but essentially you're likely to find many models of software (from large software vendors) with a lot of different models for how you can try / use / own it. My sense is that most commercial software vendors want you to use their software and want you to get it legitimately and want to find a way where you can pay what vaguely seems like it should be mutually agreeable (if you're using it educationally, there are often ways to get it for free, if you're a developer for a large organization, they want that organization to actually pay for it and support the value they're getting out of you using it).
I worked on MS Office and I once remember Sinofsky (then in charge of Office) once talking about the pricing structure of Office and saying nobody paid the ~$400 MSRP. People get it bundled with new computers, pay substantially lower upgrade fees, or something else. I don't remember if he went so far as to say "at some level, people pirate it" but that's a reality that only the really oblivious would ignore. The point is - try stuff out, see what you like, and try to figure out what makes you the most productive without worrying about "some day I won't be able to afford this" (but by all means you should also rabble-rouse if you find the prices for the software you use are unreasonable and inflexible).
but essentially you're likely to find many models of software (from large software vendors) with a lot of different models for how you can try / use / own it. My sense is that most commercial software vendors want you to use their software and want you to get it legitimately and want to find a way where you can pay what vaguely seems like it should be mutually agreeable (if you're using it educationally, there are often ways to get it for free, if you're a developer for a large organization, they want that organization to actually pay for it and support the value they're getting out of you using it).
I worked on MS Office and I once remember Sinofsky (then in charge of Office) once talking about the pricing structure of Office and saying nobody paid the ~$400 MSRP. People get it bundled with new computers, pay substantially lower upgrade fees, or something else. I don't remember if he went so far as to say "at some level, people pirate it" but that's a reality that only the really oblivious would ignore. The point is - try stuff out, see what you like, and try to figure out what makes you the most productive without worrying about "some day I won't be able to afford this" (but by all means you should also rabble-rouse if you find the prices for the software you use are unreasonable and inflexible).