You know, that is the reason that I like the idea of pirated software. Often, these programs are so badly written out of the box. I don't want to go spending $300+ dollars on software that doesn't work. But how would I know unless I tried a "illegal" copy of it. Often, this is how I know what to buy.
Definately, the registered version is the better way to go just for tech support. One of the nifty features the software developers can do to "protect" their software is to default obscure settings that more or less force you to call tech support to even know that it is making a difference in how the software performs.
Anyway, a lot of discussion has gone into this whole "protection" thing. Steirberg applies some pretty heavy duty protection. A shame since they make such nice stuff. But on the other hand, I have heard so many bad things about Cubase that I am afraid to even go their because I can't "legally" try out the program to see just how bad of a mess it is out of the box. So, I stay away from it.
Cakewalk on the other hand only has a silly s/n protection. Easy enough. I can then try it out and see if the features are adequate for what I want to do, thus, to gain tech support to figure out all the deep functions that make it a worthwhile app, I need to buy and register it.
Believe it or not, alot of software companies have gained "free" help improving their software from the "bandits" that use unregistered versions. Talk about econamizing R&D!!! So, maybe go a little easy on some of those hackers. A lot of them become very helpful to the developers, and certainly they provide a way of protecting consumers from developers that put products on the market before they are ready. It happens far too often.
Anyway, some guy trying to make a few bucks off of the cracked version is out of the "spirit" of hackers. Mostly, these code breakers will just share the stuff for free with those they trust. They didn't crack it to make money, they cracked to see if they could, and possibly to see if it is worth a darn. So, in this case, this guy is a schmuck! My god, he must not even have half a brain to be advertising his hacked versions. Needless to say, he is probably already revealed by others to the proper people and they are following his actions to put together a better case before busting him. He deserves whatever he get's from trying to profit from that skill.
Anyway, just my thoughts.
Ed