When you need a new version of an old program or want to get something new, you can go out to the computer store and pick up the latest game, antivirus software, office suite or operating system. You can do all of this from the comfort of your chair instead. You can usually download all of the same software rather than making a trip to the store. I am not talking about pirating it here, I am talking about buying it. Downloading is convenient and can save storage space, but eat up data limits. Physical copies are great for reinstalling, but can take up space and often need to be patched. Do you prefer to have a physical copy of your software on a disc, or do you prefer to download it? Does it make a difference to you depending on the type of software? IE: Physical OS discs, but downloaded antivirus.
I download almost everything. I think that's also the future of the market. Everyone is going to be downloadable in the future. People don't want to go to a store to pick up a disc when they can just download the same disc from their desk.
I really don't have any storage devices anymore to store all of my DVD's and CD's. I did away with those years ago to cut down on all of my clutter. I really don't like getting stuff on a DVD or CD either because I know I will end up losing it, and/or it will get damaged somehow. I run into this problem quite frequently now - my WinTV device requires that I insert the original CD that came with it, before I can install any updates to the software. It's is so stupid. I literally cannot just download the software from their site and use it to operate my WinTV device. I have to prove for some reason that I also have the old copy of the software. Otherwise they want to charge me another $10 to ship me an old copy of the software. I would much rather just keep a backup drive with all my important installation files on it, and/or be guaranteed that I can download all the necessary software and drivers directly from the manufacturers site right now and for years to come.
Yes. I definitely download. It is more convenient, and reliable. Physical disc tend to scratch, and break easily. Then you have to buy it again. I like downloads, because i store the file on my hard drive, and keep it forever. No risk of it becoming defective.
I primarily download from digital game stores these days, unless it's something I really want and/or prefer on disc. For example, for operating system, I prefer to get it on disc, but for PC games, I prefer to get it through a download service. More often than not, downloadable software are patched up already. Hard copies often mean you have to go download the patches.
Id to buy disc as there was no price difference and it was more convenient. With steam though the titles are actually a bit cheaper to download, so I do that instead. I do like browsing in shops though and if there is no difference in price I will always opt for the brick and mortar store.
Personally I prefer to download as it is much easier than going to the store. In addition to that, with downloading you can test the program to see if it is compatible first and if not, you simply erase it and download another one. This is not the same for a disc, taking it back might be just another journey that you do not want to take.
I can't remember the last time I bought a physical copy of software. I find it's more convenient to buy a digital copy of the software if it's on sale and if I must back it up in case, something happens, I can save it to an external HDD then upload it to my cloud storage account. Double security, eh?
I prefer digital download, once you already paid for it, its safe it the cloud, even if you lost it in your computer you can always go back and download it again. Also, its more convenient specially when it comes to games (given that you have a fast enough internet connection) you don't have to painstakingly go through stores only to find out that the game you're looking for has been sold out. But, I always keep a physical backup of any software I have because you'll never know, maybe one day if the apocalypse came and the internet is down, you might wanna install some software in your computer.
I wish there were digital versions of everything. Some older games and software aren't available to buy online. This goes for books too. I prefer digital versions for everything most of the time.
