Another reason software piracy is on the rise is due to the increasingly high price of software and the speed which software become obsolete. Let's take a drafting program like AutoCad as an example. Due to it's inflated price only people with a good paying job can afford it. Yet, it is needed by students studying drafting in school. Some teachers require it from their students, while others only recommends it, but due to it's high price, it is virtually impossible for students with bills to pay to afford it. Even with student discount offered by the company, the software is still pricey, and even if the student find the money to purchase the software, in another month or so, the software will be replaced by a newer and better version. It will in turn make the old software obsolete. The only other option is for the student to pirate a copy of the software. This way the student will be kept current with the new software. This just does not apply to just drafting programs. Alot of other programs are being required or requested by teachers for students to use, like Microsoft Office. Also, many companies use everyday people to test their new betas by posting it on the Web. Is this considered piracy? What makes a beta any different from the final version? The software companies use us as beta tester, but still they charge such high prices on their software when the final comes out. This is not fair to the people that helped them debug their software to make them money. The software company should at least reward the testers with discounts on the final version. If they can take advantage of us, the end user, why not take advantage of them. What goes around, comes around.