Rich Kulawiec wrote:
> I find this discussion reminiscent of the debate over "begware",
> also known
> as "shareware". My position is that you should either (a) charge or
> (b) not charge, but that you should choose one or the other and
> stick to it.
> But if you choose [ (c) begging ] then don't be surprised or disappointed
> if people consider it optional. (Footnote: I do not use
> shareware, period.)
The shareware idea has been adopted by so many companies, I practically
forgot it's roots. I download "evaluation" copies of software all the
time...and am glad that I'm given the option to "try before I buy" (I think
that term was coined in the Shareware world). It's good for me (I get to see
if the stuff is any good before I dish out cash) and it's good for the
company (they get more people trying their stuff). And the "begware" screens
sometimes remind me that "hey, someone put some time into this and would
like a little monetary reward". If their stuff is good, I don't mind giving
them the $. I've got lots of software on my machine that started out as eval
or shareware copies that I ended up buying. I don't usually test
crippleware, though, unless I have to. I'd rather have the thing time out
after x amount of uses (not x amount of time, since sometimes I don't get to
run something very often inside the "30 day" window).
Maybe you just go freeware or commercial, with no line in between?
With respect to begware/shareware/evals, though, as you say, if you give
someone the opportunity *not* to pay for something that they use, well,
don't go crying to mommy when they *do* use it for free and don't respect
your efforts. This is the "real" world, eh...not exactly famous for its
abundance of integrity.
Jack
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