Shareware Theft Article

[jcmcb]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2002Mar16.html

Here's an interesting Article about one shareware company and the issue of Software Piracy.

Where do y'all stand? I know I don't want to pay for software (considering how expensive it usually is), but at the same time I don't want people to go outa biz and not write any! Thats why I will pay for all the Games I use...but they are relatiely cheap.

[jehnx]

That is a very good article, and I agree totally with it. My only problem is a lot of companies that make the software simply refuse to take cash, and only CCs and checks, which I think is bad on both ends: it limits their income, and it prevents legal use of the product on the user side. Thanks for the post.

[The3ntropy]

Hmm,
Very interesting, I know I have kept a couple of shareware version programs a little longer than you are supposed to but, I would be willing to bet that most of us have done so aswell. This raises a very good point, how should they stay in business. But how I myself justify the situation, is that I know I do not pay for things that I can do myself. {IE I don't buy tables, chairs, and things like that, I have a workshop in my garage and I make all kinds of things that I use.} But anyway, with software I follow the same principal, I know that I will never buy it over the internet, knowing that I can make it through c/c++. But with shareware versions, I do use them and find them a great help. Both for helping me to try and make copies, and build my own firewall's, tarpits, etc. But a lot of times I need to keep software and don't have the need to buy it nor want to get rid of it. So, I guess I would just say in conclusion that, I do not buy things that I can get for free.