I read an article I found on OSNEWS.com from the CEO of WebIS. The author was talking on the impact that piracy has on the small software dev house. As a developer I spend a good deal of our time creating software that the industry needs. I don't think we've had to deal with piracy per sé (clients usually abuse the license but we tolerate it to a point). But I know that it could devastate my employer heavily.
But I do wonder what goes through the mind of pirates who use it in a money making capacity. The kid making LOLcatz photos probably doesn't need Photoshop. But since he found himself a copy then might as well give it a try. There are other ways to goof off and a $600 license of photoshop is overkill. But what about the graphic designer charging clients real rates? They are doing a disservice to themself and to Adobe. You might not like the amount they charge or their business ethics. But there are alternatives out there.
Which brings me to the third pirate. Mac users. Believe it or not they actually have a low incidence of piracy on the mac due to the size of the community and the much higher income bracket mac users are associated with. I'm a Mac User. I've kept my installers but my computer was stolen while I was away. I hold my licenses because I don't have a choice. I bought it when there was a mac and now there isn't one for me. I've been experimenting with OSx86 because I'm almost ready to buy another one. I tried it on my laptop and it looks as good as always, and while most of my hardware was supported the important ones weren't (wifi).
I don't think apple wants to get into the complete software business. There idea of a computer is a solution and not just the hardware and software. I've browsed the boards and there always seems to be someone that says they don't feel guilty installing it because they bought it. I find this extremely unlikely for a lot of reasons.
--Gotta run
Okay, it's been almost a week since I ordered the parts for my new HTPC. I haven't seen anything or a confirmation yet. Barring the weekend, I'll be waiting 4 days. Thursday makes it an official business week and nothing. So far this sucks. I thought I would have it by the weekend or the start of the week. If it's not sent tomorrow I'm pulling the plug and go shop elsewhere.
I think it's been ages since I put together a computer. I had a Mac for a while and it served me well. I know I can get a Dell or HP for cheap but I want to do it my way. After futzing around for a long time I finally put in the order for a few components. I've acquired a lot of computer parts and it costs me a lot less than I assumed it would.
But this is no top of the line rig. I'm building a Media Center PC, and it will be used for a few games but nothing like Crysis. I've got a Packard Bell that's barely keeping up with what I throw at it. basically watching a few DVDs, torrents, and iTunes. I love iTunes but it's a real monster on such a old PC.