No I wouldn't but I would shop around for the best value for money. Much software is way to expensive which encourages piracy. If these companies pitched them at a reasonable price (like the apple app store does for many apps) then they would sell more. I understand that many app developers have sold millions of their 99cent app. Apple OS X is very low priced compared with Windows and makes it cost effective to upgrade.
I love Lightroom and purchased the latest LR4 with gift vouchers so the price didn't worry me, it would be even better if it was less than 50 dollars.
I agree one should shop around and find the best deal. Of course it would be great if say Adobe CS was a LOT cheaper than the current MSRP, but the "reasonable" price is rather subjective term. For the amount of money/business I make using the CS, for example, I have no problem paying the current full-price when I have to. But of course that's because I really live off of these tools. Illustrator and Photoshop are running pretty much 24/7 on my machines. But for casual users, hobbyists, and even for occasional freelancers, the current MSRP could be very steep.
There are many other cheaper/free alternatives for Adobe Suite, but you really can't use anything else but CS if you are living in the workflow of your design team. But that's probably not much of problem for hobbyists. And like you said, now Apple is selling Aperture for very "cheap" (again, it is subjective) and there are new options like Snapseed for photo enthusiasts. I think the trend is definitely in favor of extremely low priced apps (and sell more copies) so maybe Adobe might get on that bandwagon in near future. Of course they do currently sell more casual apps for computer and mobile devices at a lot lower prices as as well.
I think the market and the technology/industry trends will force the companies to adjust the price and strategy if they want to survive. It is rapidly heading to that direction now as there are so many alternatives popping out everyday.
Film photography is my hobby, and even for that hobby, I wouldn't rob someone to get a Leica because I can't justify the price tag for the hobby tool. I don't think most of us would. Many of us here are fortunate to be able to afford Leica and other expensive photography tools, and only handle full of us are using that Leica for living. (I'm not) There are many other alternatives to Leica if you want to enjoy RF photography with a lot lower cost. And either you are professional requiring a specific camera system or hobbyist and could use whatever you want, you won't be steeling the camera, and the "reasonable" price varies greatly depending on your situation. I think the software should be treated in the same way.
I continue to buy all of my tools that I need. And like you said, it would be nice if the price was lower.
🙂 And legal/illegal gray zone talk is a bit beyond my ability. I'm probably breaking some laws once in a while, if not more often in my life. Some are intentional because I see it's not biggie, and some are completely unintentional. In the end, I just have to try to obey my own ethics, guidelines, rule books to/for myself, and that's the best I can do anyway.
