truly enjoy the software (or music, movies, games) you download for free, you would spend the money to purchase them legally. You can pay the price its worth now, or you can pay the price of lower-budget, lower-quality products in the future.
External Link: An Open Letter to Hobbyists
Download: Microsoft's official version of the letter.
In the past, software piracy was about the only way to try software before you bought it--even now, some companies don't realize that almost no credible person will buy a piece of expensive software without knowing if it accomplishes the desired function. Since there's so much software on the market today, it's also hard to tell what the best is. As a guilty former software pirate, I can tell you know that companies I "borrowed" from have gotten their money's worth out of it, as I buy the things I like... and continue patronage with the company while I'm at it!
ReplyDeleteI really respect people that will develop and distribute software for free and then ask for contribution from people that enjoy the software. I think that is a great model because it encourages developers to make great products. Of course that is really tough because few people care enough to donate....
ReplyDeleteTo reply to Zack, you may have purchased the things you liked, but I know too many people who said, "I just want to see if it's good," and then never payed for their use of it. When asked if the thing they were using is good, they replied, "Yeah, it's great!" "So are you going to buy it?" "..." It's just an excuse. Sacrificing integrity to protect your wallet is a sad sorting of priorities. Especially when there are ways to research if something will do what you want without needing to 'borrow' anything.
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