ikarasu said:
There's also OEM keys - large companies buy them by the thousands for cheap. Or academic keys... Students end up paying little to nothing for them.
Students are paying indirectly for those keys via their tuition, which is flagrantly sky high at many colleges and universities (especially private schools). Add the various nickle and dime fees schools lump into the mix.
One of my friends works at a college radio station and they're currently dealing with major software headaches due to organizational screw-ups between their IT department and accounting. They use Adobe Audition for their primary audio editing application and have other Adobe CC licenses. They can't get all their stuff updated and activated due to somebody in the chain dropping the ball. Anyway, the point is even schools have to keep up with software subscription arrangements. Even if there are some serious academic discounts involved the cumulative volume licenses still add up to a big purchase.
Sandman said:
Pirated software is exactly why companies are moving to subscription based services.
I too think piracy is the primary motivator. Even with perpetual licensed software many companies are moving away from selling applications on physical discs. They prefer customers to download it, install and activate via a verified user account.
Companies are moving value-added goodies like fonts and clip art to online portals. Adobe's Creative Cloud application panel provides access to Adobe/Typekit fonts, clip art and other assets. Clip art and other assets are downloaded to the user's Creative Cloud folder. Adobe/Typekit fonts require an always-on Internet connection (and valid CC account) to sync the fonts. The Internet connection thing with Adobe is kind of a minor complaint; the fonts one can sync through Typekit/Adobe Fonts are worth a fortune (lots of choices from many foundries). The Corel Connect application acts in a somewhat similar way, but at least the fonts there are download-able and don't require an always-on Internet connection.
Sandman said:
I can't believe the the OP doesn't just upgrade through Corel and have a legitimate working copy and the piece of mind to go with it. $159???? One small job pays for it...done.... it works... and you're not buying stolen goods. As others have mentioned, if it's sounds too good to be true, it is! I wonder how many people in here would be screaming bloody murder over one of their customers stealing their sign design and having it made by another shop, but not have a second thought over buying cracked or software.
Yeah, there is certain level of hypocrisy present. But I think that's widespread in American culture. None of us want to do our jobs for free. Yet many customers expect design work to be done for free
since it's being done in the computer all instant-like just like the computer stuff you see on CSI: Miami. Enhance that photo! It costs money to develop and maintain computer software applications. None of it is truly free. The developers have to get paid for their work somehow.
Let's also not forget some sign people are not as ethical as others. I won't illegally use corporate trademarks, like selling Harley-Davidson logo window stickers to anyone who wants one. But another sign guy won't bat an eyelash before doing it. The same thing goes for re-using a rival sign company's art files or plagerizing designs when under-bidding a job. It goes on all the time. So no one should be surprised if they find a rival sign shop that is using pirated software. Some people legally buy their pay TV services. There's a bunch who have no problem at all using modded Fire Sticks, Kodi boxes and other forms of piracy. Yet 100% of those people expect to earn a pay check at their jobs.
