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hacker · 07-24-2005, 11:26 AM

I've been talking to lots of businesses, users, hobbyists and others in many circles over the years, and I'm wondering how many of these people (and that includes YOU reading this), actually buy Palm or other mobile software for their various devices. This includes Palm, PocketPC, Linux and other mobile productivity devices.

I know I've personally bought many more software applications for Palm than I actually use today (some of them don't even work on current Palm devices because the author(s) decided to just quit and work on other things). I've bought applications to help my productivity, save my data, help my wife get organized, and dozens of other applications, conduits and tools over the years. I've also subscribed to many services such as Vindigo, Novatel and others to use with my device.

There seems to be a growing trend moving the other direction, and more and more people are seeking "free" or "cracked" software to use on their Palm devices. I see a number of posts on legitimate mailing lists and usenet newsgroups from people asking for registration codes, keys, key generators and many other things for Palm software.

As I poke around the various Palm software sites, I see applications being sold at higher and higher prices.. but are people actually buying them? Or just downloading them and using them for the trial period and then deleting them? Or are they cracking them and running them illegally?

How about you? What percent of your actual third-party Palm software is software you bought yourself? What percent is "free", and what percent (sure, you can answer anonymously or not) is "questionable"? Are 1% of your applications purchased? 50%? 100%? Some other fraction?

I'd love to hear from everyone..

07-24-2005, 11:26 AM	#1
hacker Technology Mercenary Posts: 617 Karma: 2561 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: East Lyme, CT Device: Direct Neural Implant	How many people buy mobile software? I've been talking to lots of businesses, users, hobbyists and others in many circles over the years, and I'm wondering how many of these people (and that includes YOU reading this), actually buy Palm or other mobile software for their various devices. This includes Palm, PocketPC, Linux and other mobile productivity devices. I know I've personally bought many more software applications for Palm than I actually use today (some of them don't even work on current Palm devices because the author(s) decided to just quit and work on other things). I've bought applications to help my productivity, save my data, help my wife get organized, and dozens of other applications, conduits and tools over the years. I've also subscribed to many services such as Vindigo, Novatel and others to use with my device. There seems to be a growing trend moving the other direction, and more and more people are seeking "free" or "cracked" software to use on their Palm devices. I see a number of posts on legitimate mailing lists and usenet newsgroups from people asking for registration codes, keys, key generators and many other things for Palm software. As I poke around the various Palm software sites, I see applications being sold at higher and higher prices.. but are people actually buying them? Or just downloading them and using them for the trial period and then deleting them? Or are they cracking them and running them illegally? How about you? What percent of your actual third-party Palm software is software you bought yourself? What percent is "free", and what percent (sure, you can answer anonymously or not) is "questionable"? Are 1% of your applications purchased? 50%? 100%? Some other fraction? I'd love to hear from everyone..