3 ms·

As more and more software has moved to app stores & web apps, I think piracy rates for software have plummeted, simply because it's so much harder. I don't thi

As more and more software has moved to app stores & web apps, I think piracy rates for software have plummeted, simply because it's so much harder. I don't think subscriptions are always negative for consumers; Adobe is probably the poster child here because $800 is a huge price to pay to just try things out, but $20/month is something you can try out, and people keep paying for it because they can't go without it. I think honest subscription pricing like that can work great if your software is something you expect the user to use and gain value from repeatedly. While some people would say Spotify is a content business, which is why it can charge a subscription, I think the fact that users keep getting value from it is the more important fact.

pjmlp 9y ago
Piracy on iOS is the main reason why most consumers root their iPhones.
- Eridrus 9y ago
  I think you greatly overestimate the number of people who root their iPhones; using numbers from Cydia you get about 0.4% of people with jailbroken iPhones: https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-iPhones-have-been-jailbroken https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-iPhones-have-been-j... Even if you assume it's 10x larger than that number for whatever reason, you're still only at 4% of users.
  - pjmlp 9y ago
    I don't know about numbers, but I know it is quite common in southern and east european countries. Then there are the Android and WP sideloaders as well.
ghaff 9y ago
>As more and more software has moved to app stores & web apps, I think piracy rates for software have plummeted, simply because it's so much harder. It's harder and there are also a lot of free/cheap alternatives out there. If you need a spreadsheet now and then, today it's not a choice between dropping a few hundred dollars, doing without, or pirating a copy of Lotus 1-2-3. (And, with some exceptions--probably most notably Adobe--even most of the market-leading products that consumers would probably want are relatively cheaper than they used to be.)
antaviana 9y ago
I have the theory that piracy has plummeted because it is more and more dangerous to install software infected with malware on computers that you might also use for buying with your credit card, entering your bank, etc. The last thing you want is the annoyance to have your computer cryptolocked just to skip paying a few bucks.

pjmlp 9y ago

Piracy on iOS is the main reason why most consumers root their iPhones.

Eridrus 9y ago
I think you greatly overestimate the number of people who root their iPhones; using numbers from Cydia you get about 0.4% of people with jailbroken iPhones: https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-iPhones-have-been-jailbroken https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-iPhones-have-been-j... Even if you assume it's 10x larger than that number for whatever reason, you're still only at 4% of users.
- pjmlp 9y ago
  I don't know about numbers, but I know it is quite common in southern and east european countries. Then there are the Android and WP sideloaders as well.

ghaff 9y ago

>As more and more software has moved to app stores & web apps, I think piracy rates for software have plummeted, simply because it's so much harder. It's harder and there are also a lot of free/cheap alternatives out there. If you need a spreadsheet now and then, today it's not a choice between dropping a few hundred dollars, doing without, or pirating a copy of Lotus 1-2-3. (And, with some exceptions--probably most notably Adobe--even most of the market-leading products that consumers would probably want are relatively cheaper than they used to be.)

antaviana 9y ago

I have the theory that piracy has plummeted because it is more and more dangerous to install software infected with malware on computers that you might also use for buying with your credit card, entering your bank, etc. The last thing you want is the annoyance to have your computer cryptolocked just to skip paying a few bucks.