I started my computing journey in the shareware era, first with ProDOS on an Apple IIc, then the MS-DOS years, so I’m no stranger to searching for free software to use on my computers. Most of my university time was spent with free software packages, other than those that the school supplied for us. After those years, to keep a particularly underpowered dual-core laptop going, I ran various Linux distributions, trying out new packages and software constantly to find things that fit my needs.
Over those decades, it’s hard to put a number to how many hours I spent looking for free software to use, especially once the internet became widespread and easier to access. Back then, it was a pastime, a hobby to find the next thing to use, a way to handle my computing needs without paying for licenses or subscriptions, as while I had plenty of time, money was in short supply.
Those days are well behind me, and while I still enjoy looking for free and open-source software to use and experiment with, my priorities have changed. Time is always in short supply, and while software is still a hobby, it’s also very much a tool for getting work done. I’ll gladly pay for licenses and subscriptions for the tools I need daily, especially if it’s something I might need technical support for, although I’ll still look for free software for things I don’t need to do often.
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I still love free and open-source software, but my priorities have changed
Software packages are professional tools to use, not things to be searched for constantly
I’ve been an advocate for open-source software most of my life, not because I don’t want to pay for things, but because the ethos of collaboration and sharing has stuck with me since the shareware days. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think developers shouldn’t be paid for their time, or that companies that create things I need to use should do them for free. Plus, many companies give you their product for free and then use your data to sell advertising, and I don’t particularly like that idea either.
When I was running Linux on my laptop as my main computer, I was also equally invested in Android for my smartphone. I’d root it, customize the ROM, and look for free apps to do what I needed on a daily basis. That’s how I found XDA all those years ago, when it was only a forum for phone developers and other enthusiasts and didn’t have much of a blog or website attached.
My view of time has changed
I also had far more spare time in those days, and hacking together solutions to the minor issues caused by custom ROMs was fun. Nowadays, I don’t want to spend a day searching for answers; I want things to work and not break. I have an iPhone, not because it’s better than Android, but because the closed nature of iOS stops my worst habits of tinkering from manifesting. I have a MacBook that I don’t use often, but it is there as a safety net if (and when) I break my Windows PC somehow and need to get work done.
My relationship with software has similarly changed, and I will buy an app or a subscription that fixes a need for me forever. In some ways, that makes me the ideal customer, but I’ve made my peace with that, and I’d rather have more time than money.
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Some paid features are indispensable to me
I don’t want to use (and learn!) five other apps to replace one
The software packages for which I either have a paid license or an ongoing subscription are mostly things I’ve used for years. Yes, some of that is staying in my comfort zone, but I will switch to alternatives if a better option comes along. I’ve paid for Affinity Photo and Designer several times, both on Windows, macOS, and on iOS, because they have a consistent UI and feature set between the platforms, and because editing with the Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro is fantastic. But I still have an Adobe subscription, mostly because nobody has dethroned Photoshop for object or background removal, and also because I use Acrobat’s advanced features all the time.
Having a one- or two-click routine for background removal saves me more time than I want to count. The ability to convert things into PDFs or edit every part of existing PDF files and turn them into fillable forms is unmatched in any other editor. Illustrator has features that I can’t replicate elsewhere, iOS apps like Halide give me a better mobile photography tool than the free alternatives, and I could go on like this.
If a tool does something really well, or has multiple features that I can’t live without, I’ll pay the costs involved because, well, what alternative is there? Some software packages can get me to 90% of what the paid alternatives do, but if the work I need to do has to be 100%, the free alternative is no alternative at all. Plus, being a business owner has shown me the true value of time, and if I can pay to save time, I will.
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Because nobody likes wasting time
I’ll still use free software when it makes sense
Some free software has no equal
There are times when the free version is better than the alternatives, and I’ve switched from paid software packages to free ones because of it. OBS Broadcaster has no equal, especially now that it’s easier than X-Split or other paid livestreaming software to get started with. DaVinci Resolve is my video editor of choice, even when I have access to Premiere Pro through my Creative Cloud package. Free
Even Microsoft Office has a free, web-based version nowadays, which is every bit as powerful for most users. I still have a paid subscription to that, but for other reasons, as it’s needed for many benchmarking suites. 7-Zip is better than WinRAR, VLC is still the best media player, and Home Assistant has no alternative but would be the preferred choice even if it had a worthy opponent.
I now search for the right tool for the job, whether I have to pay for it or not
It’s not that I won’t use free software, or that I’ll only pay for things to make my life easier. Both free and paid software have their uses, and the user experience and the end result are what matter to me now. I’ll gladly pay for better UI designs and more powerful tools, and I’ll pay for a DaVinci Resolve licence one day when I hit the limits of the free version. I just won’t do it until then, because I have a better sense of value and utility than I used to.
