software piracy .. so who's buying??

[unispherephoto]

Should I be penalized by my "failings" requiring the reinstallation of the OS and software? I may have two or three "installs"n only because I could not OSX verses Win XP.

i really have no idea what youre talking about...
re-installing osx is not the same as registering software, and you can do it as many times as you want..

 

[flyfish29]

My current tactics?

Well,
1. I will download and try demo software and shareware whenever possible.

2. If demo is not available, I will ;
a. Go to a couple of stores ( CompUSA, Apple ) to try the software
b. Contact the company asking for a demo / manual.
c. Download a pirate copy and give it a try. It usually does not last more than a few hours on my test machine.

I am a software developer by trade. I find pirates abhorrent by nature. However, after buying quite a bit of software based on screenshots and descriptions that did not live up to the product delivered **AND** was unable to return buggy, or misrepresented features, I also find such misleading software companies also offensive.

I am not advocating any piracy, and if forced, I will not buy software without trying it first. This is as silly as buying a book ( or music ) off Amazon based solely on the cover or description.

The difference is.. I can return a book or cd to Amazon. I feel that there should be some time of return policy to protect the consumer from such shoddy software. Sadly, this is a double edge sword, since it would most likely lead to ....PIRATES!!!!

As I finish this rant, I would like to encourage all developers out there to offer a tryout version of their software It may not do much to curb piracy, but it may help sales.

As far as people that feel it is ok to download and use software for an extended period of time.. Shame on you, and I hope someone installs Windows on your machine.

RANT == OFF

Max.

Very logical and reasonable! I have no problem with what you describe and you bring up some great points about software and the difficulties with buying it sight unseen almost.