I actually paid for winrar in 2006. The meme does happen.
I paid for winrar I think 15 years ago when I started working full time and it was the first shareware app I paid for. I don't use it as much as I used to nowadays.
Surprised it's still being updated. I thought the creator of WinRAR passed away.
Especially if it's a useful tool and developed by a small team(one guy?) instead of an evil multi-trillion tax-dodging conglomerate.
I also paid for the BOSCH drill I use, my 4K monitor, ergonomic chair and other such work tools, so why not pay for SW tools as well?
None of these are a useful comparison, since they're physical objects which cannot be infinitely copied, so the reasons to pay for them do not necessary apply to software.
> Why NOT pay for software you use?
Each person probably has a different answer, and the same person might have different answers in different situations. In my case, nearly all of the software I use is free software, which is offered free of charge (and any payment I make is actually a donation to the developer, not paying for the software).
[Not] paying for winrar was a meme. Hence my post. I buy everything I use.