You think that free software are nice to download and use. Well, using free or open source software is better than using pirated software. But do you know how much effort the software developers had put into the software for you to use freely?
As I always said: "Nothing is cheaper than free." So, I wish to give my full respect to all free and open source software developers! You might wonder just how much those open source software cost? Read the following articles:
Giving Away Software For Free Costs More Than You Would Think (Part 1)
Giving Away Software For Free Costs More Than You Would Think (Part 2)
Giving Away Software For Free Costs More Than You Would Think (Part 3)
For me, I really support the philosophy of Ubuntu and the meaning of Ubuntu (humanity to others). So, I prefer to use open source software and give my support (donation and other means of help) to them as much as possible. I don’t want to pay few hundred ringgit to use some very commercialized and buggy software.
Talking about technical support, as a home user I don’t think I need that yet. Even in the future if I want to use, let’s say, Ubuntu as my operating system for my company, I’m willing to purchase support from them. On the other hand, there are many companies out there using open source software.
I always use pirated software… wahahaha… cheap only.
Thanks for your comment, Maria. All I can say is: Use genuine software if you’re afforded.