6 ms·

> How many people here on HN have used pirated software to help build a web app? I would expect this number to be close to 0. What does this even mean?

patrickk 16y ago
A way of saving money. Thinking about this again, its probably extremely presumptuous of me to guess that a lot HN users use pirated software, just as it is presumptuous of you to say that the number is close to 0. There's no way of knowing. I doubt people would come out and admit it....time for a poll maybe? I recall seeing a TechStars video a few moths back where one of the guys in the program all but admitted he was a software pirate. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1524318 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1524318
- noonespecial 16y ago
  Me. I will. My modus operati when I need an expensive piece of software is to pirate half a dozen different packages that claim to do what I want, evaluate them, then purchase the one that best does the job. Wrong? Maybe. But there is a whole lot of hype when it comes to that sort of thing and I can't afford to weed it out at full price right now. Better (less crippled) evaluations (or evals at all) would help. Sometimes I even find that what I thought I was trying to do was not what I wanted to do after all, but I usually end up buying something.
patrickk 16y ago
'Are you a software pirate?' poll http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1532394 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1532394
rick888 16y ago
"I would expect this number to be close to 0. What does this even mean?" What do you even need to pirate to make a web app? Rails, php, apache, mysql are all free
- patrickk 16y ago
  Since you asked (and even though I'll probably be downvoted for this but)...I virtualised OS X on vanilla PC hardware to save money (I'm a recent college grad), as OS X seems to be the OS of choice for Rails development. I'd rather do this and have more money saved up for living expenses when I do launch a product. Is this right? That's a matter of opinion. It's definitely a grey area. If I fail, Apple didn't lose a sale since I can't really afford a shiny new MacBook. If I succeed, everyone in the company will use Macs and therefore Apple, and I, win. And YES I could just use Linux, before you ask, but I'm getting quite used to TextMate. That's not to justify anything....but since you asked... EDIT (can't reply to comment below directly): Yes, that's true. However you would still be in violation of Apple's EULA which states that you cannot run their OS on anything other than Apple hardware. So you are still being naughty by doing this ;-)
  - nuxi 16y ago
    ...or you could buy OS X 10.6 for $29 if you really need it.
    - DavidPP 16y ago
      29$ is an upgrade license only.
      - nuxi 16y ago
        Yes, but it works as a standalone installation, you don't need to have 10.5 installed.
        mcosta 16y ago
        How is better to spend 29$ to break a license? Because I suposse the upgrade license needs a "base" license.
        borisk 16y ago

patrickk 16y ago

A way of saving money. Thinking about this again, its probably extremely presumptuous of me to guess that a lot HN users use pirated software, just as it is presumptuous of you to say that the number is close to 0. There's no way of knowing. I doubt people would come out and admit it....time for a poll maybe? I recall seeing a TechStars video a few moths back where one of the guys in the program all but admitted he was a software pirate. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1524318 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1524318

noonespecial 16y ago
Me. I will. My modus operati when I need an expensive piece of software is to pirate half a dozen different packages that claim to do what I want, evaluate them, then purchase the one that best does the job. Wrong? Maybe. But there is a whole lot of hype when it comes to that sort of thing and I can't afford to weed it out at full price right now. Better (less crippled) evaluations (or evals at all) would help. Sometimes I even find that what I thought I was trying to do was not what I wanted to do after all, but I usually end up buying something.

patrickk 16y ago

'Are you a software pirate?' poll http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1532394 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1532394

rick888 16y ago

"I would expect this number to be close to 0. What does this even mean?" What do you even need to pirate to make a web app? Rails, php, apache, mysql are all free

patrickk 16y ago
Since you asked (and even though I'll probably be downvoted for this but)...I virtualised OS X on vanilla PC hardware to save money (I'm a recent college grad), as OS X seems to be the OS of choice for Rails development. I'd rather do this and have more money saved up for living expenses when I do launch a product. Is this right? That's a matter of opinion. It's definitely a grey area. If I fail, Apple didn't lose a sale since I can't really afford a shiny new MacBook. If I succeed, everyone in the company will use Macs and therefore Apple, and I, win. And YES I could just use Linux, before you ask, but I'm getting quite used to TextMate. That's not to justify anything....but since you asked... EDIT (can't reply to comment below directly): Yes, that's true. However you would still be in violation of Apple's EULA which states that you cannot run their OS on anything other than Apple hardware. So you are still being naughty by doing this ;-)
- nuxi 16y ago
  ...or you could buy OS X 10.6 for $29 if you really need it.
  - DavidPP 16y ago
    29$ is an upgrade license only.
    - nuxi 16y ago
      Yes, but it works as a standalone installation, you don't need to have 10.5 installed.
      - mcosta 16y ago
        How is better to spend 29$ to break a license? Because I suposse the upgrade license needs a "base" license.
        borisk 16y ago