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Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Well, why assume that most pirates wouldn't have bought the software otherwise? There must have been a reason they wanted it in the first place... and through their actions, they might give it to someone who would've otherwise bought it legally..
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I have seen this happen many times- people will certainly use a pirate copy of software, but will not buy package. They either do without, or use a lower cost or free alternative.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Because M$ is what most businesses use, and if you want to work with many businesses, you have to use their SW, whether you like it or not. If you have a choice, then by all means, switch to Linux or something, and be free. I also regret that it can be very expensive to purchase the SW most businesses use (as a graphics/web designer, I cringe every time someone talks to me about the cost of Adobe software), but if it's a business need, you have to consider it a business expense, knuckle down, and pay it. Take a class to learn it. Find someone who has it, and practice on their computer. There are options, but stealing it should never be one of them.
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Depends on what you do. The operating system, whether Linux or Windows or BSD, isn't the problem- it's the applications software and the file formats that they use. I have never had much problem exchanging any of the Office file formats, because other, non-MS software will write the same formats. I have worked with many different businesses over the years, and have also slowly been eliminating Windows from my home office environment. I still buy a premium MSDN, but hopefully one of these days I won't have to. And over the past 2 years, with some extracurricular consulting work I do, I have convinced several individuals to switch to the Mac, and they are very happy. And I have convinced a medium-sized business to say no to M$, and using Mac OS and BSD, and virtualization technology, it's not that hard to do. The biggest problem that I see is lack of knowledge on the part of IT staffs, and that can be remedied.