Shift Jelley writes about being an independent developer of applications (via John Gruber). Here are a few excerpts:

People will spend hours researching a $2 purchase, browsing reviews, emailing the developer, checking online forums. Then they will go to a coffee shop they’ve never been before and buy a $4 coffee. From the developer they expect unlimited support, unlimited free updates. From the coffee shop they expect nothing except mediocre coffee.

So true, and yet, so strange.

Piracy?

It’s a problem, always has been in the software industry. As a kid I pirated all my software, because I felt like these were giant, faceless corporations that didn’t need my money, and I had no money to give them anyway. I pirated operating systems, I pirated apps, I pirated games. Then one day I got a job, and learnt just how hard it is to make good software, and a switch went off in my head. Now I pay for every piece of software I have, sometimes I buy apps I don’t even need, just because I appreciate the level of crafts(wo)manship and care that went into them. If it’s too expensive and I can’t afford it, I just don’t use it.

I remember the cassette days when people would give others free copies of music, which continued into the CD days. And although you might expect "religious people to be more honest, I didn't see any difference. I suppose people never change. Honesty is a rare quality that we like in others.