You don't have to pay for software for your HDTV and you shouldn't have to pay for software for your Alpha 400, or whatever, either (unless you want to). "Information wants to be free" (Stewart Brand). Until last week, no one had to pay for TV programming. I and millions of others ended up paying about ten bucks for a settop converter box.
THE THREE R's OF RESISTANCE
RIP - I don't believe in stealing, but I don't believe it is stealing to use The Pirate Bay and its ID-avoidance system to get free software.
REPLACE - Margaret Thatcher said, "T.I.N.A.": There Is No Alternative to the Thatcher/Reagan "free market" policies. But there are alternatives -- to that and Microsoft. One way to avoid supporting Microsoft -- besides Linux, Android, Chinese CPUs, etc. -- is to buy only used computers.
REPUDIATE - This is something countries, like China, can do. Repudiate software patents. Refuse to enforce them. US patents are unconstitutional in their home country, so why should foreign countries, with their own infant industries to protect, enforce them?
Or, you could move out of Mom's basement, take a shower, and get a job. Then instead of being an annoying parasite taking what was never freely offered from others, you could become a productive member of society.
ReplyDeleteBottom line, if you don't like the price someone's charging for software, don't buy it. Find a free or lower cost version that meets your needs, or learn to program and write your own. Pirates are pussies.
Everyone look at this: a vulgar comment from someone in the software industry, maybe a Microsoftie.
ReplyDeleteI have not bought any Microsoft software for a long time and never will on any computer that costs more than $200.
Microsoft isn't ripping me off that way.