In the past, most software I used was paid and proprietary and would have some sort of limitation that I would try to get around by any means possible. Sometimes that would be resetting the clock on my computer, disabling the internet, and other times downloading a patch.
But in the past few years I’ve stopped using those things and have focused only on free and open source software (FOSS) to fulfill my needs. I hardly have to worry about privacy problems or trying to lock down a program that calls home. I might be missing out on some things that commercial software delivers, but I’m hardly aware of what they are anymore. It seems like the trend is for commercial software providers to migrate toward online or service models that have the company doing all the computing. I’m opposed to that, since they can take away your service at any time.
What do you do?
Paid Software Experience:
- “Hi, Thanks for choosing us! Please sign into or sign up for your account! You agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy right?”
- “Great, and thanks for your purchase! Did you know we have a limited time sale on our Ultra Pro Superprofessional Edition?”
- “No? Well we also have a monthly subscription plan that can get you very cool features! Wanna check that out?”
- “No? Alright we’ll get on with installation. But first, we need to make sure you’re not running a VM, VPN and other software we don’t like from our handy DRM software.”
- “Oh, that DRM software also happens to collect your contact information and read your files so we can sell that for money. Thanks and enjoy!”
FOSS Experience:
- Aight you got enough disk space? Here’s the GPL. Where we droppin? Cool, enjoy your program! Support me if you feel like it, bud!
About 20 years ago, I saw this exact same discussion on mozillazine. Everyone was raving about FOSS being nicer, friendlier, and more convenient, and how piracy is bothersome.
Then this guy posted a reply, to the tune of “Yeah, and now imagine your entire OS was like that… you should try it.”
A little later I did, and never looked back. For me, FOSS is convenience.
I use Arch btw.
I just use FOSS. I don’t trust that proprietary garbage. I generally don’t pirate software in general. Its far too easy to trojanize it. I also buy games on steam to support linux/deck and valves investment in the ecosystem, I buy them steeply discounted though. With Roms, sales and free games I have a massive backlog so being patient pays off.
I also find that the quality of the FOSS stuff is better and way more configurable. Not hating on anyone that does pirate software or prefers proprietary stuff, to each their own
Much prefer to use FOSS where I can.
Most people absoljutely do not ‘need’ photoshop or MS Office, but are too lazy to try out free alternatives. Sure they don’t offer 100% of the features, but for most home users they are more than enough What are people using Word for at home anyway? Creating a CV once every few years - its not like they are knocking out documents day after day.
I don’t pirate software. Usually closed-source, proprietary garbage has a lot of sketchy stuff built in already, and I don’t have the energy to reverse engineer every cracked binary blob I download to make sure it doesn’t have spyware or ransomware or anything. Just pirate media, not software.
What if you were presented with the choice to download a prepatched binary or a file that allowed another program to do the patching? How about if you had the choice between downloading a python CLI keygen or a compiled gui/cli ELF or PE keygen? Granted, that would allow the DRM makers to more easily modify their key validation or obfuscation
If the process was reproducible (i.e. there’s a published checksum for the prepatched binary, and a script that you can run on your local unpatched binary, which creates a binary with the exact same checksum) I would feel pretty good about that.
Run the Keygen in a VM, job done 👍
Open source is better these days but it still can’t entirely replace everything. One day, we’ll be able to make the switch though
Both, plenty of FOSS alternatives are not good enough yet. For example, video or image editing is much easier with adobe products.
Most SW I pirate are games or windows/office for friends.In my younger years I just pirated the hell out of software. From Photoshop to Sony Vegas. Nowadays i use Foss because of my Linux use, but even for my Boyfriend PC’s I mostly leet him choose between Pirated Programms and FOSS software and he mostly just needs an easy software. FOSS isn’t as feature full as paid software but mostly for the normal stuff you do you can just use FOSS.
Except for games I use FOSS on my Linux desktop and on my Android phone. The FOSS alternative is often better than the proprietary software.
What kind of FOSS software can you get for your android?
F-Droid has tons of good apps!
FOSS over piracy for sure. While the UI and/or functionality is not often as good as the proprietary option with FOSS apps, I feel a lot more comfortable using them because they are free and you can see what’s going on with them better.
I just use FOSS.
Media I pirate, but there’s nearly always decent FOSS alternative for proprietary software
If I have a nice FOSS alternative that will fulfill my needs, then I will always prioritize FOSS. If not, then I pirate the proprietary option.
It’s a mix of both. On my windows gaming rig I have ms office, photoshop sketchup and fl studio pirated. I haven’t found a good foss alternative for photoshop, sketchup or flstudio (using gimp is worse than being an actuall gimp ). On my Linux laptop I’ve been using more and more foss. I’m getting use to Libre office but it doesn’t do everything I need. Switched chrome for Firefox, vscodium as a code editor, waydroid for Android apps
Always FLOSS I even stopped my hobby of producing music because Ardour was just not good enough for that.
That’s a bit extreme though. I hate proprietary BS, but am able to admit that sometimes the right tool for the job is proprietary. Fucking hate licensing, I needed to save my friends’ asses in their CAD classes a bunch of times because the softwares’ proprietary DRM BS decided that their legit license was old, and replaced their software with last years’ version, so none of their homework could be opened.
It was just a hobby anyway and once I didn’t have a Mac anymore I didn’t want to have the hassle of dual booting into Windows just to run Ableton Live, so I just gave up on it.
If kdenlive was even in the same ballpark of usability as Premiere maybe, but so far it’s not even in the same country.
