My thoughts on software piracy

Software piracy has been around since the days of the floppy, but with more and more software being digitally distributed, the problem is only getting worse. Or is it?

The cost of certain software only makes . For instance, Adobe is known for price inflation on their products, and it's gotten to where I use Paint.NET and GIMP for my image editing needs. The two work good together.

I prefer to buy legitimate licenses, but either the software company does not offer discounts to consumers (Microsoft) or discontinues particular software, or the price is not worth the admission. But for me, I have found software that is free and open source or a better value, which has reduced my need to pirate software.

Thus why I am so in favor of the FOSS movement. Sure, OpenOffice and Firefox have their bugs, but also are predictable and reliable (although Firefox REALLY is overdue for upgrades). And Ubuntu has shown to be a flexible Linux distribution. If New York State wanted to save some nightmares, how about starting by bringing Linux to the schools across New York State, and later, onto state agencies?

Also, I'm against software activation. Often it leads to other problems. Unless you can deactivate the software and move it to another computer, I have an issue with it. And what happens if the software provider is defunct, and you need to activate something, or they have discontinued support? I want to own my license, not rent it, and a few years ago I read an article in Computer Shopper (a now defunct magazine) about renting software, and now it has come of age. Personally, I'd like to see Adobe get what's coming to them, and as much as I've had my criticisms of Steve Jobs, he was ahead of his time on Flash. As it's aged, Flash has gotten worse. 

So support your open source vendors, and do your homework!

*This article, like all of them, is subject to changes and (more often) expansion*