Freakin record labels and recording artists are bitchin that they are getting one less gold-plated ferrari a year, while im having to scrimp and save to feed my children.
It really depends on the software. For instance, I have NEVER Pirated a Blizzard game. Never will either. Their games are just too high quality and I want them to continue making them.
Whenever you buy a copy of say, Quake III: Arena or RtCW, you are generally supporting id Software to deliver more quality titles such as the above, in the future, just to use as an example. In the end however, they really are getting nothing, after all the money spent on ads, licensing game engines, PR team, etc. As long as it's something of high caliber, then of course I would buy them. More of a fickle opinion with me here.
M$ however, is self explanatory, as noted by other members.
I have no shame in pirating mp3 and Microsoft software, but i did download the sim city4.iso's, and i kind of felt bad for maxis, there an excellent company!
Yes, when i had Windows XP, everything microsoft was... well Office XP Pro Costs $600 US!!! Whey the hell should i have to pay that kinda money for an office suite i can get free anyway for Linux (OpenOffice.org 1.0) that is comprable to office xp. I guess you get my point..