Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!samsung!usc!apple!escher From: escher@Apple.COM (Michael Crawford) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer Subject: Re: Shareware and $$ (was Re: Public Domain Software programming) Message-ID: <7673@goofy.Apple.COM> Date: 12 Apr 90 22:10:04 GMT References: <3094@umbc3.UMBC.EDU> <49b9d37b.15840@valley.UUCP> <52755@coherent.coherent.com> <40230@apple.Apple.COM> Distribution: usa Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, CA Lines: 48 In article <40230@apple.Apple.COM> chuq@Apple.COM (The Bounty Hunter) writes: > >Damn straight. And they should. The idea of shareware was to allow people a >chance to buy something of commercial quality without the markups involved >in a commercial endeavor -- distributor and retailer markups, advertising, >packaging overhead, et al. That doesn't mean the author doesn't have the >responsibility to deal with the product like a real, commercial product -- >just to get the middlemen who like to stand in between author and customer >with their palms sweaty out of the loop. I read in the MicroTimes, or maybe Bay Area Computer Currents, that the manufacturers of PC-Write, which charges I think $99 for shareware fees, estimates 30% of their users actually pay, and gross $2 000 000 per year. I understand they also provide excellent support for registered users, and have actually a full range of products for the IBM PC market. One other reason I might want to do shareware is so I can just write it and send it, and maybe do support via e-mail; the PC-Write people are a real company, with a real support staff; they just have low distribution overhead. They do advertise in magazines. I suppose you get what you invest for. If yer lucky. The point has been made here before that there are many high-quality shareware programs for the PC, and only a few for the Mac. I want to write shareware, but sure won't write it on a PC! Still, you ain't seen any from me yet... someday. I think if you want to make lots of money on a shareware product, you should aim to get it purchased by a large company. Lots of them have not even heard of shareware, and only know about virus-ware from what they read in the scandal sheets. If you can get a shareware program into a company, they are likely to pay for every copy, so they can be assured support. Many large companies make their purchasing decisions more on the basis of support than what it can do or what it costs. Downtime is much more expensive than even commercial software fees. -- Michael D. Crawford Oddball Enterprises 606 Modesto Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95060 oddball!mike@ucscc.ucsc.edu Consulting for Apple Computer Inc. escher@apple.com Applelink: escher@apple.com@INTERNET# The opinions expressed here are solely my own.