Thread: Is it okay for a student with limited financial resources to pirate software?
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2010-10-17 , 02:47
Posts: 2,006 | Thanked: 3,351 times | Joined on Jun 2010 @ N900: Battery low. N950: torx 4 re-used once and fine; SIM port torn apart
#237
Originally Posted by gerbick View Post
After all of this time... we're still talking about an original poster that's contemplated buying multiple Nokia N900's but cannot support their own education? Priorities are really ****ed up if that's the case.

And to make matters worse... same person can afford university, can afford multiple gadgets, can afford a computer, can afford internet access... but can't afford or find alternate means to obtain software to support aforesaid life decisions to further their education and/or curiosity?

Again... priorities are really ****ed up if that is the case.
To further education/curiosity, use Linux.

Internet access is probably given by the university.

Many students look to get 'student grants'/scholarships in order to cover the cost of university.

N900 probably doubles as the main computer.

I know somebody can consider it an overkill, but ideally, every program on a computer should be open-source. It's hard; there is some good free-ware and some necessary, due to habit, buyware.

The number one reason for still buying/pirating proprietary software:
user cannot find adequate/compatible open-source replacement.

OpenOffice.org cannot open .docx files properly;
open-source full-featured PDF editor can hardly be found (PDFedit?);
open-source formula editing/graph drawing/equation solving, especially cross-platform and MATLAB compatible, is needed (GNU Octave seems to be the best);
etc.

I wouldn't blame a student for not paying for some program; I would blame the university for requiring the program and not giving it to the student at the same time.

Originally Posted by gerbick View Post
So let's use the age-old car analogy... that's like buying a great car, getting your license, attending driving school... and not knowing how you will pay for the gas and insurance...
It's like getting an Aptera vehicle: no gas, just electricity, classified as motorcycle, probably no insurance required, the vehicle is built with safety in mind.

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Keep in mind: this post contains subjective opinion and might contain incorrect assumptions.