Legally it's wrong, morally it's wrong but when no one has legal copies for sale on the island or you have to pay $800 or $900BZ for a legal copy on the mainland (if you can find one) it doesn't leave you with many options.

Even in the US it costs about $300 for a copy of Office. For someone working minimum wage and who has managed to save up for a used computer they now have to work 60 hours just for one piece of software. Is it any wonder that piracy is prevalent?

I'd be willing to bet that even those who are most adamant about not pirating have had at least one piece of pirated software on one of their computers at one time. Ever buy a used computer with software loaded? Ever load software on more than one computer without checking the EULA to see if it was legal to do so?

If the software companies dropped prices to a realistic and affordable level piracy would drop as well (but never end.)

Music is a big issue down here as availability of the type that I listen to is next to zero. I had little success in Cancun or Chetumal either. Most online retailers won't ship CD's, DVD's or software to Belize so downloads are the only answer.

It's easy to say you shouldn't pirate when you can walk to the corner store and buy what you need (if you can afford it) but when you have no other option at the fault of the manufacturer then...