When I was 16 I traded 5 MB of porn for AutoCAD R12. It was my very first experience with warez. I bought an off the shelf book to teach myself the software and within 3 months I was creating very cool models. According to SOA and countless other software publishers, that was considered theft. I stole a $10,000 software package. To be honest I don’t see it. I didn’t make any money from my tool. I learned valuable skills, but I never profited directly. Further, I didn’t resell the copy I had to potential clients. I guarantee you I could never afford such software (not at $6/hr!). So was it theft? It’s a huge question these days. I can honestly say I’ve gained a lot of skills ‘playing’ with software that I would have never been able to afford. I would have never gotten some of the jobs I had without those darkly gained skills. What I do agree with (SPA and I have about 2% in common) is business’ who produce revenue as a result of using software should pay for their license. It’s only fair. Not to mention easier. Can you imagine calling a MIS department and having them admit, “We don’t have licenses. Here’s a book, figure out your own problem!”

I find the most boggling concept to software ownership the idea that one can possess the intangible. Software at a very basic level is binary. We all know that by now. But take it a step further. Software is actually a pattern of electrons. We’re paying for patterns! (Actually we pay for the right to arrange said patterns)

There’s been a shift in thinking lately. (if you even utter the phrase “paradigm shift” shoot yourself. You’ve obviously been absorbed by the corporate mentality.) The GNU licensing structure has corporate software producers confused. Give away software? Plus source code? Are they nuts?? Not really. They rake in the dollars with support fees and automation/customization. I realize the actual product is service, but I still feel it’s more tangible than electron patterns. Granted they don’t rake in as much yet, but I attribute that to the fact that 90% of professional coders work for non-GPL entities.