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?

  • JoeKrogan@lemmy.worldEnglish
    51·
    2 years ago

    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

    • zxo@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      9·
      2 years ago

      I agree, there are some insane FOSS apps and programs like NewPipe (kinda uses proprietary but eh, there’s no real replacement for YouTube) that I would always prefer over a pirated version of another, better known app.

    • Acheron@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      9·
      2 years ago

      I hate proprietary stuff, but sometimes Proprietary is the best option. IDA and Binja have features that Ghidra and Curtter lack, Charles Proxy and Fiddler have more features than mitmproxy, IntelliJ is just better than Eclipese or VSCodium, Autocad and most of the Autodesk suite have no FOSS counterparts. On the flip side, you have Notepad++ that’s better than Sublime, x64dbg is my favorite debugger, and I’ve been using Lunacy for photo editing recently over the multiple m0nkrus packs I have in my torrent client, and Blender is better in a lot of scenarios than Maya or whatever else.

  • Rentlar@lemmy.caEnglish
    40·
    2 years ago

    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!
  • lps2@lemmy.mlEnglish
    30·
    2 years ago

    Much like yourself I always try and use FOSS first and haven’t pirated software since my teena

  • stepan@lemmy.fmhy.mlEnglish
    22·
    2 years ago

    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.

          • MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
            4·
            2 years ago

            A few I like:

            • StreetComplete, fun ‘mini game’ for helping fill out Open Street Map data

            • Hacki, hacker news reader

            • Mull, fork of Firefox with more privacy stuff enabled

            • Simple Gallery

            • Bitwarden

            • Simple SMS

            • Birday, birthday manager, nice for keeping track

            • VLC

            • Scrambled EXIF, gets rid of private EXIF data in your photos before sharing

            • Auto Auto-Rotate, enabled auto-rotate automatically in specific apps

            • Shelter, useful for setting up a work profile

          • I Cast Fist@programming.devEnglish
            3·
            2 years ago

            TrackerControl is essential, imo. The f-droid version is the complete one, too, compared to the play store.

            Simple X (Simple Gallery, Simple File Manager, Simple Calendar, etc) are very good for the basic android functions. As for what else, that’ll really depend on what you need. I like Librera for reading stuff

        • Matt Payne@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          2 years ago

          I forgot about them. I didn’t know they were FOSS. Is F-Droid primarily for nerds and programmers? Or do normies also use it? I stopped working on Android apps because I don’t want my hobby to be subjected to the whims of Google’s acceptance criteria. But maybe I could publish to F-Droid instead.

  • Mereo@lemmy.caEnglish
    211·
    2 years ago

    🎵 FOSS FOSS FOSS, FOSS it up! FOSS FOSS FOSS, FOSS it up! 🎵

  • ArkyonVeil@lemmy.worldEnglish
    19·
    2 years ago

    For me, it’s a simple ordeal. I don’t mind paying so long as the product on offer is worth the cost of payment.

    Adobe’s pricing model is abusive, so I went with Affinity which is much cheaper and not a subscription. Zynamptic’s Morph sounds sweet and is reasonably price, but it comes bundled with a driver based DRM. So I got it for free without the DRM bollocks.

    With games I used to pirate, but games nowadays are dime a dozen. If it looks interesting, I might try out a demo. If the game is shite, refund which is the loudest review you have. Piracy generally isn’t worth the risk for software entertainment in my eyes, yours may differ.

    The only thing I still consistently pirate is movies, and that’s because they all have DRM up to where the sun doesn’t shine. I want to support creators, to help fund what they create. But if I have to pay to have what I bought held for ransom. I’d rather have it for free and forever mine.

    To my memory the only movies I have bought were DVDs, the movie “Ink” (check it out on GOG, it’s DRM free and its a pretty cool indie movie) and helped fund a S.T.A.L.K.E.R short film on kickstarter.

    To wrap it up, Gaben was right. It’s all about the product/service, its cost (not just price, but ease of access, DRM if any, risks, etc) and what it offers the consumers.

    If I pay for a license which can be taken away at any time, that is one cost. If I can get the same thing for free and forever, but with the minor risk that it can be bundled with malware, that is another. With how bloated pricing models are and the constant DRM abomination that are forced into everything, it’s no surprise Piracy is still alive and well today.

  • pseud@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    182·
    2 years ago

    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.

  • inverimus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    2 years ago

    As a teenager I pirated everything, but that was mostly because I didn’t have the money to buy it anyway. These days I mostly use FOSS and buy things like games. That being said, my 11yo likes The Sims 4 and it is almost $1200 for everything so fuck EA.

  • zxo@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    15·
    2 years ago

    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.

  • hopeisforpresidents@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    14·
    2 years ago

    Mostly FOSS since moving from Windows to Linux, still use the odd proprietary software (pirated of course).

    With the recent rumors that Microsoft is moving to move Windows in its entirety to be cloud based I feel like I switched to Linux at the right moment.

  • Difficult_Bit_1339@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    131·
    2 years ago

    FOSS and buy games.

    I used to pirate games because I was a high school/college student but buying them from Steam is just more convenient.

    I pirate media though, I used streaming services when Netflix was basically the only game in town but now that there are 25 different platforms all wanting $10/mo, f that. I can setup Sonarr and Radarr on a seedbox for cheaper and it provides more flexibility of use, no limitations on sharing (seedbox provider aside) and no annoying DRM or unexpectedly getting a 720p stream instead of a 4k HDR stream because I didn’t install the latest firmware on my TV.

    I’m paying for music streaming because Spotify is basically music Netflix but I’m experimenting using scrobbling/Lidarr/Airsonic.

  • ilco@feddit.nlEnglish
    12·
    2 years ago

    I use mosly free foss apps. It’s has become a hasle to use programs that force online acounts. Kinda hate it when a app is slowly turned into a weird web app with heavy drm. And exploitive licenses