November 30, 2007 by sharky
FileShareFreak has done it’s homework, and come up with a list of expensive software that can be found available, for free, on various file sharing networks and protocols. What’s the best part about free stuff?? - there’s no tax on it! These are just some examples of the software availability out there; many would be classified as ‘niche market’ applications and considered quite rare.
Note that:
1. All search results were derived from public BitTorrent (websites) like www.mininova.org and thepiratebay.org, www.isohunt.com and btjunkie.org.
2. We searched for some of these titles on P2P programs like Limewire and Shareaza, but came up empty-handed. All we found here were a lot of decoy files and untrustworthy ‘cracks’. (Not recommended)
3. The same programs can usually be found on IRC (since IRC is BitTorrent’s main supply for software) and on Usenet. However, since the following programs tend to be very large, BitTorrent is the preferred method for downloading as it is specifically designed for sharing large file transfers.
| Software Title / Vendor | Description | MSRP (US$) | Latest Download Size: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe CS3 Creative Suite (Master Collection) - 2007 |
Web Design, Graphics Applications and design | $2,499 | 9.42 GB |
| Adobe Font Folio 11 | Font design | $2,599 | 443 MB |
| Alias (Autodesk) MotionBuilder 7/8 | 3D character animation | $3,320 | varies |
| Apple Final Cut Studio 2 Pro | Video edition, compositing, special effects | $1,299 | 3.3 GB+ |
| Ansys Studio v11.0 | Engineering and modelling software | $lots! | 2.8 GB |
| Ashlar-Vellum Graphite 8 | CAD software for 2D/3D modelling | $1,495 | < 50 MB |
| Autodesk AutoCAD - v8/9/2008 | CAD/Engineering and design software | $3,995 | 810 MB - 1.47 GB |
| Autodesk AutoCAD Architecture - 2008 | $4,995 | 1.7 GB | |
| Autodesk AutoCAD Electrical - 2008 | $5,295 | 3.62 GB | |
| Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D - 2008 | $7,495 | 1.81 GB | |
| Autodesk AutoCAD Raster Design - 2008 | $2,095 | 710 MB | |
| Autodesk Maya Unlimited - 2008 | $6,995 | 2.16 GB | |
| Autodesk 3ds MAX - 2008 | $3,495 | 3.89 GB - 5.34 GB | |
| Avid Xpress Pro | Graphics/audio design applications and rendering | $1,695 | < 600 MB |
| Avid Studio Toolkit | $1,295 | 1.18 GB | |
| Avid Media Composer | $4,995 | 862 MB | |
| Borland Developer Studio 2006 | Programming software | $5,000 | 1.5 GB |
| Cadlink SignLab Vinyl | Sign design and production software | $1,295 | 1.16 GB |
| Cakewalk Sonar 7 Producer Edition | Music creation and production | $619 | 2.83 - 3.38 GB |
| Cambridgesoft ChemOffice v11 | Molecular modelling and chemistry | $1,140 | 257 MB |
| Chief Architect X1 | Home design software and architecture | $1,975 | 2.47 GB |
| Discreet (Autodesk) Combustion 4 | Compositing and digital effects | $950 | 300 MB |
| E Frontier Shade 8 Pro | 3D graphics design application | $799 | < 700 MB |
| Graphisoft ArchiCAD | 3D Architectural design | $4,700 | < 400 MB |
| HyperChem 8 | Molecular modelling and chemistry | $1,495 | < 100 MB |
| Makemusic Finale 2008 | Creating and editing sheet music | $600 | 1.82 - 2.1 GB |
| Mathcad v13/14 | Engineering calculations and design software | $1,195 | 220 MB |
| MathWorks MatLab 2007b | $1,900 | 1.87 - 3.32 GB | |
| Maxon Cinema 4D Studio 10 | Graphics design application | $3,495 | 947 MB |
| Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise | Word processing, spreadsheets etc. | $899 | varies |
| MS Visual Studio Pro | Database/server software | $1,025 | 1.17 GB - 4.2 GB |
| MS SQL Server Enterprise Edition | $lots! | 891 MB | |
| Newtek Lightwave 3D v9+ | 3D video rendering and creation | $899 | 218 MB |
| OriginLab OriginPro 7/8 | Data analysis and graphing | $1,500 | 250 MB |
| Pinnacle Liquid Pro | Graphics Design Application | $999 | 1.51 GB |
| Quark Express 7 | Graphics Design Application | $799 | 600 MB+ |
| SoftImage XSI v6.x | 3D graphics design | $4,995 | < 400 MB |
| SolidEdge v17-20 | CAD graphics design | $4,995 | 2.4 - 2.65 GB |
| SolidWorks Office Premium 2007/08 | CAD graphics design | $8,995 | 3.3 - 3.8 GB |
| Sonic Scenarist | Disk authoring application | $4,995 | 30 - 80 MB |
| Steinberg Cubase | Audio production & management software | $995 | 2 - 3.38 GB |
| Steinberg Nuendo | $2,340 | varies | |
| Systran 6 Premium Translator | Professional language translation software | $799 | 982 MB - 1.65 GB |
NOTE: At the time of publishing this (Nov. 2007), all softwares were available for download from at least one of the popular torrent sites. Having said that, torrent seeds do indeed disappear, as do files on P2P, posts in newsgroups and IRC ‘XDCC Bots’ serving them up as well. There is no guarantee that all of these will be available - keep checking the popular BitTorrent websites for new listings.
Here is a link to a “pirate” OEM website that sells the retail software at a fraction of the price - very helpful for viewing expensive software titles. Be forewarned that it is extremely risky to purchase illegal software from any website offering these types of discounts, no matter how professional they may seem. Use this site to review software prices, not for purchasing (since you can be assured that the versions they offer are the same ones found for free on BitTorrent websites, IRC or in the newsgroups).
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