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Originally Posted by RichL
Did I imply that theft was either right or wrong? Or did I simply imply that theft is theft and should be acknowledged as such?
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Why yes, you did imply it is wrong. Only a couple of posts above your question, even.
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Originally Posted by RichL
The way I see it, theft is taking what doesn't belong to you without paying for it. Any other definition is just a thief's self-justification or a legal squabble to earn a buck.
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Originally Posted by RichL
Just out of curiosity how would you refer to a person that downloads and uses a product without paying for it. Say for instance a copy of TurboCAD Pro Platinum 18 which sells for about $1400?
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It depends. Is the person a student that is attempting to do homework at home; instead of in the overcrowded lab on campus? Are they a student/poor person attempting to learn a skill (software package) for the purpose of landing a job?
Or are they a company that simply doesn't want to pay the licensing fees?
The first, I have zero issues with. It's only when it's used for monetary gain that I balk.
Have you even seen the student versions of CAD programs? Back when I was trying to learn this stuff, SolidWorks sold a Student Version for $150. A princely sum to a educational pauper. What did this $150 get you? A piece of software that was one year behind the stated release. So Student 2011, is just repackaged 2010. It was locked to two installs. If your hard drive borks itself like mine did, you're screwed.
If you create a project in Student, and then open it in Educational or Professional, or any other version, it updates the file and refuses to let it open in Student anymore. I learned that the hard way from the computer lab. Nor would it let you actually learn the interesting stuff like the Thermal/Stress Analysis modules.
MATLAB similarly charged north of $100 and restricted the number of matrices you could calculate in a script/program. Essentially making it useless for Finite Element Analysis. You also missed a ton of essential modules for higher level modeling.
Oh, and EAGLE CAD restricts you to two signal layers and a board area of 100x80 mm. Great if all you're doing is making a blinky LED. Or if you can hand solder SMTs. But if you want anything more advanced, like a simple DAC with through hole components, you're gonna need more.
So screw CAD software companies and their draconian limitations.
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Originally Posted by Temple of the Dog
I don't mind stealing bread
From the mouths of decadence
But I can't feed on the powerless
When my cup's already overfilled
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