@rob / justluke
I think that bth of you have valid points, although personally i think i agree more with Luke on this one:
To download an app like maya to learn it for getting a job using it *could* be justified, as how else are people supposed to learn something like that with that kind of pricetag? 3D max actually does this with that Max light (or whatever its called) which is free to use indefinitely for non commercial use.
Something like maya or max takes months of full time learning to even partly master it so a 30 day trial is pointless for software this deep. If i was going to consider maya i would want to TRY it properly. If i liked it or wanted to release something then i would honestly buy it. If not i would honestly delete it and not use it. I dont understand why programs like this cannot have for example "500 free hours" rather than 30 days (as you cannot really use it 24/7 can you?). To compare it to the cars doesnt work as you can learn to drive in any car (except an automatic :).
However to download and use any software commercially or to use it for distributing works (weather free or not) is morally and ethically wrong and should be prosecuted. I think the other is a kind of acceptable grey area as most have no choice if they want to get into the industry. These kind of high-end companies make most of their money from the industry, not "Joe" down the road creating a few pictures for his job portfolio to show a company who have spent loads on their software. (and is in effect in the software companies interest in the long run.)
I think that bth of you have valid points, although personally i think i agree more with Luke on this one:
To download an app like maya to learn it for getting a job using it *could* be justified, as how else are people supposed to learn something like that with that kind of pricetag? 3D max actually does this with that Max light (or whatever its called) which is free to use indefinitely for non commercial use.
Something like maya or max takes months of full time learning to even partly master it so a 30 day trial is pointless for software this deep. If i was going to consider maya i would want to TRY it properly. If i liked it or wanted to release something then i would honestly buy it. If not i would honestly delete it and not use it. I dont understand why programs like this cannot have for example "500 free hours" rather than 30 days (as you cannot really use it 24/7 can you?). To compare it to the cars doesnt work as you can learn to drive in any car (except an automatic :).
However to download and use any software commercially or to use it for distributing works (weather free or not) is morally and ethically wrong and should be prosecuted. I think the other is a kind of acceptable grey area as most have no choice if they want to get into the industry. These kind of high-end companies make most of their money from the industry, not "Joe" down the road creating a few pictures for his job portfolio to show a company who have spent loads on their software. (and is in effect in the software companies interest in the long run.)