<< Please know what your talking about before you post. When you buy business software you also buy LICENSES for each user. These costs add up fast. So the home user usually does not pay as much as a business user. You speak like you have no experience in this. >>
Please, cut the condescending talk. The more licenses you buy, the lower the unit cost. In fact, many businesses just buy a few copies of the software media and fill out the rest of their seats with license-only paks (much cheaper than those retail boxes). A business who buys 100 copies of Office will pay much less than 100 individuals who each buy their own copy.
<< And look what it turned into. I consider them trespassing if they gather my system info. I don't freely give out my SSN to companies, what makes that info any different? >>
Since when is your SSN a prerequisite for registering/activating software? The subscription model did not require the gathering of system info; that was simply a hot issue that rose to the forefront during the time MS comtemplated the subscription model.
<< How is it a dead issue? You can as easily dismiss ANY issue like that. Terrorism, thats a dead issue right?. American foreign policy is righteous, we are right, everyone else is wrong. Please, your opinion does not reflect reality son. >>
<eyes roll> It's a dead issue because software like Windows is protected by copyright law and has a defined EULA. According to Microsoft, the courts and Common Law, legality is pretty much cut and dried. Either you follow the EULA or you don't. You cannot enter a court of law and expect to gain sympathy if you break the EULA. Warez violates the EULA and no court will claim warez is legal. That's why this is a dead issue.
I don't know why people have to spill so much ink claiming that they are in the right by downloading warez. A judge and jury will proclaim you guilty and you know this.
As for moral issues, these are more subjective. There are cases where current copyright law is too restrictive and piracy may be borne out of some secondary market needs. This piracy is still wrong and it is up to the software makers and the courts to come up with a feasible solution.
I don't see why peeps' feathers are so ruffled about this. You can download warez with little risk...isn't that good enough for you? Does advertising the "warez cause" somehow make you more legally tolerable?
<< there is no way for people starting out (especially students who are trying to master the program) dish out hundreds of dollars (even with student rates. >>
The last time I checked, the big 4 Adobe titles - Photoshop, PageMaker, Illustrator and Acrobat - were available in one educational package for just under $500. That's quite a bit less than retail. My sister is a graphics design major and she has a Mac. :frown: The Mac hardware cost about $3000, tuition/board is $10K annually, books are $500+ annually, etc. So in that context, $500 for these software titles is feasible. She uses them all the time.
Microsoft has very generous educational discounts. I recall getting Visual Studio 6 Professional Edition for about $125, Office 2000 Professional (full) for about $135. These prices will not cause hardship.
<< <----- is not of sound moral conscience and wouldn't want it any other way. >>
You are full of it. If that's the way you truly feel, then life will present you with some tough breaks. Try to hold down a job or raise children if you lack a moral conscience. You don't have to be a goodie-goodie, you don't have to be a little angel. But to be human and expect to be treated with compassion you need to take responsibility for your actions.