This is the mentality of many on the Internet. Or so it seems. People want everything for free, almost to the point where they’re willing to steal what isn’t already free. This attitude leads to people searching out pirated software and otherwise trying to find ways to get something for nothing. Is it wrong or is it justified?

This is completely an opinion piece, of course. But, dealing with the amount of people we do here at PCMECH, this is an attitude I run across all the time.

Admittedly, it is a mindset I used to have and I still understand – to a degree.

The Mindset

It is a given that you have to pay for the computer you use. We understand that that is a real, physical product. So, you pay for it. But, the understanding (many times) stops right there.

For the software that your computer runs, people want it all for free. They simply don’t want to buy software. Perhaps because it is non physical in nature, they have a hard time seeing it as a valuable product. I’m really not sure. So, it leads to people searching long and hard for open source software (which is great) or going out of their way to download a pirated version of paid software (definitely bad).

Those who are using the pirated software justify it in several ways:

• I’m just one guy and the company will never know or miss the money.
• Company X is already loaded and I don’t want to add to their bottom line.
• Oh, I’m just testing the software and I’ll buy it if I want to use it (which doesn’t usually happen)
• I think paid software is just an affront to humanity. I refuse to pay for it.
• I can’t afford it so I think it is OK for me to hack it (this one just kills me)

I will admit that, back in the day, I did use and run pirated software on my PC. I practically collected it for fun. So, I DO understand the mindset that goes into it. I long since stopped doing that and I’ll tell you why…

Look In the Mirror

Let’s say YOU created a piece of software for the computer. You think its pretty good and you seek to sell copies online for some fee. With the amount of work and effort you put into your program, you think your fee is perfectly reasonable. In fact, you almost think it is cheap considering that somebody is able to spend a few bucks to buy some software which you invested countless hours into creating.

Then you find out that people are trying to STEAL your creation because of one of the various justifications listed above.

How would you feel about that?

Even if you don’t even understand software, look at what your job is right now. Whatever it is you do, tech or not, how would you feel if your potential customer base actively tried to steal the products you create without paying for it? Probably not too peachy.

The Culture of Gimme Gimme

For one reason or another, people are moving into a mindset where everything is expected for free. And, yes, more and more IS being given away for free. It is awesome! As an end user, I LOVE free stuff. But, the attitude goes overboard when you try to actively get something without any exchange because you want everything else for free, too.

There is a lot of great, free stuff out there. Free-to-use websites. Free software. Free web-based services. However, there are also paid services and software out there. And here is the thing to keep in mind…

Many times, paid software is paid because it is BETTER than the free options. It is worthy of being paid for. For example:

• Doing screen capture movies can be done for free with something like CamStudio. However, CamStudio certainly doesn’t even compare against Camtasia. Camtasia isn’t free, but it is certainly worth paying for if you want to create professional screencasts.
• If you want to do good webcam streaming shows on the Internet, you can use ManyCam to put effects into your live feed. ManyCam is free. But, for Windows, it does not compare to WebCamMax, which is not free.
• You can do your advanced image editing with GIMP for free, but anybody who has used Photoshop knows full well that it beats the crap out of GIMP.

There are exceptions. For example, Microsoft Office is not free, but OpenOffice is. And OpenOffice does pretty much everything you’d need Microsoft Office to do. Plus, you have a myriad of web-based options like Google Docs. If you don’t want to pay for an office suite (and I don’t blame you), use OpenOffice. Don’t steal Microsoft Office.

My Closing

It is quite possible that my little rant here might rub some people the wrong way – especially if they make a habit of using pirated software. But, here’s the deal…

There are TONS of options available to you for pretty much anything you want to accomplish these days. If you don’t want to pay any money, then use one of the free options available to you. Or use Linux where you never have to pay for anything.

The anonymity of the Internet leads some to cater to their dark side, where stealing is done wantonly and actively justified. People who would never steal in real life somehow find it acceptable when done online. But, as the old saying goes, you character can best be judged by what you do when nobody is looking.

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