Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!jarthur!usc!pollux.usc.edu!papa
From: papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Does Shareware hurt professional software development?
Message-ID: <25004@usc.edu>
Date: 31 May 90 07:42:21 GMT
References: <1640@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca>
Sender: news@usc.edu
Organization: Felsina Software, Los Angeles, CA
Lines: 53

In article <1640@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca> lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) writes:

>In <24937@usc.edu>, papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa) writes:
>>Similarly have shareware and freeware sales of Amiga comm programs impacted
>>A-Talk III sales? They have somewhat, but we've been hard at work at always
>>being one step ahead (first with a tek emulator, first with Zmodem support,
>>first with multi-serial, etc..). That is, users have benefitted from the
>>competition between commercial and freeware/shareware, since we have had to
>>continuously update the program with new features.  I doubt I would have
>>continued to do that if the rest of the software competition was lousy.

>A very healthy attitude Marco, and a far cry from the whining I used to hear
>from the folks at MSS when they were telling me that Aterm was destroying their
>market.  Never mind that Online!  was buggy as hell. [stuff deleted]

Yea, whining is not that useful.  Besides, word of mouth is still THE best
way to sell software.  If people start saying that a product is garbage,
word gets out real soon.  Aterm in fact was/is a really nice product.
As I recall it had the first GOOD implementation of Kermit, with 8-bit
quoting, long packets, and other bells, much earlier than I was able to
get the XPR-version going with the help of Steve Walton.

I think that collaborations CAN happen, when you feel confident about
yourself and your products.  I had no problem getting the Arexx code
from Willy Langeveld, and in turn help him design and debug XPR. Or
similarly do XPR-Kermit with Steve, and put in the public domain,
for everybody, including MSS, to pick up.

>I spit on attitudes like that, and I'm glad to see that you feel you can
>compete without snivelling about unfair competition, and that the freeware and
>shareware acts as an incemtive for improving your product.
>
>This is How It Should Be.

While I do agree with the above statement, my previous thoughts about the
copy-cats of Tetris games still stand, at least for all versions of the 
games that might infringe the product. That would be unfair competition
in my language.

-- Marco

P.S.:
The Nintendo ad for Gameboy had the following "interesting" notice referring
to the version of Tetris that is now included with every Gameboy machine:

+Tetris ...

+ TM and (c) Elorg, licensed to B.P.S., Sub-Licensed
to Nintendo (c) 1989 B.P.S. (c) 1989 Nintendo. All Rights reserved.
Original concept, design and program by Alexey Patzhitnov.
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"Xerox sues somebody for copying?" -- David Letterman
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