Well, by no means am I saying its ok, as I do it myself, but downloading really isnt as bad.
I download adobe CS3, the comany loses me as a potential customer, because I have now obtained it for free. But I would have never bought it, even if I needed it. I would go for something cheaper. And although they put time into production, they didnt loose a copy in the one that I could get. Unlimited copies. If you went into walmart and stole a lawnmower, same value as CS3, it would be worse on the company. Although you would have never bought it if you needed it, you stole it, and they had put money into that individual item. They didnt loose money when you stole CS3, they did when you stole the lawnmower.
Get my point?
Either way its bad, and I'm not saying I have CS3.