[btbuildem]

> even the software was free!

This brings back memories of dank school basements with "software flea markets" where everything, anything (ok maybe save for hot new releases) cost 5zł per floppy. There was a whole sub-genre of programs dedicated to copying disks, with various counter-techniques to work around each copy protection advancement.

The software definitely wasn't free, but piracy was king, and us teens just rolled with the waves. It was the only way to get warez, there was no internet nor BBSs there/then. Quaint to look back on now.